Storing "no Chill" Cubes

[samhighley]

Yeah, I thought this up before I realised that break in the fermenter is not such a bad thing.

 

[PostModern]

The break in the cube is just cold break. Just about every chilling method, particularly counter-flow, gets this stuff in their wort. It drops out, and the yeast actually need some for nutrients. RDWHAHB.

 

[Bribie G]

On their website Coopers state that their kits contain cold break and if you see it on reconstituting the tin (and I have a couple of times) don't worry.

 

[Sammus]

But I still want to know why its safe, when on the surface it looks like it shouldn't be.

<snip>

I have doubts - I'm, not convinced yet. More please.

+1 (again)... It's often easier to resolve something like this by counterexample... volunteers? :unsure:

 

[PostModern]

People will try this for themselves and discover that it actually works ... but not if they aren't convinced its safe to try. Which brings us back to the botulism thing. Boring but inescapable.

Why isn't it a problem?? Convince me

TB

Clostridium is killed by iodine and organic acids, so treat your thoroughly clean cubes with iodophor before use and the cubes are not a source, even of spores.

The wort is the same wort everyone brews. If the spores are in a no-chill wort, they're in a chilled wort. Someone (?Darren?) said that this is not a problem when yeast is pitched rapidly as the yeast compete with the clostridium before it can make toxins, then the alcohol destroys the bacteria and/or spores. Is this right?

If so, leaving an air bubble in the cube will prevent the anaerobic conditions that clostridium botulinum spores need to grow in the wort, same spores in the hot wort pack as directly in the fermenter via a chiller.

How does that stand up?

 

[Nicko_Cairns]

Hope it's okay to revive this very old thread? I no chill cube with a bung and ferment in the cube too, on bottling/kegging day I starsan a tap and the bung area and insert the tap (then rest the cube for 20 mins so everything settles). Anyone else do the same? Any issues I should be aware of? Seems to be working very well so far...

 

[mje1980]

No ones posted here since 2009 because they all died of botulism

 

[Nicko_Cairns]

No ones posted here since 2009 because they all died of botulism

haha gold!

 

[scon]

Hope it's okay to revive this very old thread? I no chill cube with a bung and ferment in the cube too, on bottling/kegging day I starsan a tap and the bung area and insert the tap (then rest the cube for 20 mins so everything settles). Anyone else do the same? Any issues I should be aware of? Seems to be working very well so far...

My concern is how are you providing oxygen for your yeasties?

 

[manticle]

Shake the cube or use an aeration system if you have one at your disposal. I've done this for years.

 

[Nicko_Cairns]

Shake the cube or use an aeration system if you have one at your disposal. I've done this for years.

Yep, like Manticle said, I shake it until I'm stuffed (2 minutes), then I sit down and shake it a bit more just by grabbing the cube handle and rocking moderately violently side to side until it beats me and I grab a beer. Works well.

I pitched a cider (juice only quick version) in my cube as aeration is so easy, I had probably 14L of cider in a 20L cube, so easy to shake and had that baby frothing, then in went the yeast, nice.