Too much wort for no chill cube?

[Wahwahwhammybar]

Hi

I'm using a new kettle tomorrow

What's should i do if i end up with more wort than i need to fill my cube.

Would hate to waste any, can excess be used as a sort of starter? I'm using dry yeast

Thanks

 

[S.E]

If you can chill the excess in your fermenter down to about 20c (in a bath or something of cold water) you can pitch the yeast in that straight away. Then within 16-20 hours pour the cube into the fermenter aerating well.

Edit: I should have asked how much excess wort you expect to have? If not enough for a starter you could pitch part of the yeast in it and the rest when you pour the cube.

 

[blotto]

Put it in coke bottles and freeze for yeast starters maybe.

 

[Fatgodzilla]

Own two cubes.

 

[Judanero]

Definitely can, I have used (thoroughly cleaned) 2 and 3L milk containers as mini no chill vessels to be used for starters.

It helps that my boys go through a 3L milk pretty much everyday so I have a ready supply, but I have on my wish list some 2.5L jerry can style ones as the milk ones can fail to seal occasionally.. like these:

https://peopleinplastic.com.au/product/jc2-5lnatsdg_-_2-5l_jerry_can_nat_sdg-no_cap/

they are $1.61 each when ordering 1-39 of them

 

[S.E]

Own two cubes.

Or better still, own a chiller. h34r:

 

[damoninja]

Put it in coke bottles and freeze for yeast starters maybe.

Just make sure you let it cool before doing this, PET breaks down at 70C and you don't want those kinds of esters in your beer

 

[Rocker1986]

I usually deliberately brew too much wort for the cube so I don't get any kettle trub in there. I probably only 'waste' a litre or so of clear wort, the rest is mixed up with trub anyway. I don't make yeast starters with hopped wort though, so it's of no use to me there.

If you have the fermenter available at the time of brewing then I'd just go with the tip the excess in there and pitch the yeast when it cools down then tip the cube in once it cools down.

 

[Bribie G]

Glass reagent bottles such as Schott bottles.
Last forever, great for storing and reculturing yeast as well and you can microwave them.

Check Craftbrewer site.

 

[S.E]

Or if you have a tight fitting lid on your fermenter forget the cube and just let the whole batch cool outside overnight in the fermenter. In Norwich this time of year you should be good to go in the morning.

Do you use a pressure barrel to serve? When I started brewing in the UK in the eighties I sometimes no chilled in one of the cheap basic 30L pressure barrels with the tap at the bottom.

When it was cool in the morning I would pitch the yeast in the barrel. Then once it had started fermenting in the evening or next morning double drop it into the fermenter leaving any trub in the barrel.

 

[fungrel]

Or better still, own a chiller. h34r:

I think most of my mistakes in the early stages of brewing came from trying too hard to conserve every bit of grain/wort/yeast that i could by finding ways to be more conservative.

 

[S.E]

I think most of my mistakes in the early stages of brewing came from trying too hard to conserve every bit of grain/wort/yeast that i could by finding ways to be more conservative.

I’m not sure what you are getting at? I don’t think and wasn’t suggesting chillers will conserve grain/wort/yeast.

 

[fungrel]

I’m not sure what you are getting at? I don’t think and wasn’t suggesting chillers will conserve grain/wort/yeast.

I didn't mean any offense.

I should've been more specific.

I meant that in trying to use the excess as a starter, you will need to maintain high levels of cleanliness/santitation in order to ensure that you aren't introducing anything untoward into your starter/fermentation... especially when you are letting the excess wort cool slowly.

This is what i was getting at when i said i made mistakes.. you really need to re-boil this saved wort if you don't cool it quickly enough. You are introducing huge numbers of bacteria into the potential starter.

Been there, done that. Beer ruined.

I now find from experience that it's easier to just use DME than to save wort. And if using dry yeast, i would keep the excess until you can use liquid and boil that up when required.

 

[S.E]

I didn't mean any offense.

I should've been more specific.

I meant that in trying to use the excess as a starter, you will need to maintain high levels of cleanliness/santitation in order to ensure that you aren't introducing anything untoward into your starter/fermentation... especially when you are letting the excess wort cool slowly.

This is what i was getting at when i said i made mistakes.. you really need to re-boil this saved wort if you don't cool it quickly enough. You are introducing huge numbers of bacteria into the potential starter.

Been there, done that. Beer ruined.

I now find from experience that it's easier to just use DME than to save wort. And if using dry yeast, i would keep the excess until you can use liquid and boil that up when required.

No offence taken, I was just confused by your chiller reply.

I Initially suggested making a starter for the cube by chilling the excess quickly to about 20c in a bath of cold water.

Then on reflection suggested just letting the whole batch cool overnight in a closed fermenter or pressure barrel if available. It will cool quickly in the UK and be fine.

 

[Rocker1986]

I no-chill yeast starters in their flasks all the time with no problems at all. Boil on the stove, fit the foil over the top, boil again for half a minute or so, then just let it sit there until the morning and pitch the yeast. Easy.

 

[Mr B]

I have a little 5L bunnings jerry, and make an extra 5L or so of wort each batch.

Fill the cubes, run the extra into a pot, dilute to 1.040, boil and into the jerry. Any trub and break settles as it cools.

Then just fill a starter flask as needed, foil and boil, pitch yeast into it when cool, then settle, decant and into the batch of nochilled wort.

When I write it out its actually a bit of stuffing around, but it doesnt really seem like it.

 

[Brewno Marz]

Expanding on Damoninja's point, if you use plastic bottles for storing the excess hot wort make sure you use HDPE (the whitish plastic milk bottles, which are stable at 100 deg wort temp) and not the clear PET softdrink bottles. Also, unless there is a specific reason you want to make a yeast starter, stick with the simplicity and reliability of dry yeast.

 

[BrosysBrews]

Have heard of people using pasata bottle to keep starter wort

 

[Tex083]

I use my starter flask to catch some extra wort, it's heat resistant glass and once cooled I add it to the fermenter with the cube to up the volume of beer produced. And I have 16L cube so an extra 3L makes 1 keg.

 

[Rocker1986]

What's so unreliable about liquid yeast? It's worked flawlessly for me, however I do make starters every batch (oversized), and harvest yeast from them.