Transferring From Cube To Fermenter

[Bribie G]

My cube transfer method is:

Place cube on wooden chair and the fermenter a short distance away so that the first tip of the cube will go precisely into fermenter. That's a distance I've sussed out and can do it by 'feel' now after 31 brews. Remove cube lid and grasp the top handle with right hand. Tip till cube is almost flat on chair then, continuing the pour, grab bottom of cube with left hand under it, raise it up and glug glug glug.
Inside the Willow cubes there's just a blank like a blunt 'nose' sticking into the void so no probs with sanitisation. However with the fermenter itself I once had a couple of leaking fermenter taps and araldited them into place and thought 'she'll be right'. I survived for a few months but eventually it caught up with me and 2 new fermenters and two lost brews later I realised that it had been an expensive exercise, so now religiously clean - with cotton buds as well, it's amazing how much crap hides there.

 

[PostModern]

Quick flip into the top of the fermenter for me. Glugging aids aeration.

 

[Scruffy]

I use a 20 litre cube and open the lid and upend the thing directly over the top of the fermenter. Very little mess this way, great aeration, but it does transfer any cold break along with it.

I have been thinking of using a siphon to transfer to leave behind the cold break, but I haven't noticed any real problem yet from introducing cold break in the fermenter. If I was to siphon, I would crash chill the cube after it has cooled prior to siphoning, to help condense the layer of break material down.

Crundle

Whilst it looks fairly alarming initially, the flocculating yeast just squashes any break material...

 

[Pollux]

I got wort all over the place the other night, ended up using the upend technique and let it chug away...made me think though, some jerry cans come with a nozzle that screws on (same thread as cubes), but has a breather tube alongside the pouring spout...stops petrol chugging so its gotta work on a cube...

That's what I was trying to describe, I found I still got guggling hence why I remove the bung now and just let the bugger flow free.

I've got to remove it for cleaning anyway.

 

[flattop]

I had a really bad experience last brew where i knocked the tap completely out of my Jerry. Mine is the type with 2 screw tops and one bung.
Anyhow the wort was hot, i was moving the cube for some reason and i snagged the tap on something and shot high pressure hot wort all over the kitchen.
Lost about a liter. Now i will not use taps on the jerry, too dangerous.
However i have considered lying the Jerry on it's spine and fitting a tap when the wort is cold.

Due to my last experience i pitched the whole cube through the neck last time but i got a heap of cold break material in the fermentor.
To add to this i forgot to gelatin so i have one very cloudy brew after a week in the bottle.

 

[Mantis]

I just pick it up and tip it in with the opening on the side not the bottom of the tip. Minimal spillage with practice.
Break material goes in as well as the beer goes straight from fermenter into bottles and kegs after 10-14 days.

 

[felten]

I noticed at rays outdoors they were selling snap taps next to the normal white taps in their cube/jerry section, but I didn't bother picking one up. I'm regretting it now since my white tap also leaks from the spout :|