what's the longest you've kept a no chill brew before pitching

[Hefty]

I did a quick search but couldn't find much info. I thought I would find something so I might have just searched like a noob.

So, to all the no chillers out there like me:
What's longest you've kept a no chill cube before pitching?
and
was final beer good? or infected? or in any way off flavoured?

I've got an APA ready to keg. It's finished at 1.007 from 1.043 (from memory) but there's an unusual (kinda "meaty") flavour in there that I think might be my first bret infection.
I'm pretty confident in my sanitising routine and haven't made any significant changes to it but I did have this brew cubed for a good 3 or 4 months.
I realise there are all sorts of ways an infection could get in but it just got me thinking about whether or not this could be a factor.

So, how long?

Cheers!
Jono.

 

[barls]

5 years, it was fine
i believe i think bribie has me though in time with an older one

meaty is normally a flavour associated with autolysis

 

[petesbrew]

A day.
I left one for a week, and it was swelling at the sides.
Maybe leaving it near the mower in the warmer months had something to do with it.

 

[verysupple]

meaty is normally a flavour associated with autolysis

+1

Yeah, it sounds more like you have autolysis than oxidation or any other staling.

 

[manticle]

Rarely leave mine for longer than 2 days but I tasted one that a fellow brewer had sitting around for a couple of years and it was delicious. Won a 1st prize at Yarra Valley Belgian Beerfest earlier this year.

If the process is right, then the wort should be. Make sure there are no leaks.

Meaty is likely yeast related (fatty acid breakdown from memory)

 

[Charst]

im fermenting a couple saisons i brewed in early jan, wort at pitching tasted fresh.

 

[Yob]

6-8 months, no signs of anything wrong with them at all, as mentioned, leaks are the cube killer, I had a leaky tap on the only one i've lost… if I had fermented it as soon as I had seen the leak I may well have saved it.

I no longer use taps on my cubes.

 

[lukiferj]

I have had a couple in cubes for over 3 months. Nothing wrong with them after fermentation. I have 4 cubes full most of the time and depending on the weather, will only ferment what I feel like drinking. Would have no issues leaving it longer except that someone keeps drinking all my beer h34r:

 

[beerdrinkingbob]

about eight months, tasted great still. I use two cubes on a brew day, first one i twist the ball valve so the dip tube faces up and gets no break, this is the one i leave for the long term storage. I have used one with some break in it and thought the beer had lost the smallest edge,

 

[mxd]

2 years.

 

[GalBrew]

6 months, no problems.

 

[QldKev]

I store some many months, never really tasted much difference against a fresh one.

 

[Bribie G]

18 months exactly, so Barls beats me there. It's a RIS and I fermented it out recently, currently just stored in a lightly primed keg for maturation. It was my first RIS so hard to tell what it's going to be like, I'll let you know in July when I draw some bottles off for comps.

 

[felten]

5 weeks is the longest one I can remember

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

Wow these times amaze me, I would not do it, I panic if by necessity I pitch after 12 hours.
Nev

 

[GalBrew]

If packaged properly, what's the difference between a no-chill beer and a commercial FWK?

 

[Bribie G]

I rarely keep mine for more than a couple of days max. I brewed 3 cubes before moving down here so I could get the brewery packed up and then reestablished straight away. They actually ended up being cubed for 6 weeks and 2 of them swelled and got dumped. Interesting that they swelled after so many weeks, must have been just one little bug in there, then two, then four, then eight then........

 

[Bribie G]

GalBrew I reckon the main difference is that the FWKs are "one trip" containers whereas we no chillers use them over and over again, which can introduce risks.

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

I think you need to compare these success's with the failures to bring this thread into perspective,
or you risk sending the wrong message to newer brewers. The quicker you pitch the better !
Nev

 

[spryzie]

24 hours.

 

[GalBrew]

I think you need to compare these success's with the failures to bring this thread into perspective,
or you risk sending the wrong message to newer brewers. The quicker you pitch the better !
Nev

Absolutely agreed, I usually pitch the following day. I am not recommending hanging onto cubes for months and months, just that it can be done under the right circumstances (and mine were in brand new cubes FWIW).

 

[Bribie G]

The trick is to only have one cube, then you will generally have to pitch ASAP anyway or risk running out.

 

[GalBrew]

The trick is to only have one cube, then you will generally have to pitch ASAP anyway or risk running out.

I only have two.....

 

[Smokomark]

Longest is about 9 months.

Most sit for 1 - 2 months before pitching.

 

[fletcher]

is there a preference for temperatures? aka, i leave my cube sitting in my regular fridge. does it really matter so long as it's not scorching hot?

 

[mxd]

is there a preference for temperatures? aka, i leave my cube sitting in my regular fridge. does it really matter so long as it's not scorching hot?

keep them out of light, and it's probably best if it's a cool (stable) dark area.

Mine (I have 14) sit in my garage, on average the oldest (I do 3 per batch) one will be 6 months.

I've had 4 swollen cubes, over the last 6-8 months, none for the previous 3 years, so I've just replaced all my old cubes with new ones.

 

[barls]

18 months exactly, so Barls beats me there. It's a RIS and I fermented it out recently, currently just stored in a lightly primed keg for maturation. It was my first RIS so hard to tell what it's going to be like, I'll let you know in July when I draw some bottles off for comps.

really thought you had me just let me go and check the age of the oldest one i have atm.

right the oldest i can see is august 2010. might pitch it soon. im sure someone still has one of the cubes from the wedding brewday.

 

[treefiddy]

Does this count?

 

[Hefty]

I think you need to compare these success's with the failures to bring this thread into perspective,
or you risk sending the wrong message to newer brewers. The quicker you pitch the better !
Nev

I agree! Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating long storage of no-chill cubes. It's more of a "full time work and 3 kids, no time to scratch myself" sort of thing. Upon further sampling I actually don't think it's infected. The first sample was for an FG reading and even then it was only a slight unusual taste. I carbed some up in a PET bottle and chilled it and I actually think it's just a bit out of balance to the bitter side and I also remembered that my fridge wasn't plugged into my fridgemate for the first few days so it's thrown some esters and other yeast characteristics that I wouldn't normally get with this style.
Anyway, it has prompted some good responses here. Anyone else?

Or maybe I should ask, what's the shortest storage of a no-chill cube you've had that still had an infection. (minimum of overnight I guess otherwise it wouldn't really be no-chill)

Cheers!
Jono.