manticle

Recipes 

5 Litres or less (sorry for metric) of boiling water + sodium percarbonate (which I believe is the same as oxyclean) lid on (make sure it is sealed) shake furiously, allow steam to release by backing the lid off a touch. Re-tighten, turn upside down (because I ferment in my cubes and have a krausen ring 3/4 the way up) and let sit till I need to use again.

Much less water than a chiller. If that doesn't work, some raw rice thrown in and shaken about with the above suggestion should scrub the inside for you.

hmunster

Recipes 

I have done several no chill batches and really like the option. For those who have not seen it, BYO's Mr Wizard gives his view:
"...My personal preference is to cool wort using a wort chiller either in the kettle with an immersion chiller or en route to the fermenter with a plate or shell-in-tube chiller. I suppose if I were brewing on a desert island and only had the no-chill method I would make do, but neither one of us is stranded on an island."
http://www.byo.com/stories/issue/article/issues/290-janfeb-2012/2512-debunking-bitterness-no-chill-brewing-mr-wizard

thughes

Recipes 

I saw that......more "advice" from an "expert" that has obviously never tried the technique.

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bullinachinashop

Recipes 

Seems like the article has concerns with DMS.
The Kolsch I just transfered come out great and there is no sign of DMS.
I brewed on Friday, pitched on Sunday and fermented cool.
It's funny how people will jump to conclusions without even trying something.

Bull

dubiouschewy

Recipes 

Putting together a presentation for my homebrew club on BIAB + no-chill brewing, so my mind has been on the subject again, and I've been doing some reading.

One interesting thing I've learned is that DMS is present at some level in all beers, in fact, it's a pretty key flavor component in many lagers and lighter brews. Obviously though, it can be overdone. For example, a lot of people fault Rolling Rock for high DMS levels.... then again, since they're a pretty large commercial brew operation, it's obviously there on purpose.

Most DMS is driven off in the boil, but a lesser amount is indeed created as long as the wort is above 160f or so. Here's a link with lots more info-- the chart is especially interesting, but it's not clear how scientific it is. At any rate, it's illustrative and certainly is borne out in my own experience.

Bottom line, as most on this thread will attest, it's just not likely to be a problem, and certainly the tradeoff of equipment, wastewater, and PITA makes it a clear choice for me. And, in the case that DMS is over the top, it can be scrubbed out by C02 in the keg-- just attach the gas to the liquid tube and let it run for a bit.

thughes

Recipes 

Nice post. You seem to grasp the difference between what has been written and passed around as "fact" and what happens in reality. I have been practising no-chill for almost a year now, with cube times ranging from hours to weeks, and have not experienced any issues with DMS. Of course, YMMV.

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ghpeel

Recipes 

Its funny how the "experts" who discredit No Chill brewing because of DMS concerns have never actually tried it properly. They either dismiss it out of hand (like Mr. Wizard), or they perhaps tried a less-than-ideal variant on it (like just pouring hot wort in an ale pale and waiting 3 days to pitch).

What really bugs me about the Mr. Wizard thing is that his answer reads like he's done No chill before and found DMS in his beer, which is not the case. He's using his brewing dogma (which is mostly correct) to write-off a practice that conflicts with that dogma.

I can't stand it when "experts" (in any field) hear about a new technique or process, and immediately discredit it because it doesn't fit their mold. In the case of No Chill, all Mr. Wizard had to do would be to Google it for 10 minutes to see the HUNDREDS of posts from brewers saying "I do No Chill and have ZERO DMS issues." That alone should have given any expert with an open mind a chance to pause and perhaps research further or (heaven forbid) actually try a batch and see.

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Kegged: Golden Pub Ale, Ed's Wit, Scottish ESB, Haggis Broth Braggot
Lagering: n/a
Primary: Bro'hemian Pils
Resting: n/a
No-Chill Tank: n/a
Bottled: Lowland Oatmeal Porter, Adieu Travail!

H-ost

Recipes 

All awesome points. Not to nit pick but I don't like hearing people say that No-chill is in anyway a new idea. Aside from it being the norm in australia for many years, how do you think historically beer has been chilled? I see chillers as the innovation and in no way a bad thing but it's funny how in 100 years(?) people can forget how it has been done for thousands.

I love no-chill, I just wish I learned about before I started brewing instead of wasting time and money on building chillers.

Rivenin

Recipes 

i've just been using my brew kettle as the chiller, has been working wonderfully so far, i've skipped the cubes.
Brew in the AM, for the flame out, i just soak a shirt or towell in starsan, throw the lid ontop and put the towell/shirt over the top and let it cool till night time, then bam! pitch and all is well.

__________________
Bruised knee brewing, CO. - For the crazy non-normal brews.
12 Bridges Brewery - For the normal, every day ales.
Est 2010 - Clackamas, Oregon
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dubiouschewy

Recipes 

On the subject of DMS, I WILL say I just brewed a 95% pilsner/5% toasted oats blonde ale (OG 1.048 FG 1.011) just to see what the DMS levels were like.

Not gonna lie, there's substantial DMS in this beer... I'd call it out of style for a blonde, but not really sure if it'd be out of style for a German or American lager. However, this weekend it won second place light hybrid in a local comp (just 7 days after brewing). I haven't gotten the scoresheets back yet to see if DMS is mentioned.

My next step in investigating no-chill DMS will be to buy a couple commercial examples of DMS-appropriate styles and do a side by side tasting. I will also be bubbling CO2 through a growler of the blonde, which I've read can effectively scrub DMS out of finished beer. If it works, that would be a super-easy fix for the few light, mostly pilsner styles where DMS is likely to be an issue, at least in competition.

I've brewed abou 10 no-chill batches so far, and this is the first DMS heavy brew... and I was doing it on purpose. There are lots of other variables at play, especially malt type and target style. What's more, DMS discussions in the brewing lit are often directed at an audience of high-adjunct, light lager brewers- styles that homebrewers, if I may generalize, don't gravitate towards. Not that I don't love I nice, crisp pilsner.

My take is still that if you are looking to simplify your brew day or avoid incorporating new equipment and processes, No Chill a great option with few downsides. No brew rig is perfectly suited for all styles and brewing techniques-- for example, temperature controlled HERMS/RIMS set-ups with ported kettles can make things like decoction mashes and effective whirlpooling a real challenge.

No Chill as I practice it (combined with stovetop BIAB for maximum minimalism and simplicity) makes decoctions and whirlpooling a breeze! Everything is a trade-off, and I'm surprised at the skeptical tone that still greets practical approaches like this one. I'd bet money that if your average mid-size craft breweries could drop their 30 barrel batches to pitching temps in 24 hours without the energy, effort, water, and equipment required for rapid forced chilling, followed by the high pitching rates that are easy for homebrewers to achieve, we'd see a lot more of them doing it.