Exploring "no chill" brewing

[ghpeel]

I have never let my No-Chill batches sit more than 48 hours before pitching yeast, again it just isn't within my comfort zone.

I left a brown ale in the No Chill cube for almost a month before pitching. The beer did not survive 2 parties once I tapped the keg. Delicious.

If your process is correct, and the No Chill cube is sealed airtight, then there's no difference in 2 days or 6 months, in my opinion. The Aussie's who started this whole trend did it because they were buying bulk wort, pre-sealed in jugs, which sat on store shelves for weeks/months before purchase.

Also, I urge you guys NOT to do the chill, then add to the tank. You would have to be 100% sure the tank was sterilized, and I mean that in the more technical sense of the word (not just sanitized).

We can get away with sanitizing our carboys as opposed to sterilizing them, because when we pitch yeast in wort, the yeast takes over the wort quicker than any remaining bugs that aren't nuked by the sanitizer. If you put non-pitched, cool wort in a No Chill tank, then any little bug that survived the sanitizing will be free to chomp away at that wort, without having to compete with the yeast. Anything more than a day or two, and you'll probably have contaminated wort to the point where you can smell the infection. Great for a sour ... not so much for an IPA...

(And on a side note, I don't sanitize my No Chill tank, I just rinse it out well before and after its usage, and occasionally I'll hit it with some PBW. Wet pasteurization from my wort is by FAAARRR a better sanitizer than StarSan can ever hope to be :rockin

 

[Dwain]

I don't know why you couldn't put cooled wort in a sanitized container for pitching later?

I started doing the "no chill" thing a good while back. I asked some questions early in the thread and thought, "What the hell". I started out doing a partial chill out of fear of collapsing my Sanke fermenter. After dealing with that PITA for a few batches, I boiled 10 gallons of water, put it in a Sanke, corked it and let it sit. No damage, but a biotch to get the cork out. Now, I drain my brewpot to a Sanke (which I do sanitize becuase you have to really spin some hot wort to get all of the surface area.) and put a carboy cover on it, seal it with tape. I let it sit for a few days to get to ambient and then put it in the fermentataion chamber to pull it down to about 75F, pull it out, pitch it, set my controller for 60F and leave it a month or so. I would not let the "chilled" wort set for over a couple of days due to contamination concerns as mentioned by the above poster. So far (20 batches?), for me, this no-chill method is the greatest thing since Star San.

 

[wyzazz]

I boiled 10 gallons of water, put it in a Sanke, corked it and let it sit. No damage, but a biotch to get the cork out.

Good to know, I was worried about that (I use sanke's as well) so I always just used a sterile air filter on my carboy caps.

 

[Dwain]

Never thought of a sterile air filter. I call it a carboy cover, it doesn't have a hole in it, but it fits inside the Sanke and has a lip around it so it can't (less likely to) be pulled inside.
BTW if you put boiling wort into a Sanke, don't put bare flesh anywhere around it. That stainless is not nearly as forgiving as plastic!

 

[cl330b]

If this has already been mentioned I appoligize. I am at work and cannot read all of the details in every post but...

Is anyone putting the hot wort right from the kettle into their glass Carboy? Or are you gentlemen letting the wort cool in the kettle and then transferring? Thanks for the info.

 

[cl330b]

... Of course cleaning and sanitizing first...

 

[ghpeel]

No do NOT put hot wort into the glass carboy. You have the possibility of thermal shock shattering the carboy. Also, if you cap it (as is the practice for No Chilling) then you run the risk of the carboy imploding once the vaccum inside builds as the wort cools and contracts.

No chilling is usually done in a separate container, see the begining of this thread for some links to a few choices. These containers are food safe at boiling liquid temps, and can seal air tight with their cap. Also, some folks use kegs (Sanke and corni) allthough a few report the keg failing under the vacuum. Finally, some folks simply cover their boiling pots with a lid and a few towels over that, but I don't recommend that approach.

 

[cl330b]

Great info, thanks for the help.

 

[bmeyer46]

i know one thing.... no chill in plastic bucket = ick.
don't try this one folks...take my word for it....NOT good.

I'll describe the flavors I got
corn silk/cidery
I'm guessing DMS.

one thing that is completely weird though, is that about 1 in every 4 bottles is good?
go figure...
I sample each one I open, and if it's ok I drink it...if not...well...down the drain.
I'm just glad it was a cheap cream ale kit that I ruined.
Live and learn...won't do THAT one again! LOL

 

[LVBen]

i know one thing.... no chill in plastic bucket = ick.
don't try this one folks...take my word for it....NOT good.

Bah! Some of my best beers were no chilled in a bucket!

 

[johnodon]

i know one thing.... no chill in plastic bucket = ick.

By plastic bucket you mean a NON #2 HDPE container?

John

 

[bmeyer46]

no, it was HDPE...not sure what the hell happened...
would you say the taste I mentioned sounds like DMS?

 

[LVBen]

no, it was HDPE...not sure what the hell happened...
would you say the taste I mentioned sounds like DMS?

Off-flavors are tricky to pinpoint, especially over the internet.
Usually off-flavors are from not doing one of these:

1. Pitch the proper amount of healthy yeast
2. Aerate your wort
3. Keep your fermenting wort at proper temperatures.
4. Sanitize all equipment that contacts your wort/beer.
5. Condition your beer for at least 3 weeks. Even longer for higher gravity beers.

 

[manticle]

in all honesty, I don't know why you couldn't put cooled wort in a sanitized container for pitching later?
especially if you could store the cube in a cool location, then bring it out later and let it warm till its time to pitch.

Why wouldn't you pitch if you chill it though?

The advantage of no-chill is so you can hold off on pitching - whether to shorten the brew day, because you don't have the right yeast, the starter didn't fire, you want to brew but keep fermenting for later (much later - proper no chilled worts will keep for months).

If you go to the effort of chilling, why not just add yeast then and there? If you store it, you miss the advantage of chilling AND the advantage of no chilling.

Do you guys get Fresh wort kits in the states or is that mainly an aussie thing?

 

[wyzazz]

Do you guys get Fresh wort kits in the states or is that mainly an aussie thing?

The only "Fresh Wort Kits" that I've seen around are those Festa Brew things. It's a 2L or so PET bottle filled with wort and you pitch your yeast and let it go. Not too popular in my area in any event.

 

[brrit]

Bought my Aqua Tainer this week and am cooling my first No-Chill batch right now. Love the simplicity of it all. But the process brought up a question... After pouring the wort into the cube, I closed up the cube and it swelled like crazy. I vented it out of fear that the cube was going to burst or leak. Is this a real concern or am I just paranoid?

 

[wyzazz]

It will swell as it heats up the plastic, then shrink as everything cools down. You should open the vent right after dropping your wort in there, squeeze out as much of the excess air as you can, then seal her up. It's not going to explode, I used the exact containers without any issues for quite a few batches.

 

[manticle]

The only "Fresh Wort Kits" that I've seen around are those Festa Brew things. It's a 2L or so PET bottle filled with wort and you pitch your yeast and let it go. Not too popular in my area in any event.

Over here you can buy 17-20 litres of no-chilled wort to pitch yeast at at leisure. Commercially available, usually made somewhere by a microbrewery and an easy option for kit/extract brewers to get a sense of decent AG brewing without the time, effort and headspace.

 

[bmeyer46]

so you all are using the aquatainers from walmart?

 

[Bradinator]

I chill right in my brew kettle. I just take it off the stove, put the lid on it and lock it in place with a couple alligator clips. Around 24 hours later its cooled sufficiently so I transfer to a sanitized bucket and pitch my yeast.

 

[thughes]

so you all are using the aquatainers from walmart?

I am.

I use irish moss and then drain everything from the brew kettle into the aquatainer. I then let the cube cool on its side (with the drain spigot in the proper position for draining without moving the cube). The spigot is high enough that it leaves @ 3/4 gallon in the cube when drained, this "left over" amount consists of all the settled/coagulated break/hops/etc. I get nothing but perfectly clear wort into the primary, although I do tip the cube just a little to get a bit of that junk into the FV so the yeast have something to snack on. :rockin:

 

[wyzazz]

so you all are using the aquatainers from walmart?

In the past (before upgrading to sanke kegs for fermenters) I used them without any issues. I drained my 6 gallons of finished hot wort in to the Aquatainer, then I would squeeze all the air I could out and seal it. When it was cooled down to pitching temps I would open her up, aerate with my Mix-Stir and pitch my yeast or starter.

 

[bmeyer46]

no problems with it getting flimsy. I've cooled in my brew kettles before also...let it sit outside overnight when it was like 40 degrees. That worked fine, but wasn't sure what type of plastic the aquatainers were made of.

 

[wyzazz]

no problems with it getting flimsy. I've cooled in my brew kettles before also...let it sit outside overnight when it was like 40 degrees. That worked fine, but wasn't sure what type of plastic the aquatainers were made of.

Nope, they are pretty thick. They get a little soft but anything plastic does at those temps. HDPE, just like the buckets you use.

 

[Exbeerienced]

In the past (before upgrading to sanke kegs for fermenters) I used them without any issues. I drained my 6 gallons of finished hot wort in to the Aquatainer, then I would squeeze all the air I could out and seal it. When it was cooled down to pitching temps I would open her up, aerate with my Mix-Stir and pitch my yeast or starter.

Does your Sanke fermenter have a hole cut into the top of it? If so, how do you seal it for fermentation?

 

[wyzazz]

Does your Sanke fermenter have a hole cut into the top of it? If so, how do you seal it for fermentation?

No hole, just removed the spear. I cover mine with an orange carboy cap.

 

[DannyD]

So if I place my kettle in the bathtub with cold water and it takes +/- 2 hour to cool, is it still considered "no chill", but more importantly would you keep with the no chill hop schedule?

 

[Yambor44]

Why wouldn't you pitch if you chill it though?

The advantage of no-chill is so you can hold off on pitching - whether to shorten the brew day, because you don't have the right yeast, the starter didn't fire, you want to brew but keep fermenting for later (much later - proper no chilled worts will keep for months).

If you go to the effort of chilling, why not just add yeast then and there? If you store it, you miss the advantage of chilling AND the advantage of no chilling.

Do you guys get Fresh wort kits in the states or is that mainly an aussie thing?

The one thing I could think of would be to wait on your starter. A lot of times I brew at the last minute. If I have no dry yeast then I would want to make a starter. I could make a starter while brewing then pitch 24-48 hours later after the wort cools down.

 

[bigljd]

The one thing I could think of would be to wait on your starter. A lot of times I brew at the last minute. If I have no dry yeast then I would want to make a starter. I could make a starter while brewing then pitch 24-48 hours later after the wort cools down.

I think you're missing the point of no chill brewing. If you are not going to pitch yeast for 24-48 hours later, you do not have to chill your wort, it will have cooled to pitching temps in 24 hours.
You also do not need to make a starter while brewing. Just drain 1000 ml of hot wort from your boil kettle into an erlenmeyer flask at the end of the boil. Chill it and use it for your starter (it's called a real wort starter). Then drain the rest of the hot wort into your no-chill container following the process discussed in this thread. Then 24 hours later when your wort has cooled to pitching temp, pour it into a fermenting bucket, aerate and pitch your whole yeast starter.
You don't have to waste water to chill, and you don't have to buy DME to make starters because you are using actual wort from your brew.

 

[Yambor44]

I think you're missing the point of no chill brewing. If you are not going to pitch yeast for 24-48 hours later, you do not have to chill your wort, it will have cooled to pitching temps in 24 hours.
You also do not need to make a starter while brewing. Just drain 1000 ml of hot wort from your boil kettle into an erlenmeyer flask at the end of the boil. Chill it and use it for your starter (it's called a real wort starter). Then drain the rest of the hot wort into your no-chill container following the process discussed in this thread. Then 24 hours later when your wort has cooled to pitching temp, pour it into a fermenting bucket, aerate and pitch your whole yeast starter.
You don't have to waste water to chill, and you don't have to buy DME to make starters because you are using actual wort from your brew.

I understand the process, but very valid points. Seems pretty easy. Thanks for the clarification.