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I have a question for you guys doing the no-chill method. Would something like this work at all?

EDIT: CF is a chest freezer in case you are wondering, lol.
No_chill_method.jpg


I use a different fermentation technique, but would this no-chill-then-chill method work at all? I just had the idea after all the talk about no-chill and wondered. Pol, can you chime in on this?

I am a simpleton, what is the no chill and then chill method? I dont understand the flow chart at all.
 
Chest freezer(CF) full of glycol and chilled. Then, removed from the CF and stored for later use. Put keg/fermenter in CF and fill with hot wort and seal. Let cool like you guys do in No-Chill(NC). After cool, reintroduce "already cold" glycol into CF with fermenter to get to below yeast pitching temperatures faster and set CF to wanted temperature (this is the then-chill part of it and the glycol would just be a jump start on getting it cold). Now, (this could take several days) wait until starter is ready and pitch, and raise the CF set-able temperature to wanted fermentation temperature.

The glycol moving back and forth is confusing, but is completely secondary to the main question of the no-chill in a keg method I am wanting to try.
 
This is very confusing. Are you asking about moving the hot wort to a keg-fermenter until you are ready to pitch and then using other means to cool it when you are ready to pitch; if it hasn't already reached pitching temp?
 
This is very confusing. Are you asking about moving the hot wort to a keg-fermenter until you are ready to pitch and then using other means to cool it when you are ready to pitch; if it hasn't already reached pitching temp?

Exactly, and then the glycol is just a "stored cold" chilling liquid when I need it later on.
 
I thought the purpose of no chill was.....Place hot wort in sealed container. Leave for the night or a week etc.... come back make starter.....pitch yeast. To me that is SO much of a time saver.
 
I thought the purpose of no chill was.....Place hot wort in sealed container. Leave for the night or a week etc.... come back make starter.....pitch yeast. To me that is SO much of a time saver.
It is, the only thing I am doing different from that is using cold stored glycol to chill to just below pitching temperature right before pitching. I don't want to pitch at room temperature. I want my lagers pitched at 45 and allowed to raise to 50F during the ferment.
 
Aeration is my only concern, but with all the new stuff on olive oil starters and stuff I am not as concerned anymore. Still, I have an aeration wand and could always do this prior to pitching.
 
#1. I no chill... but I admit, I dont pitch at room temp. I let my wort cool for about 12-18 hours, then it is cool enough to easily let my CF do the rest. Say from 74F down to 66F to pitch.

#2. Aeration for me is just the same as an IC beer... I just shake the crap out of the Winpak before I crack it open, then pitch.
 
Good news Pol! I'm really positive about trying this and wanted to know more than what I had read. I confused everyone with talking about glycol and chilling and stuff, but the basic info I have got now. This technique has lots of merit I believe, but I do have to see so myself before I make up my ultimate feelings on it. Thanks again guys.
 
As I've understood, aeration is not necessary when doing no chill, as oxygen will diffuse through the wall of a plastic vessel at a much higher rate due to the temperature of the wort and vessel.
I think that the wort will become more oxygenated (even satisfied) when doing no chill than when chilling and aerating. For the last 5 brews I haven't aerated, without any problems. I've achieved the expected attenuation, no unexpected ester formation and over all great beer.
This obviously only applies to doing no chill in a plastic vessel, not in a pyrex carboy or a stainless steel vessel :drunk:
 
I've been using no chill for awhile, and I just let the wort covered in the boil kettle for ~24 hours.
I just did that. I brewed up a batch, cooled it in an ice bath for a bit to get it down to just under 100* and put the BK in the fridge overnight. The next day I took it out and poured it into my bucket, shook it some more and pitched yeast. It was in the low 60* range and I put the bucket in my swamp cooler next to my other bucket. Both are doing fine.
 
This thread topic is closest to the question I have:

Last night I made a starter in a 1L Erlenmeyer flask. I had an aeration stone/tube and thermometer inserted into the flask, so it was only partially covered by the face of the thermometer. I placed it on the step in my pool to cool and took the vial of WLP-001 from the fridge. I did not pitch until the next morning. Both the yeast and wort smelled OK, although the yeast overflowed when I opened it. I pitched it quickly in a knee jerk reaction. Then, I wondered if I should have brought the wort up to temp and cooled again in case anything airborne contacted the wort.

Current plan is to let it continue and keep my nose open for any off odors. LHBS is only a few miles away if I need to spend more money.

Will an infection be obvious looking/smelling?

Is it likely OK or am I being a worry wort? :D
 
Will an infection be obvious looking/smelling?

Is it likely OK or am I being a worry wort? :D

I would guess that it will likely be OK, but leaving an partially flask outside overnight???

RDWHAHB

Next time best to cover with a piece of foil.

In days of old, and even at a few new microbreweries, coldships are used for wort chilling whereby the wort is put into a large flat rectangular open tank and the windows are left open overnight for cooling....go figure
 
Thanks.

I usually cover with star-san on foil and was using good sanitization practices...got distracted, getting :confused: had a few more :mug: and woke up :smack: !!!

I'm thinking if I can't smell or taste anything 'off' in the starter it'll be more DIPA and less lambic in the end product, right?
 
I'm thinking if I can't smell or taste anything 'off' in the starter it'll be more DIPA and less lambic in the end product, right?


Yes, while I agree that is a fair quick analysis....there is always the possibility of trace infection that hasn't had the opportunity to flourish, that will become apparent weeks or even months from now.

Perhaps not even this batch but a few generations later if repitching the yeast.

Be forewarned, recently fermented beer can taste very different than the finished product.


Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/
 

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