No Chill Cube

Hi! I'm finally going to be doing my first AG a week on Sat. I'm hoping to use my brothers big gas stove but hoped to ferment at my house as he's going away and i'd like to keep an eye on it. I've thought about using the no chill method and after cooling slightly, putting it in the boot and taking it home before pitching the yeast the next day.

My question about it is, I've read that cold break (or something) settles at the bottom of the cube. Would it be better to gently syphon the beer out of the cube to the fv to avoid disturbing this and find another way of aerating, or is it best to pour from a height to aid aeration?

On a seperate note, the mother in law breeds and hand rears parrots and other birds. Is the spent grain any good for bird feed or anything? She might chip in next time if it is :)

(if anyone happens to be looking to buy a parrot, she currently has african greys, maccaws, quaker parakeets, alexandrians and a few others)

Thanks for any help!
Mark

Some people syphon it gently to leave the cold break, I just pour it all in the FV splashing as much as possible to aerate it nicely.

The cold break then settles in my FV, i crash cool before bottling and transfer to my bottling bucket. I get pretty clear beer with a little chill haze if it's too cold.

hi

I've never syphoned just poured straight into the fv.

I usually areate by using a paint mixer attached to a drill for 5 mins.

On a seperate note, the mother in law breeds and hand rears parrots and other birds. Is the spent grain any good for bird feed or anything? She might chirp in next time if it is

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missed the pun

chirp - love it!
I give my spend grain to my neighbor for her chickens, they seem to thrive on it and I get a few eggs for my trouble winners all round.

Yes it would be great for her birds.

For my first couple of AG brews I syphoned out of the cube but there was virtually no trub left behind so I just pour it out now. Much easier and saves sterilising the syphon.

My question about it is, I've read that cold break (or something) settles at the bottom of the cube. Would it be better to gently syphon the beer out of the cube to the fv to avoid disturbing this and find another way of aerating, or is it best to pour from a height to aid aeration?

Click to expand...

The no chill method is very popular in Australia and in general they ferment on the break material with no reported issues.
It would appear from what I've read that fermenting 'on the break' isn't really an issue for beers that are consumed relatively quickly, say less than 6 moths, but personally I wouldn't try that method with BIG beers that require extended maturation times as it may have stability implications in the long run.
I've fermented on and off the break material on 'quick' beers and can't say I noticed any difference between the 2 tbh, but I would be wary of leaving the beer for too long on the yeast/break as it may impart off taste. Which would do it 1st, the autolysis of the yeast or the break material I don't know, but if you follow normal routines ie, 7-10 days in the fv I can't see it affecting the beer.

How longs a moth ?

Agree with Vossy I don't think it matters for the time my beers last at the moment

How longs a moth ?

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:lol: it's a Manchester term which relates to the length of time it takes a moth to pupate which is roughly 28-31 days :whistle: ...not buying it...I'm not surprised :lol:

piddledribble said:

How longs a moth ?

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Depends on the species, but about 12 mm. :grin:

Vossy1 said:

My question about it is, I've read that cold break (or something) settles at the bottom of the cube. Would it be better to gently syphon the beer out of the cube to the fv to avoid disturbing this and find another way of aerating, or is it best to pour from a height to aid aeration?

Click to expand...

The no chill method is very popular in Australia and in general they ferment on the break material with no reported issues.
It would appear from what I've read that fermenting 'on the break' isn't really an issue for beers that are consumed relatively quickly, say less than 6 moths, but personally I wouldn't try that method with BIG beers that require extended maturation times as it may have stability implications in the long run.
I've fermented on and off the break material on 'quick' beers and can't say I noticed any difference between the 2 tbh, but I would be wary of leaving the beer for too long on the yeast/break as it may impart off taste. Which would do it 1st, the autolysis of the yeast or the break material I don't know, but if you follow normal routines ie, 7-10 days in the fv I can't see it affecting the beer.

Click to expand...

Thanks Vossy... Would using a secondary ferment be advisable do you think?

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/gelert-jerr ... er-p126111

Does any one know if this would be suitable?

looks ok to me and the lid is better Quality than the thiner more brittle ones with the tamper proof seal for resale on the cans i use

rpt said:

For my first couple of AG brews I syphoned out of the cube but there was virtually no trub left behind so I just pour it out now. Much easier and saves sterilising the syphon.

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mines the same,
does this mean there is no cold break material.... :wha:

i get some hotbreak material in the boiler

Ive had sediment drop in a cube when stored stood on a cold tiled floor prior to pitching, and i assumed that was cold break?

Im under the impression but cant qualify it, so cld be wrong that its the temperature dropped to And its speed dropping that has an effect on the cold break, and as a rule its chilled quickly and pitched asap to avoid contamination, something the nochill hopes to negate by the hot wort filling of the cube and pasturising it. so if im not barking up the wrong tree you can still get a cold break as long as your cube drops to a low enough temp.

marksa222 said:

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/gelert-jerry-can-25-litre-caravanning-water-container-p126111

Does any one know if this would be suitable?

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Doesn't say what type of plastic so difficult to say. Needs to be HDPE. You can get them on eBay for less, inc delivery.

Thanks, I have emailed go outdoors and they have confirmed it is HDPE so that's a goer.

I will have my first AG brewday tomorrow all being well. I'm picking up the no chill cube in the morning and then going to the lhbs round the corner. I haven't decided what i'm making yet, so I'm taking my recipe book with me and seeing what he has. I'm thinking probably a hoppy IPA (APA probably).

I will need some tubing to transfer the boiling wort. I have a spout(??) on the end of the ball valve on my boiler to attach the tube to, but I have no idea where I can find this. As it's tomorrow, I'm unable to buy some off Vossy, but does anyone know where I can buy some in store? I think it's around 1/2" that I need.

Also, I'm not convinced the thermometre is accurate on my boiler, so I was looking at a digital one. Would a meat one do the job?

Thanks very much in advance for any pointer.
Mark