No Chill Brewing

Right guys, so today, all of my AG kit will be here. Grains, Boiler, the works.

I don't have a wort chiller.

Can I use the no chill method?
Would it be speeded up by using my inkbird controlled fridge if I rack off to the FV, stick in fridge set to 19c?

I assume the heat from the FV would bring the IT of the fridge up, turning the fridge on and hopefully cooling quicker than leaving at room temp?

Any disadvantages?

Brewing a Kolsch (kind of), so hoping to ferment around the lower end temp range of the US-05 yeast.

I am shooting from the hip here but I dont think I would want to put a FV full of boiling wort in a fridge.. I just not sure all that condensation is a good thing???

possibly wrong here

But no reason why you cannot no chill in general

I'll be watching this with interest.

All things going well I'll be doing my first AG brew this weekend and I've not got a chiller. I was planning to stick it in an ice bath to bring it down to temperature. If it doesn't reach the required temperature, I'll leave it overnight as I've seen other people talk about on here.

No chill works fine, but an FV full of near boiling wort takes at least 6 hours to get down to pitching temperature.
I normally brew starting in the morning about 9 am or thereabouts, so a full 23L AG for me will be finished by about 2pm - finished in that the boil is over and I've transferred it to the FV. So I leave it alone in my kitchen and by the time I go to bed it's at pitching temperature. I have occasionally forgotten and pitched the next morning with no ill effects - the hot wort effectively sanitises the FV.
So if you brew in the evening. Go to bed after filling the FV and pitch in the morning.
No problem.

I've done half a dozen AG brews so far, all no chill. Not had any problems with it at all.

I've been putting the near-boiling wort into a no-chill cube and leaving it to cool overnight in the garage, then in the morning pouring it into the FV and pitching the yeast. As well as eliminating that will-it-be-cool-enough-by-bedtime? stress, this also means the wort gets oxygenated just before the yeast is added. It smells great as it comes glugging out of the cube!

Can't see any advantage to using fridges, ice baths etc. to speed up the cooling process unless you're really up against it time-wise.

I'm a no chiller too. I put my near boiling wort into an old FV cover with cling film then leave it for 24-48hrs. I find that the steam from no chilling causes a lot of the aroma/flavour to disappear as the wort cools (of course others may disagree with me). So, just before pitching I take out 3L of wort bring it to the boil and add the late flavour/aroma aditions to that rather than the main boil. I then crash chill in the sink and add it back to the main body of wort then pitch the yeast

Dunno whether sticking the FV in a fridge will cool it any faster?

When no chilling, I used to put the boiling wort into a well rinsed 25 litre container, put the lid on making sure the hot wort touches everything for a few minutes, take the lid off to let the steam out as the containers swell under the pressure and leave for 24 hours or the next day to cool naturally.

Cheers
Jay

I made a wort chiller last year and have never used it. I am gonna try MyQul's method though. Seems like a good idea.

For years I ran with chilling in the bath , then got a plate chiller which I hated , then ran to the cube which I loved but you do need a 90min boil and it does get a bit too moist in our kitchen. So I am currently using a homemade immersion chiller, if I can get out of the kitchen this summer with my brewing process, ill go back to the cube it really is pitch when you want., left it a month before now.

kandycorn said:

For years I ran with chilling in the bath , then got a plate chiller which I hated , then ran to the cube which I loved but you do need a 90min boil and it does get a bit too moist in our kitchen. So I am currently using a homemade immersion chiller, if I can get out of the kitchen this summer with my brewing process, ill go back to the cube it really is pitch when you want., left it a month before now.

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Why do you need 90min boil for no chill. I've only ever done 60 min boils?

jayjt29 said:

When no chilling, I used to put the boiling wort into a well rinsed 25 litre container, put the lid on making sure the hot wort touches everything for a few minutes, take the lid off to let the steam out as the containers swell under the pressure and leave for 24 hours or the next day to cool naturally.

Cheers
Jay

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I know its off topic but you have an amazing brew shed, just been reading your blog. :)

MyQul said:

Why do you need 90min boil for no chill. I've only ever done 60 min boils?

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60 minute boil? - luxury! I only do a 15 minute boil with extract whilst being sliced into pieces by my father who beats me 40 hours a day :lol:

i've done a few no chills when time is against me. eg a late afternoon brew, If you can't smell the aroma coming from the brewpot or fv then the aroma can't be escaping although i'll concede myquls experience that the hops oils may have turned into something less yummy is a possibility. :hmm:

MyQul said:

Why do you need 90min boil for no chill. I've only ever done 60 min boils?

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The Yanks seem to think they are the most learned and qualified in the art of home brewing, despite their 13 year delay in getting to the start line due to legal reasons.

Well from time to time they come up with some nefarious idea that if you excessively splash hot wort about like in a vigorous boil in the kettle, your brew will become infected with what is known as hot side aeration. I think that unless you up end a boiling brew kettle six feet above another that is very much a myth, and more than a few brewers and luminaries have come to the same conclusion.

So coming back to the subject matter 60v90 boil off in chill & no chill , well the same general sources will argue that DMS Dimethyl Sulfide is a by product of the mash & boil process (apparently it comes across as a corn flavour). They will also argue that a minimum 90 min with the lid off is recommended unless of course you chill your wort fast.

Now I cant tell you wether this is all ******** or not , the only thing I can say is that a 90 min boil with no chill to the cube, has produced brighter clearer beer than 60min using my immersion chiller. I attribute that with the boil whilst its not particularly vigorous it is longer.

Think the States is a bit like that if you debunk the myth of what seems to be a requirement in this case heat exchangers, the industry will oppose you. The moral is as always there may be a small grain of truth in everything.

Sorry about the long winded response to a relatively brief question but it is how I see things.