Fogging No-chill Cubes

[FuzzySteve]

No. I'm not annoyed at the concept of no-chill, but I am rather paranoid when I have, say, a cube which is only half-full and I've a lot of headspace.I guess at this time of year, contamination of a brew with airborne nasties is less likely, I'd still like to try to minimise the potential. With this in mind, I've tried 'fogging' a half-cube with CO2 today, just to see how it pans out. My theory is that the CO2 should purge the oxygen from the cube, similarly to a Cornelius keg etc.

Maybe it's overkill, but I'd like to know anyone's opinion on it.

 

[foxy]

As you say it is overkill, and you are a wee bit paranoid, if you have head space in the cube but you intend pitching the yeast the next day it will be fine, the hot wort will sanitise the cube. After pouring the wort roll it around making sure the hot wort touches all the surfaces of the cube and lay it on it's side so the inside of the handle gets sanitised also.
As for leaving the wort in the cube for any length of time when you have head space I cannot answer that question as I have never tried it.

 

[FuzzySteve]

Cheers Foxy. My concern isn't so much about the internal surfaces of the cube, but the air within. One day I reckon I'll see what becomes of a brew with minimum sterilisation; I bet all of my paranoia is unfounded!! Lol.

 

[brewtim]

Basic Brewing Radio did a no-chill aging experiment where a cube was fermented after 4 months with no discernable difference between that and a beer fermented the following day. Apparently the ozzies do it all the time.

 

[FuzzySteve]

Nice. I quite like it so far. I mashed and sparged on Friday after work, boiled today, and I'll pitch tomorrow. No stress!!

 

[chrig]

I'm surprised no homebrew shops sell beer "kits" in the form of 23L of wort in a no chill cube. maybe the batch size just needs to be too big for it to be profitable.

 

[FuzzySteve]

I'm surprised no homebrew shops sell beer "kits" in the form of 23L of wort in a no chill cube. maybe the batch size just needs to be too big for it to be profitable.

It would make for a good product, but I think the bottom line is; the smaller/more concentrated they can make the wort, the cheaper it is to transport etc. plus it takes up a smaller area on the shelf.

 

[foxy]

They make and sell fresh wort in Australia in 17 litre concentrate to add 3 litres for a 20 litre ferment I am surprised that no one in the U.K. has done this yet as reading these forums seems a lot of U.K. brewers are using kits, it would be an ideal concept for those kit users to buy fresh wort to make their beer.

 

[chrig]

I was thinking more along the lines of the shop owners doing the manufacture of said wort and then selling it on locally... Ideally you would want to go to a local microbrewery with your grain and use their bigger kit... But we digress :lol:

This does seem a little Ott as mentioned, but for the cost vrs the worry of tipping a whole batch down the drain...

 

[Aleman]

I looked into it around 5 years ago. the cost of shipping 15L of partially concentrated wort around the UK is frightening. . . Plus the fact that a lot of kit brewers tend to be of the 'Cheap Alcohol' route rather than quality beer then the demand is going to be pretty damn small.

I must admit I do like the idea of doing small limited edition runs say once a month

 

[bobsbeer]

Might work if you were located in a well populated area with a good walk in customer base. No need to ship then. But I'm not sure the return would be enough for the effort put in making the wort. Especially if you were only making a small batch.

 

[foxy]

The HBS that started making the fresh wort kits in Victoria was making the wort using the 200 litre Braumeister they have now moved up to a 500 litre I believe so it must be a profitable enterprise.