Display posts from previous
Sort by

No-chill in fermenter?

Post #1 made 12 years ago
by Dski
Hi there, first time BIABer here...

I'm planning my first BIAB no-chill, which will be a 20L batch, and I'm curious about the success of chilling directly into the fermenter. I have had a look around the site re. the subject but was after some clarification.

I imagine the advantages are 1. I already have two 30L plastic fermenter barrels, and 2. I'm minimising the chance of infection by not transferring the cooled wort to a second vessel.

The potential disadvantages as I understand are 1. Potential for oxidation due to the large head space in the fermenters, 2. The lack of aeration from the transfer of the chilled wort, and possibly 3. An excess of trub left behind.

I could do a transfer from one fermenter to the other if it is warranted, but what's the word on the potential for oxidisation with a 10L headspace in the cooling vessel?

Really, I should just try it and see, but waiting around for ingredients to arrive has led me to idle speculation! :dunno: Any advice would be appreciated.
    • SVA Brewer With Over 50 Brews From Australia

Post #2 made 12 years ago
by Lylo
Go for it Dski. I have done it a few times with no problems.
I expect Bob Brews will chime in with his wooden nickels worth, as I believe he has done it many times and hsa a lot of insight into it.
AWOL

Post #3 made 12 years ago
by 2trout
Dski,

I think that it depends on your fermenter. I ferment in plastic buckets, and I don't think that I could transfer really hot wort into those buckets. They can't take the heat or the contraction that comes when the wort cools.

I no chill right in my pot. I have a good lid for it and when my boil is done I place the lid on top, and wrap around the top of the pot with plastic wrap. While mi sure this is not "air tight", I've found that it works well for me. I transfer to fermentor when the wort cools to yeast temp, or the next day, or a few days later.

Being some what of a contrarian(is this a word?), I often transfer as much of my wort as i can, trub and all and ferment right on top of it all. :argh:

Trout
"All I know is that the beer is good and people clamor for it. OK, it's free and that has something to do with it."
Bobbrews
    • BME Brewer With Over 5 Brews From United States of America

Post #4 made 12 years ago
by Dski
Thanks Lylo and 2trout, I believe I will give it a go. My fermenting vessels are quite thick walled #2 HDPE, which as far as I know is heat safe. The chill in the pot sounds ok too!

I believe the word is contrarianator 2trout ;) and I know what you mean. I think I've read here an this forum that grain trub could be considered be a valuable yeast nutrient anyway. :think:
Last edited by Dski on 13 Nov 2013, 12:23, edited 2 times in total.
    • SVA Brewer With Over 50 Brews From Australia

Post #5 made 12 years ago
by Dski
Well a couple of brews down and the 'chill in the kettle' method seems to work just fine, thanks for the tip! I put some baking sheet to line the lid, and wrapped around the lid edges with some glad wrap as 2trout mentioned. This was actually air tight enough to cause suction and slow down the tap when transferring to the fermenter.

Takes a full day and a half, and then some fridge time (after transfer) to get down to pitching temp. Queensland summer for you...

No finished beer yet, but a bottled Bitter that's nearly there, and an APA in the fermenter. Samples have tasted pretty good so far!
    • SVA Brewer With Over 50 Brews From Australia

Post #6 made 12 years ago
by BobBrews
Dski,

Any no-chilling must be done in the proper container. There is no manufacturer that makes no-chill containers so we must do the best we can with what we have. One thing we do know is that fermentation buckets melt! Melted plastic on your floor and sweet wort soaking into your carpet is not recommended for a happy marriage or a happy landlord. Thick walled #2 HDPE are recommended.

I have no-chilled and fermented in the same no-chill-container. It worked so well that I reused the no-chill yeast cake by adding the contents of a different no-chill container onto the existing yeast cake. I actually think I may have won something with one of those beers? That's a long time ago and a lot of dead brain cells ago.

I bought extra caps for the no chill container and put air locks in them. (see picture) Once, I had either to much in the container or the krausen was to high and I clogged the bottom of the air lock and almost had a blow out. So now I just rubber band a (sanitized) piece of clear food wrap around the opening. I replace the plastic wrap with the air lock after the initial fermentation is done.

The no-chill containers will be a bear to clean so take caution if that is what you want to do? I have three containers that I rotate and store wort in. I have one container with fresh wort that I brewed last September that I will ferment in May. I will brew the same recipe in January also storing it. I will again brew the same recipe in May and them ferment all three side by side just before the NHC (National Homebrewers Convention) and have a panel of experts taste test the same beer with three different storage lengths. We will record the show for BBR (Basic Brewing Radio)

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.a ... &catid=459

http://www.basicbrewing.com/index.php?page=radio

http://www.stempski.com/biab.php
No-chill_Caps.JPG
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Last edited by BobBrews on 11 Dec 2013, 21:24, edited 2 times in total.
tap 1 Raspberry wine
tap 2 Bourbon Barrel Porter
tap 3 Czech Pilsner
tap 4 Triple IPA 11% ABV
Pipeline: Mulled Cider 10% ABV

http://cheesestradamus.com/ Brewers challenge!
    • SVA Brewer With Over 100 Brews From United States of America

Post #7 made 12 years ago
by Dski
Hi Bob,

I've enjoyed listening to you on podcasts a few times already. Thanks for your reply, apologies, I didn't see it earlier.

My fermenters are heavy duty #2 HDPE, so it's all good in that regard. Open mouth screw top type things. They are quite large though, both are 30L or more. My main concern was that the airspace in them would be a source of excess oxidisation. Evidence seems to be showing oxidisation to be less of a problem than we used to think however - so maybe it's of no concern?

So far chilling in the kettle (a crown urn) is working for me, but I'm only a few brews down with BIAB. I'm still working on a favoured hops technique for no chill. Currently, I stand the hops bag in the kettle for half an hour after flameout, then pull out the bag (with a bit of a squeeze) and wrap up the kettle lid with baking paper and plastic wrap.

Thanks again for your time Bob, I look forward to your dulcet tones as you challenge the homebrew status quo in future podcasts.
    • SVA Brewer With Over 50 Brews From Australia

Post #8 made 12 years ago
by BobBrews
Dski,
Evidence seems to be showing oxidation to be less of a problem than we used to think however - so maybe it's of no concern?
I am starting to think that way myself. We have always looked to professional brewers in the past to learn. But they deal with different problems than we do. Example... we can cool our beer rather quickly because of volume. It takes a lot longer to cool 300 gallons than 5. We cannot use their late hopping and whirlpooling methods. We have to devise our own methods.

Oxidation at their level is different than ours. I don't squeeze out the air as I used too when using my no chill containers. Brewing a perfect beer is a imperfect science. :smoke:
Last edited by BobBrews on 29 Dec 2013, 23:22, edited 2 times in total.
tap 1 Raspberry wine
tap 2 Bourbon Barrel Porter
tap 3 Czech Pilsner
tap 4 Triple IPA 11% ABV
Pipeline: Mulled Cider 10% ABV

http://cheesestradamus.com/ Brewers challenge!
    • SVA Brewer With Over 100 Brews From United States of America
Post Reply

Return to “BIABrewer.info and BIAB for New Members”

Brewers Online

Brewers browsing this forum: No members and 44 guests