No chill cooling

[WTexan]

What is the opinion about no chill wort cooling? I watch a YouTube video from a guy calling himself TheBeetGeek. It look interesting but, I was under the impression the faster the chilling the better the beer. He was saying Australia has been using this method for years. What is yalls opinion?

 

[jaysbrewing]

I rarely use a wort chiller. I just end up taking frozen milk jugs of water and then put them in the pot. Call me lazy but it works for me.

 

[Yooper]

No-chill has been around for a while. I know that many brewers have tried it but I have not. Generally, it involved putting your still boiling temperature wort into a fermenter (plastic, heat resistant) and pitching the yeast the next day. Those that have done it claim good results with clarity but have said that it can interfere with the late addition hops because of the wort not cooling so they make some adjustments on the late hopping. A search of no-chill may turn up a few helpful threads.

 

[Homercidal]

I have done it 2-3 times now, mostly out of laziness at the end of a late brew day. The first time I found that it really can add bitterness from the late hop additions. I can't say clarity was affected, but I haven't done it enough to know for sure.

It's not something I'd do on a regular basis, but I might experiment with it some more in the future when I've got my electric rig going and can settle my consistency down some more.

 

[wolfman_48442]

Anything with hop additions at or after 20 min I do a normal chill, but if you're doing single additions at 60 min, no chill works great. I adjust everything back 20 min (so the 60 min addition becomes 40), and it comes out really really well.
There is a mega-thread on this around here somewhere...
I do this a lot more in the winter since I brew in the garage and don't have access to running water.

 

[MrShickadance9]

No-chill has been around for a while. I know that many brewers have tried it but I have not. Generally, it involved putting your still boiling temperature wort into a fermenter (plastic, heat resistant) and pitching the yeast the next day. Those that have done it claim good results with clarity but have said that it can interfere with the late addition hops because of the wort not cooling so they make some adjustments on the late hopping. A search of no-chill may turn up a few helpful threads.

I can't imagine putting boiling wort into a plastic container is a good idea... Won't shatter like glass, but think about the chemicals leaching into the wort...

 

[CCericola]

Even with sanitation, wouldn't the risk of infection be high? My only thought is that once you pitch the yeast, the yeast takes off fast enough to beat back anything else that might be invading but it feels like an unnecessary risk?

 

[wolfman_48442]

If your container is cleaned properly, there is no more risk of infection than with a normal cool and pitch.
The container is sealed, not left open to the environment.
I can't speak to pitching boiling wort in plastic as I use cornies, but the Aussies have obviously been doing fine for several years now.

 

[King of Cascade]

I rarely use a wort chiller. I just end up taking frozen milk jugs of water and then put them in the pot. Call me lazy but it works for me.

Note to self...when in VA never drink Jaysbrewings' beer.


I find lazy brewers make bad beer. Also I would never put anything into my kettle when cooling, especially if the temperature is below 180*F

 

[pericles]

the Aussies have obviously been doing fine for several years now.

The kangaroos are actually mutated homebrewers who drank too much no-chill beer with plastic chemicals in it.

 

[DroolingNeoBrewery]

Aussies also ferment their ales warmer (about 75F), and have lager strains that can go up to 69F. Temps that make most of us cringe are the norm for them. I think in general they look for ways to live with high temps vs pay for cooling. Letting it sit over night to cool probably started as a way to save ice/electricity. But I think the heat might be finally getting to them.

Conventional wisdom says there are going to be some nasties picked up when you transfer, and sanitized is not sterilized there are some left in the fermentor as well. The idea is the the yeast out compete them. If you aren't pitching for 12 plus hours that's 12 plus hours something else has to move in and setup shop.

I think the only way this wouldn't greatly increase infection = wasted batch = wasted time/money is if you have a completely sealed system where the wort is contained in a sanitized co2 environment once it leaves the boiler. But chances are if you are spending that much on a brewing setup you can also spend 100 bucks on a plate chiller.

I can chill a 2.5 gallon batch in cold water no ice in 15 minutes, 25 for 5 gallons with ice. Just in my sink, no equipment. If you are doing larger batches a coil chiller can be built for under $50, and plate chillers start at $99 (http://www.hopdawgs.ca/index.php/eq...chiller-hombrewing-supplies-canada-hops-beer/). That's not a lot of money to ensure you aren't wasting 30 - 50 bucks on ingredients and a day of your time per brew just so some bacteria can chow down on your hard work.

I'm sorry but I lost a 1 gallon test batch of ginger beer to infection (gusher caused by aceta bacteria from the taste, its common with ginger i find...) because I wasn't able to cool it quick enough and sanitized bottles/equip sat there for an hour. That was 3 months ago and I am still pissed off about it! if your going to be lazy and not put any care into your beer you can get a case of generic lager type beer for less than $30 almost anywhere in the world, why are you brewing?