Thu, 05/06/2010 - 17:08 — Aleslinger
Hello Falcons
Instead of using a wort chiller I thought that I could pour the still boing hot wort into a clean corny keg. Then put the lid on and pitch my yeast the next day when it has cooled down. Does anyone see an issue with that or why it would be a bad thing to have the wort rest for a day before pitching?
Thank you for your time.
Forums:
What you'd be doing is a version of the aussie "no chill" method, but in a keg instead of a heat proof plastic container.
Things I'd worry about (it comes naturally)
cooling contraction (aka the vacuum that's created as the liquid cools and contracts)
corny keg geometry. - 5 gallon cornies don't have enough headspace for a full 5 gallons and there's a fair argument to be made that the shape puts a different sort of hydrostatic pressure on the yeast, affecting fermentation.
sanitation - you'd better have complete faith and control in your sanitation to my mind.
Having said all that and knowing there's a ton of folks out there who swear by the no chill method - I just can't bring myself to do it.
Thank you Drew,
My experiment worked out well because the beer I'm making is "small", ferments quickly and quietly (about 3% ABV). Bigger beers may be more active/messy. I started with a corny keg lid. Removed the pressure relief value and pushed in plastic tubing for a blow off tube. I brewed a five gallon batch and right after flame out I used a pitcher to scoop the hot wort into my fermentation keg. I moved the keg into the fridge and pitched the next day. One week of primary fermentation and I used some CO2 to push the brew out to another corny for serving. The brew is good and I did not have to break my back with a lot of heavy lifting!
That was easy. The hardest part of this experiment was drinking the beer so I could do it all over again.