PureGuiness Tue Apr 24, 2012 9:12 am
Thanks for the link Dean.
I managed to find this which gave a good description of what the water cube is
http://hyperfox.info/no-chill.htmI'm not overly convinced about this method to be honest. I'm sure it works just fine but the reasons for it include things like the time savings on a brew day. Personally I've always considered a brew day to be just that and so 30 minutes extra on a brew day isn't that much. While the beer is chilling I get on with other stuff like preparing the yeast and sanatising equipment and generally tidying up.
Another reason given was the cost outlay is reduced but to be honest making an IC was the easiest and one of the cheapest bits of equipment.
The argument about additional water required is a good one and although I have now minimised this using a water butt, ice and a pump, the outlay for the pump does push the cost up. Maybe if I was starting out now then this would be the winning argument
Some of the issues stated in the article would put me off. DMS production being one but I would think that once you get below around 80oC then this is less of an issue.
I think my main argument against from a personal point of view is that I just want to get it in an FV and the yeast pitched as soon as possible!
The great thing about this hobby of brewing is the variety though and in most cases one process is not any better than another overall. There is room for all types of process and equipment and most will create great beer.
Although I've decided to go the chill route there will be many that will prefer this method so thanks for posting the information.
The method I was thinking of was dropping a big block of ice into the hot wort and cooling that way. Again this is a method I've heard about but requires some calculations and preparation.