2 brew question

[Unclestewbrew]

Hi all ,
I currently have 2 brews going in my fridge , a Coopers Sparkling Ale that has been in the fermenter for 17 days and a Summer Ale Fresh Wort Kit that has been in there for 10 days. , temp in fridge is 20 degrees.
My problem is I won't be able to bottle till next weekend and I'm concerned about leaving these brews for that long , both have reached FG.
Should I just leave them as is at 20 degrees or drop the temp a bit ?
I've never cold crashed a brew before so I'm a bit hesitant on doing it with 2 in the fridge.

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated ,

Cheers Stu.

 

[siege]

I regularly have left brews in a temp controlled fridge at 18-20 degrees for 3 weeks and a few times for 5 weeks with no dramas.
You will probably not run into any issues just leaving them as is but I would say if you wanted to cold crash for the next week that would be fine too, you would probably reduce the already very small risk of infection even further.

The only drama I ever had with cold crashing was before I stc-1000'd my fridge and I just chucked on full volume. It froze my beer. But the ice distilled IPA was good!

 

[verysupple]

Leaving them another week at 20 C is fine. If you're sure they're both finished fermenting you could try cold crashing them. I don't think having two batches in the fridge should make that much difference. It might take a bit longer to get the temp down but after that it should be able to maintain it just as easy as a single batch.

 

[Unclestewbrew]

Thanks fellas , at this point I might just leave them
I will try my first cold crash when I have a single brew in the fridge I think ,

Cheers

 

[wynnum1]

Drop the temperature if have stopped fermenting thing store better at cooler temperatures

 

[Danscraftbeer]

I've herd some well known brewers admitting to not getting around to bottling a brew for months and no problems or adverse affects.
Cold crashing you should have the fermenter completely airtight sealed or it will draw in air when it shrinks while cooling. Possibly infecting your beer with fridge air germs before bottling. Maybe small risk but thats me. I dont want second hand fridge air in my brewskies..

 

[QldKev]

I cold crash all my beers for a week, I can fit 3 fermenters in the fridge and it drops it down no problems.

 

[mongey]

I'd cold crash just on the fact you get more usable beer. Less yeasty mud in the bottom of fermenter.

I used to have to chuck the bottom 2 liters in the fermenter but with 5 days or so crashing I only chuck less than a liter.

 

[Mr B]

I routinely crash 2 25l brews at a time.

No probs. Takes a day or so to get down to ~1 deg.

A week crashing will be good, and if they are at FG then no time like the present.

The fridge stops and starts, so don't freak out on that ( I did a little at first - OOOH **** THE FRIDGE STOPPED), the internal fridge thermostat kicks in even though the actual beer isnt at temp.

In saying that, no harm in leaving them at the higher temp either.

 

[Helles]

I usually have a 30 lt and a 60 lt in the same fridge
Cold crash it no problems
But dont all the way to final low temp in one go
Usually to about 5'c
Once its there go down to 1'c
With temp probe taped to smaller 30 lt fermenter

 

[Brewsta]

i had the same issue a few years back unclestewbrew, I had to go away for 3 weeks & was concerned with leaving them in the temp fridge as they had been in there for about 2 weeks. I decided to leave them & kegged them when i got back.

Best thing i have ever done and i now do it religiously (especially with lagers) 3- 5 weeks depending on style and then crash chill. (i do a diacetyl rest for the lagers first)

I reckon the brews are always clearer, less funny flavours and i also read somewhere that the yeast go into a sort of secondary fermentation stage cleaning up the last of the fermentables. Which i have noticed that after about 3-4 weeks my fermenters start bubbling again, albeit very slowly and not for very long. And I also find that the yeast cake on the bottom of the fermenter is lager and more compact than it were when i only left for about 7-10 days.