Cold Conditioning

[Oatlands Brewer]

My first brew stabilised its gravity yesterday and the day before,

The fermenter is in a fridge and im going to leave it until next weekend to bottle(working today and shooting tomorrow)

What do you reakon of flicking the fridge on and running it for the week to cold condition the brew.......

 

[Pennywise]

Wont do any harm, Lager brewers do the same thing to get more clarity in the beer. Dropping the temp will make the yeasties drop out, hence the clearer beer.

 

[manticle]

I cold condition pretty much all my brews. I reckon it makes a massive difference to both clarity and flavour.

 

[The Big Burper]

My first brew stabilised its gravity yesterday and the day before,

The fermenter is in a fridge and im going to leave it until next weekend to bottle(working today and shooting tomorrow)

What do you reakon of flicking the fridge on and running it for the week to cold condition the brew.......

OB,

Just make sure when you bottle, leave the brew at 18-20 for the yeast to do
its conditioning thing. Couple of weeks at this temp.

cheers
BB

 

[manticle]

I think the 'fridge at 2 degrees' thing is prior to bottling (ie - in the fermenter)

 

[Oatlands Brewer]

Yep i was going to yank it out the night before botttliing to let it come up to room temp

 

[lespaul]

I cold condition pretty much all my brews. I reckon it makes a massive difference to both clarity and flavour.

i was thinking while i was bottling last night. I had cold conditioned for about 5 days at around 1.5C and when i was bottling the first bit was so clear...but then in order to get the rest of the beer off the bottom (as in below the tap) you have to tilt the fermenter. This would stir the sediment on the bottom and bring it into the other vessel for bulk priming.

my question is will it still enhance the flavour crash chilling, or is it just there are less floaties that makes it taste better, and because im tilting the fermenter to get rest of the beer its reducing the benefit of crash chilling?

is there a way i can change the process im using in bottling to make it better?

 

[brenjak]

I have dedicated brew fridge and cold condition all my brews like manticle. I brew more lager than ales and think why not do it as close as possible to the experts. I cold condition lagers for at least 4 weeks and they taste and look great.

 

[MarkBastard]

When I crash chill the crud on the bottom is nice and compacted, and even when I carefully tilt the fermenter to jew up the last litre of beer into the keg, I find it very easy to not disturb the yeast. It sorts of does move a bit, but sort of slides downhill and doesn't mix back in with the beer.

 

[Bribie G]

Although I often bottle stouts, milds and other dark beers straight out of primary, I always cold condition lighter beers and lagers. They can come out really spectacular into the bottle, don't worry about them being too clear, if as suggested you keep them above 18 degrees in the bottle there will still be enough stray yeast cells in there to breed up and condition the beer, it will just take a bit longer:

 

[manticle]

i was thinking while i was bottling last night. I had cold conditioned for about 5 days at around 1.5C and when i was bottling the first bit was so clear...but then in order to get the rest of the beer off the bottom (as in below the tap) you have to tilt the fermenter. This would stir the sediment on the bottom and bring it into the other vessel for bulk priming.

my question is will it still enhance the flavour crash chilling, or is it just there are less floaties that makes it taste better, and because im tilting the fermenter to get rest of the beer its reducing the benefit of crash chilling?

is there a way i can change the process im using in bottling to make it better?

I rack and fine as well so there is very little sediment by the time I get to bottling (there's always some - it's part of bottled homebrew. I also leave about a litre or so each time I bottle. I don't need to do much/any tilting - just say goodbye to the last little bit or bottle it and mark it as a carbonation tester. Alternatively you could siphon into your bottles.

There is a taste difference, due entirely to the fact that yeast (whether living, dead or dormant) is responsible for a lot of different flavours. I've never understood people who think clarity is purely cosmetic.

 

[The Big Burper]

I think the 'fridge at 2 degrees' thing is prior to bottling (ie - in the fermenter)

huh?

 

[manticle]

If I'm not mistaken, you suggested allowing the brew to carbonate BEFORE cold conditioning.

However the brew will still be in the fermenter when intended cc'ing occurs.

If I've misread or misinterpreted your post then I apologise.

 

[brenjak]

How about temp at about 15 degrees for priming? A bit colder if you add gelatine or the like for finings? It was always warm up to room temp as you go. Unfortunately for me room temp, without aircon, is about 30 at the moment.

 

[brenjak]

And yes to manticle.
How can a beer from near the bottom of the fermenter taste the same as one near the top? The yeast will obvioulsy change the flavour so it is not merley cosmetic and for clarity.

 

[henderjo]

+1 to say it could only make your brew better. I leave all mine in the fermenter at around 1 degree C for for a few days to a week after fermentation has stopped.

Mark - To be honest I just waste the first liter or so, and the last few liters from my fermenter, I keg - so 19lts is it for me. I still think it's worth it to produce my 19lts.

 

[roverfj1200]

I lager my lagers on the yeast cake for a week at 1deg. I then bulk prime and bottle at 1deg . Then store at room temp and it takes about 3 weeks to prime up and carbonate.

Cheers,

 

[The Big Burper]

If I'm not mistaken, you suggested allowing the brew to carbonate BEFORE cold conditioning.

However the brew will still be in the fermenter when intended cc'ing occurs.

If I've misread or misinterpreted your post then I apologise.

I hate to be pedantic, B) but

Just make sure when you bottle, leave the brew at 18-20 for the yeast to do
its conditioning thing. Couple of weeks at this temp.

meaning it'll take 2 weeks after bottling at the warmer temp to carbonate the bottles.

no mention of carbonation before cold conditioning.

 

[manticle]

I misread your post. Easy done and easy rectified.

 

[TasChris]

My first brew stabilised its gravity yesterday and the day before,

The fermenter is in a fridge and im going to leave it until next weekend to bottle(working today and shooting tomorrow)

What do you reakon of flicking the fridge on and running it for the week to cold condition the brew.......

Hi Oatlands,
My regime when I was bottling was to ferment for 7 days then rack to another fermenter leaving behind as much trub as possible without wasting too much beer, and then leave for another 7 days at fermenting temp ( whether ale or lager) then cold condition at 2 deg for 7 days.
I then raise to room temp for a couple of days then rack into another fermenter, bulk prime then bottle.
This gave rise to very clear beers but did seem to take a little longer to reach ideal carbonation, always aimed for 8 week min before drinking, howevere rarely achieved it!


Cheers
Chris