Cold Conditioning

[irwazza]

Hey Guys

Had a quck search for couldn't find any answers. When you cold condition your brew after a ferment to make it nice and clear the easy way, how do you go about this? Do you just chill the fermenter as is with air lock in place or do you remove the airlock?

cheers
Brenton

 

[dcx3]

I just chuck mine in the fridge "as is" and turn the temp down.

 

[manticle]

Hey Guys

Had a quck search for couldn't find any answers. When you cold condition your brew after a ferment to make it nice and clear the easy way, how do you go about this? Do you just chill the fermenter as is with air lock in place or do you remove the airlock?

cheers
Brenton

Whatever fits in the fridge. A lot of people don't use airlocks.

Basically it should have finished fermenting at this time and you could put it in fully sealed if you want. I wouldn't take the airlock out and leave the bung hole uncovered though - you need to keep everything out.

 

[hockadays]

you have to watch that when you drop the temp that it doesn't suck your airlock water into the fermented beer. you can either replace the airlock liquid with vodka or take the airlock out when chilling and put a bottle cap over it then replace when it is at the temp you want, say 2degc. or transfer to a corny keg then chill.

 

[irwazza]

Awsome, thanks guys, this is what i thought, i was worried that water would suck into fermenter.

 

[donburke]

Awsome, thanks guys, this is what i thought, i was worried that water would suck into fermenter.

keep the liquid in the airlock at a level that only just seals it, it should not drip back into the wort at this level

 

[joshuahardie]

Or crack the lid a tad to take the pressure off the airlock.

Plenty of ways to skin a cat

 

[argon]

Or crack the lid a tad to take the pressure off the airlock.

Plenty of ways to skin a cat

or empty the airlock and chuck a small bit of cling wrap over it secured by a rubber band

 

[Dazza_devil]

I use a 2-piece airlock with starsan in it. Reverse airlock action while CCing hasn't a problem for me, as long as there isn't too much starsan in the airlock it doesn't enter the fermenter. I did freeze the starsan in the airlock once so now I crash in increments of 5-10 degrees over a longer period.

 

[Bribie G]

Apart from Stouts and dark milds, I cold crash everything for at least a week in 20 L Willow Jerrycans (fitted with taps) because I can fit 3 of them in my lagering fridge. This takes the beer off the primary "yeast cake" which can be harvested for subsequent brews and I can then do fiendish things to the beer like fine it and polyclar it B) - Also because the Willows actually hold around 23L I can fill them right up with no headspace and just leave the blue cap open the slightest crack for a couple of days then seal up tight and forget about them until there's keg space available.

 

[MarkBastard]

I ferment in fridges so cold crashing for me is as easy as adjusting the temp mate from 18 degrees to 2 degrees.

 

[Bribie G]

I do that with the little old black fridge you sold me but it's only one little fridge. Great for producing quick lagers where you can get away with keeping the beer on yeast for a few weeks. Now following on from that, this is somewhat off topic and I was going to start a thread and really just idle spec at the moment but:

:icon_offtopic: :icon_offtopic: :icon_offtopic:

Does anyone know of a way of "Partitioning" one of those big three doors Quirks / Deli glass fronted display fridges so that you can have 18 degrees happening in one part of the fridge and say 2 degrees happening in another section?