Cold crash query

  • Thread starter Brewnicorn
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2cranky said:
By the way I'm using 1/2 teaspoon Gelatine prepared in 150ml water and added to 20 litres of beer chilled to 5c for as little as 12 hours. Then dropped to 2c and keg as little as 12 hours later. Force carb the keg for 24 hours.
So I'm going from fermenting temp to first glass in as little as 48 hours if I have to.
Clarity wise I haven't noticed any difference between this and longer times, I did one over 5 days.
I need to lift the keg out of the fridge to gravity feed into the keg but it doesn't seem to ruin the fining.
I also whirlfloc in the kettle.

The pic shows the first glass out of the keg - only poured off about 100ml before that to prime the line. It's almost as clear as commercial beer and it's 1000% better tasting! :D
I'm with you cranky. I don't find any difference if I leave my gelatin for more than a day but I notice a massive difference compared to when I don't use it. I also move the fermenter into a bottling/kegging position and haven't found any issues with rousing the sediment.

I have seen the rubbery sediment in the bottle a couple of times but normally this is only when i'm getting the last bottle out of the fermenter. 99% of my bottles/kegs are crystal clear and with the readily available gelatin it works for me. I just have to remember not to give my gelatin'd beers to any vegans!
 
manticle said:
Not sure what you're asking with 2. I find cold conditioning leads to a cleaner tasting beer sooner than packaging without. Unless you do it for months, there'll be enough yeast still in suspension to carb up in the usual amount of time, give or take.
Thanks manticle.

Yeah with this question, I've noticed my beers take longer to carb up or carb inconsistently after a cold crash. I'm also trying to solve a riddle. That's why the questions about temp also to rule out that having an impact. I've noticed longer than average (3 weeks plus) seems to work better to build carb better. I recently brewed a dr smurtos partial grain and that's the experience I'm having now. Lower carbonation on the ones I've tried and I'm now 4 weeks past bottling day.

*I will say that I trial bottled 3 x 740ml PET bottles off the fermenter before I cold crashed and they were fine. When I bulk primed the remainder I accidentally over-primed based on full 21L without taking into account the 3 bottles and I figured a risk of bottle bombs and over carbonation. Now, they're bubbly but barely on the register. Less so with more time in the glass. Even with a good hot water rinse and vinegar wash for the headmaster glasses.

OG 1.050
FG 1.012 (figured 5-5.1%) fermented at 18-19 degrees, crashed for a week at 2-3 degrees.
Puzzling me... like something in every brew I've done. [emoji1]
 
Do you use the tap or a sanitised syphon.

I was never game to use the plastic taps and always syphoned.
 
dibbz said:
Do you use the tap or a sanitised syphon.

I was never game to use the plastic taps and always syphoned.
I used the tap for the sample bottles straight off the keg and a siphon for the remainder.
 
I never had any problems with beers not carbonating or carbonating inconsistently after cold crashing and bottling cold. Unfortunately, other than some lids not being sealed as well as others or the bulk priming solution not evenly mixed through the beer, I don't really know what would cause that. Cold crashing itself won't cause issues like that.

On the other end of the scale, last year I bottled some surplus bottles from a batch of pilsner that had been cold crashing, and then promptly stuck them straight into the brew fridge set to 0C (it was crashing a yeast starter for the next batch) where they sat for two days. After that, the temp was warmed up to wherever it sat to keep the fermenting batch at 18C during the ferment. These bottles were crystal clear and carbonated fully in about 4 days after warming up. :chug:
 
Rocker1986 said:
Unfortunately, other than some lids not being sealed as well as others or the bulk priming solution not evenly mixed through the beer, I don't really know what would cause that. Cold crashing itself won't cause issues like that.
On the other end of the scale, last year I bottled some surplus bottles... These bottles were crystal clear and carbonated fully in about 4 days after warming up. :chug:
Thanks for taking the time to reply Rocker1986.
The lids worried me a bit- the capper has a new bell on it. Leaves some with a flat lid some with an indent impression. I thought given I'd over primed they'd be going nuts. :-/ The bulk prime should be ok as the beer was siphoned into the liquid dex.

Good tips on the initial chill. I've been trying to keep them cooler initially after bottling from the thread I read the other day about the early yeast development in the bottles, but nowhere near 0 degrees. Good tip.

Cheers
 
That initial chilling of the bottles wasn't deliberate though, I just had nowhere else to put them at the time. I might try it again whenever I bottle any next though and see if the same occurs.
 
Stands to reason though Rocker. I've seen it a few times where folks recommend moderating the temps low then store at room temp etc. I'll give my beers more time. Behind that I'll have a semi-flat golden.
 
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