Cold crashing help

[Danielscott26]

Hey guys I'm currently fermenting an all grain amber ale. It's being in the fermenter for almost 2weeks and
I was gonna transfer to secondary for another week before bulk priming then bottling but I've being hearing allot about cold crashing beers but am unsure if I should do this or not.
If any of you guys cold crash and then bottle have any advise for me I would really appreciate it.

Thanks Dan

 

[Bada Bing Brewery]

Dan
I cold crash without transferring to a secondary - no drama's there, less handling and mucking around. Just drop the temp to as low as you can. I drop it to around -1C for a few days for ales and a week for lagers. Cleans them right up. Just make sure your FG is stable over a few days. I keg so that doesn't matter.
Bulk prime as usual for bottling.
Cheers
BBB

 

[Danielscott26]

Thanks for the reply I will let ferment till Sunday at 18 then crash chill to around 1 deg for 3 days. Will there still be enough yeast present to carbonate in the bottle?

 

[Glengine]

Short answer: yes there will be enough yeast

I cold crash and then bottle. Most of my beers I've only cold crashed for 1 day and haven't had a problem with carbonation. My most recent ale I cold crashed for 3 days and have found it took a little longer to carbonate, and didn't carbonate as much as I expected. But that was only the first time I tried crashing for that long, and I would try it again to see if it really was the longer crash or something else caused it. I use the coopers carb drops to prime.

Your beer will also clear up in the bottle when you chill it in the fridge prior to drinking. You just have to be more careful about your pour to keep it clear.

 

[freek]

I used to cold crash for up to a week in the primary (and yes there is still enough yeast in suspension), but I do not bother any more. I would rather not tie up my temperature controlled fridge for the extra time.

If you are going to prime and bottle, you will be growing more yeast in the bottle anyway. It all settles out in the fridge before you drink it and you end up with a similar result. For arguments sake, by not cold crashing you might end up with 1.05mm of sediment instead of 1mm at the bottom of the bottle.

With kegging I don't think it matters a great deal either. When the keg is refrigerated in the kegerator the yeast settles at the bottom and it just makes the first drink or two a bit cloudy then clears up as if it was cc'd.

I also don't bother with a secondary. I find that the beer matures equally well in the primary, the bottle or the keg. A secondary is just extra effort and extra risk of infection. It might be the best idea for bulk prime though, I dont know. I have never bulk primed.

My two cents.

 

[Danielscott26]

Thanks guys it seems everyone has a different way of brewing there beer. I may cc for 1 day with this batch just to say I've tried it and this is the result. Il post he results over the next few weeks.

 

[brend0n]

gday mate, i always cc, my lagers when fg is reached, i then leave it in the original fermenter and chill right down to 1 degree and leave for a week, even left the odd one for for longer 10 / 12 days lager comes out crystal clear.

 

[wbosher]

CCing isn't just about minimising sediment, it also helps other undesirables drop out of suspension, improving flavour. I can't remember the exact details, there is a really good explanation by Manticle somewhere explaining that.

Now that I have the ability to do it, I cc in the primary for a week before bottling.

 

[Amber Fluid]

I have one in now that has been CCing for about 5 weeks. Still in primary and will probably keg it today if I can be bothered.

 

[wbosher]

I've CCed my last couple of brews and I've noticed that they are just not carbing up like they used to. I use PET bottles and they are rock hard after two weeks at 18ish degrees, so obviously ARE carbing up to some extent. When I pour into a glass there is a great head, but no bubbles in the beer. I use two carb drops per 750ml bottle, which should if anything slightly overcarb from what I understand.

Anyone else had this?

 

[Edgebrew]

Try leave it for another week of carbing. How long and what temp are you crashing at? Try also leaving a recently carbed beer in the fridge for two days before trying it.

 

[wbosher]

Ok, I'll see if either of those make any difference. Cheers.

I'm crashing a 0 degrees +/-0.5 for usually about 3 or 4 days.

They seem to be carbed because the PET bottles are rock hard, and there is a good head when I pour, but the beer is just a little flat with no bubbles. If I swish it around in my mouth, it's quite nice though.

 

[431neb]

Wbosher, are your beers seriously cold when you are testing them?

I'm not exactly sure but I expect that the temp it is served at will have an influence on the apparent carbonation.

Other more experienced campaigners will know the science of it.

 

[wbosher]

No, not really. I've tried a couple that have been in the fridge, and some that have just been sitting at room temp. No real difference.

Probably just need a little more time at room temp I guess. It's been about 2 1/2 weeks now.

I realise that it will take a little longer after CCing than it would normally take, just a little confused at how they seem to be carbed up by the feel of the PET bottles, but still flat.