Conditioning Alt Biers

[Julez]

Hi all,

I'm brewing an Alt this weekend and just working out a plan for conditioning post-fermentation. So far I've never racked any brews to secondary, I usually just let my beers sit in primary for 7 days once fermentation has finished, then bottle.

For this beer, I want to ferment at 16 degrees (using Wyeast 1007), then condition it for 2-4 weeks at 5-10 degrees. What's my best bet for doing this, without having to rack the beer to secondary, or am I kind of stuck having to do this? E.g. can I just let it reach terminal gravity then immediately drop the temp to somewhere in the 5-10 degrees range, keeping the beer for a further two weeks, in primary the whole time?

If I can avoid racking, I'd like to. Any suggestions/recommendations gladly accepted!

Cheers :icon_cheers:

 

[Jye]

...can I just let it reach terminal gravity then immediately drop the temp to somewhere in the 5-10 degrees range, keeping the beer for a further two weeks, in primary the whole time?

Yep, no worries do this at all.

 

[Julez]

Yep, no worries do this at all.

Cool, thanks Jye. Would you reckon my best bet is to go for the higher end of the 5-10 degree range, if I'm limiting that conditioning period to 2 weeks? Or is it safe to extend conditioning beyond 2 weeks in primary? Just concerned about autolysis if I leave the beer on the yeast cake too long...

Julez.

 

[newguy]

I use 1007 often and I don't like to transfer my beer either (paranoid about infection & oxidation). However, the times you're considering are beyond my comfort zone when considering autolysis. If you keg your beer, consider racking to the keg at the end of the fermentation, then allow the beer to age in the keg at cooler temperatures for as long as you like. Aging will definitely help the beer to improve.

 

[Julez]

I use 1007 often and I don't like to transfer my beer either (paranoid about infection & oxidation). However, the times you're considering are beyond my comfort zone when considering autolysis. If you keg your beer, consider racking to the keg at the end of the fermentation, then allow the beer to age in the keg at cooler temperatures for as long as you like. Aging will definitely help the beer to improve.

Not kegging, unfortunately Newguy

I guess my ideal conditioning process for this beer, would be to let the green beer sit on the yeast cake for 7 days at fermentation temp, then condition at 5 degrees for 4 weeks. In that case, I would definitely have to incorporate a secondary vessel. So unless there is some other compromise or workaround, I guess I may just have to bite the bullet and rack this one... <_<

Additionally, I'd love to know other peoples' conditioning regime for this style.

 

[Jye]

Since you are bottling it may not be that beneficial cold conditioning an ale for more than a week or 2 because youre only dropping the yeast out. So a week at 0-5 C will be fine.

 

[therook]

I can't help you to much Julez, but i ferment mine for 7 days and then CC it into a second vessel ( cube ) for 7 days and then into bottles or kegs.

Gotta love an ALT :icon_drunk:

Rook

edit : Julez, this was using Nottinghams dry yeast, i don't know the ferment schedule for the yeast your using

 

[Julez]

I can't help you to much Julez, but i ferment mine for 7 days and then CC it into a second vessel ( cube ) for 7 days and then into bottles or kegs.

Gotta love an ALT :icon_drunk:

Rook

Cheers Jye and Rook, yours sound like good recommendations. I've never cold conditioned a beer before, only done more standard ales so far. Does cold conditioning prior to bottling impact the carbonation time at all? Or will the yeast just need some time to reactivate in the bottles when I raise the temp back up and add my primings?

Appreciate the advice guys

 

[therook]

Cheers Jye and Rook, yours sound like good recommendations. I've never cold conditioned a beer before, only done more standard ales so far. Does cold conditioning prior to bottling impact the carbonation time at all? Or will the yeast just need some time to reactivate in the bottles when I raise the temp back up and add my primings?

Appreciate the advice guys

Give it 2 weeks at room temp ( 20c + ) and they should be ready to drink

Rook

 

[Jye]

There will be plenty of yeast left in suspension to do the job, but as you said it may take a little longer.

I would bottle the beer cold with the priming sugar in the bottle, then chuck them in the cupboard to warm up and carb for a few weeks before sampling.

 

[Julez]

Bewdy thanks guys :beerbang:

 

[SJW]

I am doing one of these soon. I will probably be using Nottingham but either way I will let it ferment out then crash cill and keg. Then try not to drink for a few weeks.

Steve

 

[newguy]

Do you have space in your fridge/cool room to store all the bottles? If so, why not primary as per your usual regime, bottle, then cold condition. I do this with all my bottled beers, which is only 8-10 bottles per batch for comps (the rest I keg). I let them sit at about 16-17C for 2 weeks to condition, then I throw them in my fridge. The result is the same, but the mechanism is different.

 

[Julez]

Do you have space in your fridge/cool room to store all the bottles? If so, why not primary as per your usual regime, bottle, then cold condition. I do this with all my bottled beers, which is only 8-10 bottles per batch for comps (the rest I keg). I let them sit at about 16-17C for 2 weeks to condition, then I throw them in my fridge. The result is the same, but the mechanism is different.

I wondered about this - should have asked the question! Love your work Newguy :icon_cheers: