Crash Cooling Hints & Tips

[macron1]

Hi

I am interested in "crash cooling" a brew, which, from what i gather, helps to clarify beer pre bottling/kegging. Could someone please enlighten me on the topic - such as what the best way of doing it is, duration, time to do it etc, benefits over not doing it.

I dont have a fridge spare, so am thinking i might do it in a tub with some ice water, but not sure how long to do it for, the amount of control i need over the temp (if i go too low will it spoil the beer for bottle conditioning/fermenting), or even if its a worth while thing to do.

I usually dont crash cool or do much clarification of my beers, however i have been making beers latley with heaps of stuff (dry hop plugs, raspberries) added to the secondary and need a way to clarify them a bit more than just racking. Not that i personally mind things floating in my brew, its more for others unaccustomed to home made beer...

Thanks, Josh

 

[tangent]

crash cooling is for hot wort (pre-fermented beer) to cause cold break to form.
cold-conditioining after fermentation causes solids to fall out of suspension.

post or pre?

 

[Andyd]

I'm not a world expert on this, but my understanding is that crash cooling as such is not a fantastic idea, because it can lead to elevated levels of diacetyl (green apple or latex nte in the aroma and flavor), amonst other flaws caused by incomplete fermentation.

One recommended way to avoid this is to do a diacetyl rest prior to crashing it out. That means letting the temp rise to 15-18 degrees after about 2/3 of the fermentables have been processed.

So if your OG is 1056, and you want it down to 1010 you would start the rise when the gravity hits around 1025 or so. The rest time is usually 48-72 hours.

After that you can crash it I guess, but letting it drop about 1 degree a day is more usual, and allows secondary fermentation to finish out.

I hope that helps...

Andy

 

[macron1]

crash cooling is for hot wort (pre-fermented beer) to cause cold break to form.
cold-conditioining after fermentation causes solids to fall out of suspension.

post or pre?

oooo now we are getting somewhere... I think i am thinking of cold-conditioning i.e. post fermentation. I am wanting solids to fall out of suspension in prior to bottling. The questions then are as above - how, how long, etc?

 

[Andyd]

oooo now we are getting somewhere... I think i am thinking of cold-conditioning i.e. post fermentation. I am wanting solids to fall out of suspension in prior to bottling. The questions then are as above - how, how long, etc?

Yep - defintely cold conditioning (excuse any typos - f***ed up keyboard, and driving along the hume).

Like I said above, cold conditoning is usually a slow process, as opposed to wort chilling which you gnerllywant to have happen rapidly.

If you want to try speeding it up, I would go for a temp profile that brings the temperature down to about 2 degrees over 3 days min.

Also don't forget what Iwrote about the diacetyl rest - it's worth considering, depending on the style of beer you are brewing.

Cheers!

Andy