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jerryalan · 12-13-2010, 03:56 AM

I have an IPA that's been in the primary for two weeks. I've been fermenting in the primary for three weeks and then cold crashing for one week prior to kegging and serving. However, after two weeks my fermentation is complete. Is it time to do the cold crash now or should I wait another week? If I wait the extra week, what does that do for my beer?

Regarding temp, I currently have a pale ale on tap in the fridge where I cold crash. I understand that the cold crash should occur as close to 32 as possible but I think that will be too cold for serving the pale ale. Should I do the CC at serving temp but for a longer duration or does it need to be close to freezing to be effective?

Thanks!

android · 12-13-2010, 05:42 AM

temps above 32 work fine for cold crashing, so i wouldn't worry about lowering serving temps that far just to cold crash.

as far as the IPA goes, if you had a nice, fairly quick, healthy fermentation, i don't see much problem with crashing after two weeks. i rarely leave beers in primary longer than that, but i am anal about ensuring the best possible conditions for a healthy, quick starting fermentation. it's usually done with the bulk of the work in 4-5 days, then i will leave it to clean up and condition a bit for the next 10 days or so. of course there are exceptions with higher ABV beers and such, but 14 days is usually good. that's not to say it tastes great right away in the keg, i usually let it cold condition while carbing for a few weeks to get the beer in its prime.

jmhart · 12-13-2010, 04:11 PM

I crash at just under 40F for 48 hours or so. Usually after two or three seeks of fermentation...basically whenever hydrometer reading is constant plus 3-5 days plus whenever I have time to move stuff around.