How do you guys feel about cold crashing the night before moving to bottle? I primary in a chest freezer and I really don't want to transfer in my garage for fear of infection, so moving is unavoidable.
Should I crash cool tonight, move it in the morning and siphon at night? Obviously the temperature would raise and some of the protien/yeast/whatever would come back into solution, so it wouldn't be perfect but might be a happy medium.
You know, I've never ever needed to cold crash any of my beers prior to bottling, nor have I even need to let my beer settle for more than 20 minutes or so after moving it on to the table. If you use moss or a finnings in the boil, utilize either a long primary, or secondary, let the beer bottle condition for a decent length of time in the bottle, and let them chill for a week in the fridge when they are carbed and done condition, you will find they are pretty crystal clear without needing to do that extra step......at least mine have, and judging by comments on beers I've entered in contests, the judges have commented on the clarity of mine...even calling one of them "jewel like" last year....
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Originally Posted by YooperBrew
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You know, I've never ever needed to cold crash any of my beers prior to bottling, nor have I even need to let my beer settle for more than 20 minutes or so after moving it on to the table.
+1. I let it sit for 20minutes or so after moving it and the sediment that has kicked up from the move is already settled back down.
I made this mistake because I broke a carboy and had to use my bottling bucket as a fermentor recently. Anyways, I bottled straight from it and well didn't like the results, really cloudy and extra hop goodness that wasn't good.
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Fermenting: #54 Flanders Red 1.059 16 IBUS 12/22/11
#53 First sour 1.054 ~8 IBUs 12/15/11
The problem with bottling from a primary or secondary instead of using a bottling bucket, is that since you have patiently gone and let your beer settle and clear, in order to mix the priming solution and beer effectively, you would have to stir it in the carboy..which would a) kick up all that nice sediment you have patiently let fall, b) possibly oxydize the beer.
Go to a hardware store and get a translucent or white bucket...but look for one where the 5 gallon mark falls way below the top of the bucket. Usually it will say 5 gallons at 3rd band from the top. (oh get the lid too....I totally regret not getting it when I did.)
Then get a spigot and make a dedicated bottling bucket. It really defeats the purpose of both a long primary/no secondary or a secondary if you have to stir up all the nice sediment you patiently waited to settle just so you can have consistent carbonation.
Mine is the translucent Leaktite brand 5 gallon container with the gallon and liter markings from Homedepot.
And then ONLY use your bottling bucket AS A BOTTLING BUCKET, and you won't have to have this issue again.
If you can't find a spigot today, then rack to the bucket and fill the bottles with the autosiphon, if that's what you wanna do, but you really should move it to a vessel where you can evenly integrate the priming solution and the beer.
But if you try driectly from the primary you will have unsatisfactory results and possibly even cardboard tasting beer.
Hi Revy,
I used some gelatin finings the other day (in the primery) and added the priming solution (speisgabe) and stired it, found that the gelatin "sets" the yeast nicely, was not crystal clear in the bottle, but probably as good as it will get after 2 weeks?
hey mates. On this matter my technique is pretty simple: 2 weeks in the primary > chill it to 4°C > put the primming sugar in the bottles and fill straight from the fermenter.
Never had problems with infection sedment or over/under carbonation. I usually get some fining agents on the boilling to help the process.
How do you guys feel about cold crashing the night before moving to bottle? I primary in a chest freezer and I really don't want to transfer in my garage for fear of infection, so moving is unavoidable.
Should I crash cool tonight, move it in the morning and siphon at night? Obviously the temperature would raise and some of the protien/yeast/whatever would come back into solution, so it wouldn't be perfect but might be a happy medium.
Cold crashing is fine. Hell, I usually cold crash for a few days (week if I'm lazy). Why are you wanting to move in the morning and siphon at night? Are you wanting to warm the beer up? If so why? That's the whole purpose of cold crashing is to let as much sediment and suspended "gunk" to settle out. I can understand letting the trub settle out from the movement. But I've bottled w/o issues straight from cold crashing w/o issues.
I have spigots on all my fermenters,& an old,large printer stand that's now my FV stand/storage unit. The fermenters sit on top the whole time,bottling bucket on the floor. A length of tubing from the spigot to half way around the bottom of the bottling bucket. I let a few inches of beer rack into the bucket before slowly pouring the priming solution into the surface of the beer. No or little oxygen gets into it this way.
Then just keep racking till sediment just barely starts into the racking tube,then turn off the spigot on the fermenter. A few gentle stirs to make sure the priming solution is mixed & it's good to go.
I then move the FV out of the way (the stand has enough surface area for 3 pales & a bottle tree),& pick up the bottling bucket to put in the fermenter's place. Hook a bottling wand with some 3-4 feet of tubing to the bottling bucket spigot,& I can sit down to bottle away. I have a bottling video in my profile showing all this.
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Everything works if ya let it-Roady(meatloaf)
I'm with Revvy on this. I see no benefit to cold crashing OR waiting long time periods after moving your fermenter. Much like Revvy mentioned, two weeks at room temp followed by a cold refrigeration period after you're happy with the carbonation level does wonders for clarity. I've gone even a step further and allow my beers to cold condition in the bottle for a month before bottling (likely unneccesay). Unless you brewed a wheat (although i had a 45% Am. Wheat come out crystal clear one time) or uber hoppy beer, it will be pristinely clear.
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Lagering: Pumpkin Lord (Bock); Draktoberfest
Next: Festivus Ale (Spiced holiday Beer); Set the Snow Afire (Imperial English IPA / El Dorado Hops)
I've never had to cold crash,or add anything to get clear beers. Just 3-5 days after FG,maybe 7 days to get clear or very nearly so. But all are crystal clear 3-7 days from being bottled. I've often wondered if developing pressure in the bottles helps them settle out so quickly?
I also chill my wort down fast enough to where the bottles take some 12 hours to get some chill haze. But not as much as before when chilling took longer. In 24 hours or so,it's gone & the beer is clear again. But 2 weeks in the fridge def helped with thicker head & longer lasting carbonation.
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Everything works if ya let it-Roady(meatloaf)
I am wondering how you no bottling bucket guys mange to fill bottles without getting crap all over the place. If you have a valve at the bottom of your primary, then the sediment is first to come out and would trickle out for a while like sand in an hour glass. If you just siphon then you need a valve at the end near the bottle and you need to hold the tubing with one hand constantly. Am I wrong? Any pics of a successful primary transfer to bottles?
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