What cold crashing

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Brew2

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I'm new to brewing. Just doing my 3rd batch. This is my first one that I'm not doing a secondary. Is cold crashing something that I should do? Thanks for the help
 
If your going to cold crash in the primary I would wait at least three weeks in order to make sure its completely done fermenting. Either that or take a couple gravity readings after 2 weeks to make sure the gravities stable
 
Cold crashing is done to help particulate settle out and clear the beer, kinda like lagering. If you don't care about beer clarity you can skip this step. During the winter I'll normally place the carboy on the garage floor. Have not cold crashed during the summer yet. Not sure what I'll do since I don't have a fridge large enough to put it in.
 
Lot of variables there, sg? Did you take a fg? Has it floctulated? Cold crashing is good, I almost never use a secondary, except with oak chips. Depending on sg, should leave in primary at least two weeks.
 
I'm a firm believer in the rule of threes. Three weeks for every step minimum. Cold crashing will help to cause some of the larger protein particles precipitate out of your brew. I crash my brew to just above freezing for 24-48 hrs and do not touch it till then. I rack it to bottles and cap cold, and allow them to warm to room temp for 3-4 weeks. Then into the fridge for cooling to serving temp. Clears my brews nicely. I even did it to a German Hefe and ended up drinking Crystal Hefe just like Pauliner or Wurzburger Hof in Wurzburg. Patience is one thing brewing will teach you. If you let the brew come to you it will improve the taste and mouthfeel and the carbonation will hold a good lacy head for a long while. Once you get a few brews into your pipeline, save a few from each batch in a special shelf or drawer and see how tasty they get after three or four months. It is amazing how smooth and ,mellow they will become with just a few months of ageing. So try to keep a 6'er from every 5 gallon batch and before long you will have a pretty broad selection of flavors and styles to entertain you friends and associates with when they come to visit..

Wheelchair Bob
 
I now cold-crash every batch 3-5 days @35*F before bottling/kegging. I also add 1/2 tab of whirlfloc @ 10 minutes left in the boil and let my wort settle 15 minutes after removing the chiller. My beers have become much clearer since I began using those three techniques.

An old friend came to a "groom shower" we had at our house today for my son. After sampling the 3 varieties I have on tap, he asked, "What kind of filter do you use to get beer so clear?":D
 
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