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seand · 01-22-2012, 03:35 PM

I'm working on my second batch. It's a Blonde Ale using Wyeast American Ale yeast. Today is day 7 with fermentation starting within 10 hours, and airlock activity largely stopped at day 5. It's still 3 degrees F warmer than the 60 degree setting on the wine fridge so the yeast are still up to something. This wine fridge holds non-fermenting liquids right on target to the degree. The fermentation gasses have smelled like bananas the entire time which was concerning!

I opened it up today for the first time, and it's reached the final gravity (1.011). There's some krausen on top and carbon dioxide bubbles when disturbed. The taste is very smooth already with no fruit notes at all.

I'm thinking about taking it out of the fridge for Diacetyl rest at ambient (78 F) for a few days, and then cold crashing it down to 40 for the remainder until bottling. Or should I just let the yeast keep going since they're still working and just bottle in a week or two with a cold crash then? Any thoughts?

Thanks! The information on here has already been a great to help to my second batch.

***Yooper*** · 01-22-2012, 03:43 PM

Since you've still got activity and krausen, wait. Wait until there is NO more activity, and then you can bring it up to room temperature (although 78 degrees is really HIGH) or wait three more days at fermentation temperature before cold crashing.

I wouldn't allow it to get to 78 degrees, so I'd keep it where it is until about day 14 and then cold crash, if the beer has been finished for at least 3-5 days.

seand · 01-23-2012, 12:14 AM

Thanks for the feedback... I'll go with your suggestion!

**GASoline71** · 01-23-2012, 12:23 AM

Is a cold crash absolutely neccessary? Just checkin', cuz I hear about it a lot on here.

Gary

***Yooper*** · 01-23-2012, 12:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GASoline71

Is a cold crash absolutely neccessary? Just checkin', cuz I hear about it a lot on here.

Gary

Oh, no, it's not necessary at all. It just really helps clarity. The cold crash causes excess yeast, proteins, and other suspended items to fall to the bottom so that the beer is clearer. A clearer beer at bottling means less crud in your bottles later on.

JimTheHick · 01-23-2012, 01:05 AM

The season, too. Everyone's garage north of Missouri is about the right temp for it. That spurs discuss. I've been doing it with every batch since October, but I won't bother with it come warmer weather.

seand · 01-25-2012, 11:36 AM

Just an update... Day 10 and it's down to 1.009 or so, below the recipe FG. Some Krausen still left on top with a 3 degree F temp delta. I started to question the LCD temp strip on the fermenter ... I stuck some water in the fridge and it cooled down to the set temp, and I measured the temp of the beer and it's right where the strip says. Holding off on crashing.

william_shakes_beer · 01-25-2012, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yooper

Oh, no, it's not necessary at all. It just really helps clarity. The cold crash causes excess yeast, proteins, and other suspended items to fall to the bottom so that the beer is clearer. A clearer beer at bottling means less crud in your bottles later on.

I have never had clarity problems and never cold crashed. I do 4 weeks primary, and 4 weeks bottle conditioning. Always a nice tight yeast cake at the bottom of the bottle that never pours out, even when I upend the bottle completely.

seand · 02-02-2012, 03:24 AM

On day 12 the gravity still read 1.009 and the temp difference had dropped, so I went to crash. I could only get it down to 42 or so, and it got 4 days worth of cold crash. I bottled it cold, and ended up adjusting the sugar downward to about 4 ounces to compensate (Hopefully that works!). It seemed extremely clear, especially compared to my first batch.

Thanks for the advice!

seand · 02-09-2012, 10:25 PM

A week later, I decided to chill one down just to see what I ended up with. They carbonated pretty well. It probably could have been okay with 5 ounces.

Pre-fridge it was crystal clear. After... well, now I know what chill haze is. I used a wort chiller and took it from boiling to 70 degrees in about 5 minutes, so it wasn't cooling too slowly for sure. What's strange is that at 40 degrees the beer was quite clear being bottled. In any case... the beer tastes great even now with essentially no bottle conditioning. At this for this Blonde Ale, cold crashing wasn't enough on its own to clear it. So much to learn!