Cold crash an ale in primary while saving $ for keg setup?

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Rolly

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I have a 1.052 brown ale that has been sitting in the primary glass carboy for three weeks. I've decided I'm done with bottling, so I'd like to keg this batch once save up the money for a kegging setup. I'll probably be able to buy the keg setup in a couple weeks, meaning the beer while be on the yeast cake for about 6-7 weeks.

I have an extra fridge I can put the carboy into..should I do this and just let it cold crash for a few weeks? Will this eliminate any risk of off flavors from sitting on the yeast for 7 weeks? I really don't wanna f$$k this one up since it's my first all-grain and I'm really excited about trying it.

Thanks!
 
I'm still new but I would think it would be ok. I usually cold crash for only 3 days so I'm not exactly sure what weeks would do. Why not just transfer to a secondary in the meantime? If you don't have one you could grab one in the meantime. I think thatwould be the safest bet.
 
Just leave it in primary for 4-5 weeks, then the week before you are going to keg the beer, crash it. You wont have any problems with it sitting on the cake for that long.
 
If I were you, I'd rather not leave something in primary for 6-7 weeks unless you are lagering. Not only is it on yeast cake, but various trub that may contribute off flavors (hey, there's a chance). So, if I were you I'd rack to secondary like chaydaw mentioned then let it sit for a few months if need be. Plus, your kegging system may prove more expensive or troublesome than you anticipate :)
 
My normal routine is 3-4 weeks at fermenting temp, then cold crash for a week in the primary. However, life occasionally intervenes, and I have left batches in cold crash for a month or more with no problems. For a brown ale, I would not worry about it, assuming you had healthy yeast. Also, if you want a really compact yeast cake, add some gelatin after it has reached cold crash temperature.
 
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