Cold Conditioning

Hey everyone. I'm new to home brewing and this is my first time posting on this site. Can anyone help me out with how to cold condition a Belgian Dubbel?

There are many ways to do this, but for my .02 I cold condition in secondary ferment for 60+ days at cellar (55F) or cooler. I then bottle with yeast, do a 2 week conditioning at 75F to carbonate then lay the bottles down (figuratively) for a few weeks to months at cellar temp. Gets better with time.

I put my secondary carboy in the fridge at around 37F for 2 weeks, then keg and/or bottle. It helps clear the beer and I find it improves the taste too. After that, the beer is all clear.

Cheers !




-edited for spelling

With ales there really is not such thing as "cold conditioning." Conditioning relies on yeast activity to a great extent. Ale yeast operates in a pretty warm temp range from the low 50's to the 90's (for some yeasts like Saison.) When you get cooler than a yeasts lowest temps, the yeast, quite frankly, goes to sleep.....if you're asleep do you accomplish anything? Neither do the yeasts. They go dormant, and the beer doesn't "condition." In fact it just sits there, and ages with little or no change.

All cooling off ale yeast does is let it fall out of suspension...we cold crash to CLEAR our beers. But the flavors don't get altered...just that the beer gets less yeasty tasting...

Lagering is cold conditioning, and that obviously is with a lager yeast....that is active in cold conditions.

What are you trying to accomplish with your beer? If you want the flavors to come together, then leave the beer at room temps til you're happy with the flavor.

I'm just new to the process and so I'm just trying to figure things out. So cold crashing is basically for clarity? Do you need to re-pitch yeast to bottle it if you drop the yeast out of suspension?

jeetaman said:

I'm just new to the process and so I'm just trying to figure things out. So cold crashing is basically for clarity? Do you need to re-pitch yeast to bottle it if you drop the yeast out of suspension?

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Some do some don't. Depends on the gravity and how patient you are. I usually re-yeast my beers which are north of 1.060... which is what I normally brew...

jeetaman said:

I'm just new to the process and so I'm just trying to figure things out. So cold crashing is basically for clarity? Do you need to re-pitch yeast to bottle it if you drop the yeast out of suspension?

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THere's still enough yeast to carbonate beer even with cold crashing.

Revvy said:

THere's still enough yeast to carbonate beer even with cold crashing.

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Appreciate this. I have a Kolsch cold conditioning for 2 weeks @ 45° and I was wondering the same thing.

How long/cold do you crash a Belgian Dubbel? Generally/preferentially speaking

As close to freezing as you can get (but don't let it freeze) for two weeks is good. 4 weeks is better!

What are your thoughts on cold crashing the Dubbel in the primary bucket? Is it necessary to rack to secondary before cold crash?

Well since many of us don't use secondaries, and opt for a month long primary instead, AND we cold crash....I think you can draw your own conclusions....

Ok, sorry to sound dumb, but I'm just making sure I'm getting it right, because everybody has different methods, and they change depending on which thread you read.
1 month in primary at 66-70 degrees, then cold crash around 35 for 2 weeks in primary, then bottle and leave them in dark corner for as long as I can stand it. Sound right?

jeetaman said:

What are your thoughts on cold crashing the Dubbel in the primary bucket? Is it necessary to rack to secondary before cold crash?

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If its a high gravity beer, and you plan to lager it for a while, you should consider transferring it to a carboy.

The flavors mature nicely with a few weeks of aging, but you can also complete primary fermentation, bottle it, and then cold condition in the bottles.

jeetaman said:

Ok, sorry to sound dumb, but I'm just making sure I'm getting it right, because everybody has different methods, and they change depending on which thread you read.
1 month in primary at 66-70 degrees, then cold crash around 35 for 2 weeks in primary, then bottle and leave them in dark corner for as long as I can stand it. Sound right?

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There is no "best way." What you described will work. My preference is about 3 weeks primary, 1-3 weeks secondary as cold as possible (I put it outside in a box when temps are >25F. Then bottle with a little fresh yeast added (I like Wyeast 3522 or 1388), bottle condition for a weeks.

I fear transferring to a secondary because I read that if you are a beginner and don't quite know what you are doing then you can oxidize your beer. This is batch #2 for me so I am most assuredly a beginner.

jeetaman said:

I fear transferring to a secondary because I read that if you are a beginner and don't quite know what you are doing then you can oxidize your beer. This is batch #2 for me so I am most assuredly a beginner.

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You are correct. It is a small risk unless done correctly, but the process isn't impossible to master. If you practice it, it's quite manageable. If you want to keep it simple, leaving it in one container is safest.

Revvy said:

Lagering is cold conditioning, and that obviously is with a lager yeast....that is active in cold conditions.

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Sorry, Revvy, but lagering takes place at near freezing temperatures, and lager yeast certainly aren't active at 33F. Lagering is for precipitating out mildly-soluble compounds like polyphenols that detract from a crisp, clean flavor. Many ales will benefit from a lagering period as well (see: altbier) as the yeast has nothing to do with this process.

Cold conditioning any beer at warmer than lagering temps (say fridge/serving temps) could serve to drop out more yeast giving you a sparkling clear beer and totally remove any yeastiness that may remain after racking.

Many homebrewers may benefit more by leaving their carbonated beer in the fridge an extra week or two rather than leaving it in the primary for that time to pick up more yeast character, as that "homebrew taste" is often attributed to excess yeast in the finished beer.

Definitely going to agree with daksin.

Cold conditioning is specifically a process for ales, as when you do it with a lager it's called lagering. It's not about the yeast doing anything - you should be giving them enough time to do their job before you condition - now it's about getting the yeast as well as some proteins and other substances to drop out of the beer. I'll leave the rest of the explaining to Palmer as he does a better job than I:

John Palmer How to Brew Chapter 8.3 said:

Towards the end of secondary fermentation, the suspended yeast flocculates (settles out) and the beer clears. High molecular weight proteins also settle out during this stage. Tannin/phenol compounds will bind with the proteins and also settle out, greatly smoothing the taste of the beer. This process can be helped by chilling the beer, very similar to the lagering process. In the case of ales, this process is referred to as Cold Conditioning, and is a popular practice at most brewpubs and microbreweries. Cold conditioning for a week clears the beer with or without the use of finings.

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I have an additional question. I have an Irish Red Ale that I would like to try my first attempt at cold crashing as I forgot to add Irish moss. I have a chest freezer and plan to put the secondary in there at about 35 for a few days or so. My question is the next step is bottling. When I am ready to bottle do I let the beer warm up to room temperature before adding priming sugar and then bottle or leave it cold?

Iceman6409 said:

I have an additional question. I have an Irish Red Ale that I would like to try my first attempt at cold crashing as I forgot to add Irish moss. I have a chest freezer and plan to put the secondary in there at about 35 for a few days or so. My question is the next step is bottling. When I am ready to bottle do I let the beer warm up to room temperature before adding priming sugar and then bottle or leave it cold?

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No need, there should be plenty of yeast left in suspension to carbonate your beer, even though it will look extremely clear. If you're worried, just drag your racking cane in the dropped out yeast for half a second and pick some up!

But at what temperature should it be bottled? Also, when you bottle condition for a couple weeks do you do this at room temp (65-70)?

Bottling temp doesn't matter. I usually take my fermenter out of the freezer the night before I bottle. Not because of temperature but to allow any sediment stirred up from my moving it to settle overnight.
Assuming by bottle condition you mean the time it takes for the beer to carb, then you need to get up to 70F if at all possible. At that temp most beers will take about 3 weeks to fully carb up. Lower than 70F and you really add some time although it will get there ... eventually.