Cold Conditioning question

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TLProulx

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I want to cold condition a beer before kegging it. I don't have any spare room in my refrigerator for my carboy. So I'm thinking about putting my carboy outside.
The temperature is around -6°C to -2°C [20F to 30F] by night. Will it be too cold so the beer will freeze? If the beer freeze, can I warm it then put it back outside?
The carboy will be protected against light.
Thanks
 
I would not let it freeze.

Ok, so I shouldn't let the beer freeze but what if I let the beer out until the beer reach 0°C then take the carboy back inside. After then beer is back to room temperature, I put the beer outside wait until it reach 0°C then back inside ... and so on.

Does anyone got good result with something like that? Can the warm/cold cycle modify the taste of the beer?
 
The temperature cycling should not be a problem if you have a good seal on the carboy. What causes the problems is the absorption of oxygen into the beer. A poor seal and cold temps will increase the a amount of oxygen in the beer.
 
The temperature cycling should not be a problem if you have a good seal on the carboy. [...]

If I freeze my airlock then put it back on the carboy, the seal should resist low temperature.
If the seal is made when the airlock is cold, when the carboy will be put outside, the rubber will shrink but since the seal was "cold-made" the shrink won't untight.
At room temperature the rubber will expand and tighten the seal.

Can I safely remove my airlock from my fermenter for putting it in the freezer? I'll cover the opening with plastic wrap while freezing the airlock.
And sanitize the rubber.
 
If I freeze my airlock then put it back on the carboy, the seal should resist low temperature.
If the seal is made when the airlock is cold, when the carboy will be put outside, the rubber will shrink but since the seal was "cold-made" the shrink won't untight.
At room temperature the rubber will expand and tighten the seal.

Can I safely remove my airlock from my fermenter for putting it in the freezer? I'll cover the opening with plastic wrap while freezing the airlock.
And sanitize the rubber.

If you seal it tight you could, in theory, implode your carboy if the pressure difference is enough. NO idea if this is possible at these temps but why not throw in some more paranoia. :D What is in your airlock? If it is vodka, it won't freeze.
 
Put cheap vodka in your airlock. I've got 5 gallons that's been out in my unheated attached garage for a few weeks. It's 22* outside right now, and has been around that or lower every night for a while. Granted, it's probably a little warmer in there than outside, but the beer is fine.
 
Dissolved ions in the wort from brewing will lower its freezing point lower than that of just plain water, but i'm not sure by how much. I would be worried about light exposure too, you dont want sunlight touching your carboy. opps you already said that .. do you have an attic or some type of storage? I usually let mine cold crash for 48 hours, and then rack cold. been using my garage lately.
 
Dissolved ions in the wort from brewing will lower its freezing point lower than that of just plain water, but i'm not sure by how much. I would be worried about light exposure too, you dont want sunlight touching your carboy. opps you already said that .. do you have an attic or some type of storage? I usually let mine cold crash for 48 hours, and then rack cold. been using my garage lately.

I do have covered stair that goes into the basement with two door. Not much light and the Temperature was around 0°C (32F) when the outside temperature was -7°C (20F). I think it could be a good place to condition the beer, in a box and in a garbage bag.

From what I've read, the freeze point of beer is around 22F; depending of alcohol % and other things.


Some people condition there beer for 2 week and some for 48h. All I want is no deposit on the bottom of my keg. 1 week @ 40F was enough for ma last beer. Any suggestion?
 
Put cheap vodka in your airlock. I've got 5 gallons that's been out in my unheated attached garage for a few weeks. It's 22* outside right now, and has been around that or lower every night for a while. Granted, it's probably a little warmer in there than outside, but the beer is fine.

I like the idea of putting vodka; the airlock won't freeze and jam.
 

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