How long can I cold crash without having to add yeast before bottling?

Hi all,

I've never been too concerened with beer clarity, but as a recent convert to BIAB I've been surprised by the amount of crap that gets from the kettle to the fermenter and to the glass. I used Irish Moss for the first time in a batch for xmas, but still ended up taking a lot of sludge into the fermenter. Is it likely that these will settle out as I added the moss, or is that only meant to occur in the boil kettle?

Anyway, here's my real question. I've never cold crashed a beer before, but I want this beer to look nice as it's being given out as gifts. If I stuck it in a fridge for a couple of days before transferring to secondary and again before bottling, will it clear out enough or is it likely to need much longer?

Also, how long can I leave it there before having to worry about adding yeast? I don't want it all to settle out and then have the beer not carbonate, as I'm on a bit of a tight schedule. This is a Belgian dubbel style beer with Wyeast 3787 and while I know darker beers will hide mistakes better than paler ones, I'd rather it was nicely transparent rather than opaque with flotsam.

Thanks

James

you can cold crash for probably 2 months before you might want to think about adding yeast at bottling. if this was my beer, i would only cold crash the secondary. probably for 10-14 days before bottling.

Any more than 6 months and I would consider adding yeast.

The trub will settle out in the primary.

Thanks for the advice. What's the ideal cold crash temperature for a beer like this? I have a temperature controller, but if fridge temperatures are ok then I'll leave out the extra complication. I can rack to secondary tomorrow and whack the whole thing in the fridge for a couple of weeks before bottling if that's how it's done.

James

Fridge temps are fine

if you are concerned with beer clarity, try adding a stainless steel strainer when dropping from the brew kettle to the fermenter. I have always used one and never had clarity problems.