Pale Ale Fermentation question

Hi all,
I've been doing a nice all-grain pale ale recipe for some time now fermenting at around 22-24 degree's for the first fermentation then in the bottle at around 20 degree's for second in bottle carbonation. Works very well and tastes great.

I recently read that some brewers after final gravity has been reached in the first fermentation bring the temperature down to 10 degrees for three days before bottling or casking.

Does this actually do anything? Is it needed?

Thanks,
Rob

I think you are talking about cold crashing. It helps clear the beer by causing yeast and other particulates to fall out of suspension. It's not necessary, but helpful if you have the fridge/keezer space to do it.

I'll give it a go and see if I get any differences.
Thanks.

i recommend going lower if possible... 3-5*C for 24-48.

I get mine down to about 2C. Most of the trub and yeast will fall to the bottom of the carboy. It really clears the beer and makes it easier to rack off the yeast cake.

The part that bumps me is fermenting a pale at 22-24C.

I go 16-17C and hold it at 20C until I’m ready to bottle. Then I crash to 15C and hold it for a day or two.

I’ve tried different temps, but 15C (59F) seems to be the sweet spot for me. It’s cold enough to clear, but warm enough to keep the yeast interested.

It's a timesaver, going in to the bottle.

Tagz, 3-5 C is closer to 37- 41F.

Unfortunately I don't have enough space to maintain those temps. I'm brewing at 22-24 because its the temp of the room. I would like to try what you mentioned.

robbo007 said:

Unfortunately I don't have enough space to maintain those temps. I'm brewing at 22-24 because its the temp of the room. I would like to try what you mentioned.

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I'd say that at that temperature you are making beer that doesn't have the best flavor. Do you have a tub that will hold water and has room for your fermenter? If so, use that water bath to keep your beer cooler than your room by adding ice or even a swamp cooler where you drape cloth over your fermenter and let evaporation cool your fermenting beer. There are a number of threads on here about doing it that way. Search swamp cooler.

ok, I'll give it a go at those temps...

+1 on the concern over the elevated fermentation temps of 22 to 24C. That is bound to create more esters than you really want in an ale, especially a pale ale where you are trying to create a palate where the hops can shine. I typically ferment around 19 to 20C. I might allow the temp to rise higher than that late in the ferment to help increase the gravity reduction. But the early portion of the ferment is the most active stage of fermentation where more flavors (off flavors too) and that's why it's important to keep the temperature reduced a bit. Many brewers start their ferment at a reduced temp around 18C and allow the temperature to rise to around 20C through the course of the fermentation.

Chilling the beer to 5 to 10C does help the yeast to flocculate more quickly. I think the primary advantage of this process is to reduce the mass of yeast that is carried over into the serving container (keg, bottle). I'm not sure if there are other benefits.