Cold crashing process?

Yakima 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
PhilipLoyd

PhilipLoyd

Member
Joined
Jul 28, 2013
Messages
14
Reaction score
2
Ok, here goes. This is my first homebrew. I have been reading the forum for weeks. This home brewing has taken over my thoughts and wallet for the last five weeks. I started with two batches of beer from kits, Irish Stout and Red Ale. I repurposed a double wide fridge into a fermentation chamber with a Johnson temperature controller at 67-69.






I am now sitting at two weeks of fermenting in the primaries. I plan on going three weeks. Hydrometer readings for confirmation. My question is about cold crashing and kegging. I want the beer to be the best it can be, so I will be patient as I can be. I would like to cold crash in the primaries by just setting the Johnson controller to 32 degrees for four days. Then racking into corny kegs. My assumption is to rack with the beer cold so the sediment would stay out of suspension. Now, people talk about aging the beer for a few weeks in the keg at room temperature by removing oxygen by pressurizing the keg and venting a few times, then unhook and leave a room temperature. I'm wondering does this really matter or could I just put it in the kegerator under serving pressure and just let it slow carb for a couple weeks. Any hints, opinions, tips on the above process?
 
Unless I have brewed a beer that will benefit from extended aging I just cold crash, keg and then let it carb at serving pressure for two weeks (with some sampling along the way of course). Some beers will be good to go at that point, others you will notice gradually continue to improve with some additional age. :mug:
 
The thing that really makes cold crashin work is the crash, not the end temp. The little yeasties get all irritated if the temp drops more than 3F in a 24 hour period. So you drop the temp faster than that and they get stressed and start to fall out of suspension, taking some other junk with them.

I usually ferment at 60 for ales and then cold crash down to 40 or 45. (Remember to put vodka in your fermentation lock or take the liquid out all together. Cold crashing will suck air lock juice back into your brew.)

After it hits the bottom temp I usually let it sit for a week before kegging.

When kegging it is a good idea to get as much oxygen out of the keg as possible to reduce the possibility of oxidation in your beer. Especially if you take a while to drink it or are going to age it a bit. I will get my beer in, put on the lid, then run the pressure up to 5 PSI then turn off the valve. Then I release the pressure. I repeat this 4 or 5 times then run up the pressure to carb the brew.

I usually run it at 25-30 PSI for a few days then drop it to serving PSI for the rest of the week. Then I start sampling and when I think it's good to do I let the thirsty mobs at my keg.
 
When I could crash I set the temp controller to 36 or 38. Then once the freezer gets the beer down to temp, I'll adjust accordingly. Typically the freezer will overshoot the temp you set the controller to, so I'm hesitant to set it at or around freezing right off the bat.


Its worth noting for fermentation and cold crashing I use a similar tape probe to bucket and insulate technique
 
That is good advice. I think I may just let it stay in the primary for 4 weeks. First three weeks, fermenting at 68 degrees, confirming with hydrometer readings. Crash for a week and rack directly into keg to slowly carbonate for two weeks. That's a 6 week process until beer. I understand it could be quicker or longer, but I believe that to be a happy medium. I have heard about people using gelatin during the cold crashing process. I am about to start searching that out to see if it is worth while. Thanks again for the quick replies!
 
I am also interested to find out the pros, cons, and how-tos of using the gelatin in a cold crash.
 
Well, I have been reading everything I can find about cold crashing and the use of gelatin. I will stick with the 6 week plan above with this alteration. At the start of the fourth week in the primary, I will turn the fermentation chamber down to 36F. After three days I will add the gelatin and rack to keg after four more days. After reading just about everything on this site about the use of gelatin, I think this post by RCCOLA hit the mark. Some people say different quantities, but his post was the general consensus of everything I read.

RCCOLA:
"Knox gelatin from the grocery. 1/2 tsp per 5 gal batch. Dissolve in 3/4 cup of 120F water, let sit covered for 20 mins, heat to 170F, then gently stir in hot--do not chill it. Or add to secondary and rack on top of."

"ETA: This needs to be added to cold beer. The cold makes the proteins clump together. The gel clings to them and they fall out, leaving the beer clear."

The one question I am unsure about is should I do this to both batches. The Red Ale and the Irish Stout. The only beer some specifically mentioned this shouldn't be done on were Wheat beers that you want to be cloudy. Cloudy my not be the right word, but you know what I mean.

Comments appreciated. Thanks again.
 
PhilipLoyd said:
Well, I have been reading everything I can find about cold crashing and the use of gelatin. I will stick with the 6 week plan above with this alteration. At the start of the fourth week in the primary, I will turn the fermentation chamber down to 36F. After three days I will add the gelatin and rack to keg after four more days. After reading just about everything on this site about the use of gelatin, I think this post by RCCOLA hit the mark. Some people say different quantities, but his post was the general consensus of everything I read.

RCCOLA:
"Knox gelatin from the grocery. 1/2 tsp per 5 gal batch. Dissolve in 3/4 cup of 120F water, let sit covered for 20 mins, heat to 170F, then gently stir in hot--do not chill it. Or add to secondary and rack on top of."

"ETA: This needs to be added to cold beer. The cold makes the proteins clump together. The gel clings to them and they fall out, leaving the beer clear."

The one question I am unsure about is should I do this to both batches. The Red Ale and the Irish Stout. The only beer some specifically mentioned this shouldn't be done on were Wheat beers that you want to be cloudy. Cloudy my not be the right word, but you know what I mean.

Comments appreciated. Thanks again.
Click to expand...

I need to correct this post as the above process did not work. It turns out it is 1/2 teaspoon per gallon. So basically one packet per 5 gallon batch. My last 5 batches have been crystal clear. I now cold crash for 2 to 3 days and then add gelatin and let it sit for the four more days. Comes out crystal clear.
 

Similar threads

P
Should I cold crash?
Replies
10
Views
802
bailey mountain brewer
bailey mountain brewer
P
Fermentation and Conditioning
Replies
2
Views
489
wsmith1625
wsmith1625
C
Cold Crash / Force Carb Temp and Pressure Vs Serving Temp andPressure
Replies
6
Views
798
Corey22
C
MtnGoatJoe
Cold crash didn't stop fermentation
Replies
4
Views
747
Henbrew
Henbrew
F
my beer wont clear in the fermenter
Replies
11
Views
806
FloppyKnockers
FloppyKnockers
InkBird 300

Latest posts

Back
Top