What is Cold Crashing?

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RoseburgBrewer

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I've been reading a lot about cold crashing your secondary and have no idea what that means. I looked on home brew wiki and it isn't on there. What is cold crashing?:drunk:
 
Cold crashing refers to cooling the beer so the protein and extra junk in your beer falls out of it, making for a clearer beer. I will be doing this to an IPA that I made recently as there is way too much stuff in it.
 
carnevoodoo said:
. I will be doing this to an IPA that I made recently as there is way too much stuff in it.
even after 2 weeks in glass, my IPA had little floaties...36 hours in the basement at 38 degrees...Clear as a bell.
Just as a side note, if you can cold crash where you will be able to rack without moving the carboy it helps.
 
BigKahuna said:
even after 2 weeks in glass, my IPA had little floaties...36 hours in the basement at 38 degrees...Clear as a bell.
Just as a side note, if you can cold crash where you will be able to rack without moving the carboy it helps.

yup, in a 70 qt cooler up on a bench. I'll just fill it with ice and wait 2 days.
 
I cold crash in the bottle. After I bottle a batch, I'll let it sit for a couple of weeks to get conditioned and then I'll put them in the garage where it's cool all the time. When I'm ready to drink, crack one from there or put in the fridge for a bit to really chill.
 
You will get better results if you cold crash for 7-10 days. There is some risk of too much yeast falling out during a cold crash and there not being enough to carbonate in the bottle, but most of those reports are few and far between. If you cold crash for 5 days, and give your beer 3 weeks to carb, you should have nicely carbonated, crystal clear beer.
 
cubbies said:
You will get better results if you cold crash for 7-10 days. There is some risk of too much yeast falling out during a cold crash and there not being enough to carbonate in the bottle, but most of those reports are few and far between. If you cold crash for 5 days, and give your beer 3 weeks to carb, you should have nicely carbonated, crystal clear beer.

I understand a longer cold crash is probably ideal, but I'm just looking for improvement not perfection. I mean a little cloudy won't kill anyone. :)
 
carnevoodoo said:
Cold crashing refers to cooling the beer so the protein and extra junk in your beer falls out of it, making for a clearer beer. I will be doing this to an IPA that I made recently as there is way too much stuff in it.

I have been doing a cold break in my kettle with great results. My latest Whaleback IPA is very clear and has almost no sediment at the bottom of the bottle. I LOVE being able to pour the whole darned bottle into a glass!
 
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