Extended cold conditioning

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loctones

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What does longer-term cold conditioning do? I know that cold conditioning helps clarify and smooth the beer. In "How to Brew", John Palmer says breweries cold condition for about a week. However, I've seen a lot of recipe that recommend aging cold for a couple of months. Does the longer cold conditioning just add to the clarity and smoothing, or does the extra time do something additional?
 
clarity and 'smoothing' are pretty much it. It just let's the flavours meld together slowly. Longer is generally better, but there is a max limit at which point the beer will get worse and start losing flavour. This can take a very long time at lagering temps though.

2 months is probably plenty for most beers.
 
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