cold conditioning vs. ferm temp control

I just tried my 3rd attempt at homebrewing. The first two batches (APA and amber ale kits) were very mediocre. They were drinkable, but each had a sweet / twangy aftertaste that I didn't care for at all. Both tasted very similar. I worried this was extract "twang" and wouldn't be able to make good beer.

My third batch was a Brewer's Best AltBier kit. I just tried it after two weeks of bottle conditioning and (while under carbed) it tastes great. The beer is extremely clean tasting.

I did two things quite differently with this beer based upon information that I learned on this site.

1. I used a swamp cooler to keep fermentation temps in the mid 60's.
2. I cold conditioned in a refrigerator (recommended by Kaiser for this style of beer) for about 10 days before bottling.

The beer is clear as a bell and tastes extremely clean, there are no off-flavors that my limited tastebuds can detect.

My question is which of these modifications made the difference (or both)? Should I now cold condition everything prior to bottling? I will if it makes this much of a difference but it does add time to the process. Fermentation temperature control is now a must.

Finally, I just upgraded my account as a big thank you for the information I have received from this site.

Both of those techniques help to produce a great tasting beer, but I would say that it's the temperature control along with better quality ingredients that got rid of the "twang" taste.

Cold conditioning helps to clarify the beer, and help smooth it out. But it doesn't really change the flavor.

I bet you'll continue to make better beer each time. I started buying freshly made kits from austinhomebrew.com for my next kits, and they turned out even better than the Brewer's Best kits. I think the reason is because the ingredients were fresher, and not sitting on a store's shelves like some kits can. The bigger online homebrew stores will crush the grain when you order, and pack up the extract then, too, so it's as fresh as possible. I think that's a big part of it.

Overall, I'd say the two best steps I made in producing better beer were fermentation temperature control, and pitching the proper amount of yeast. Other things helped, too, of course, but I would peg those two things as #1 and #2.

If one were to cold condition an ale for 7-10 days in order to clarify the beer and smooth it out then would one need to add yeast back to this ale in order to carbonate the beer after bottling?

I didn't - I did carefully move the bucket from the cold conditioning fridge to a room temperature place, and let it warm up before bottling. I made sure to give everything a nice gentle stir prior to bottling (after adding priming sugar).

My carbonation is okay at 3 weeks - but maybe a bit on the light side. I might add a little more priming sugar next time (I adjust based on temp and style), but I wouldn't add yeast.

Its either better quality ingredients or the fermentation temperature control.

Cold conditioning makes the beer clearer, perhaps a bit cleaner, certainly more stable but it doesn't work any miracles in the short term.

remilard said:

Its either better quality ingredients or the fermentation temperature control.

Cold conditioning makes the beer clearer, perhaps a bit cleaner, certainly more stable but it doesn't work any miracles in the short term.

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So how long do you think ale would need to be cold conditioned to have significant benefits? Would the amount of time depend on the volume of the batch?