cold crashing an ale

Hello,

I have a brown ale that has been fermenting for going on two weeks now. I racked to a secondary last week after my gravity readings were constant for 3 days. I am going to let it sit for another week in the secondary before bottling.

My question is, would I clear it up if I cold crashed it. Well, the real question is...how cold and how long should I cold crash?

thanks

fridge temps for a week. it will help get some of the hazy stuff out of the brew provided you don't have chill haze.

I've had some pretty good luck with crashing for 2-3 days at about 2 degrees celcius.

I usually do a week to 2 weeks. If its a clear carboy its amazing to see the fine line of settling yeast, starts at the top and moves its way down.

Can you cold crash and bottle, or is this only used for kegging (will there not be enough yeast left in the 'crashed' beer to carb the beer or does it take much longer to carb?)

iswenson said:

Can you cold crash and bottle, or is this only used for kegging (will there not be enough yeast left in the 'crashed' beer to carb the beer or does it take much longer to carb?)

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Tagged for answer.

Tagged for answer.??

whats that mean

iswenson said:

Tagged for answer.??

whats that mean

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he posted so he can check back for the answer to "can I crash and bottle" question. He could have also subscribed to the thread, but posting and then clicking My Replies works too.

iswenson said:

Tagged for answer.??

whats that mean

Click to expand...

Just posting in the thread so that it's easier for me to find when your question is answered.

JesseRC said:

he posted so he can check back for the answer to "can I crash and bottle" question. He could have also subscribed to the thread, but posting and then clicking My Replies works too.

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Cool. How do I do that?

lunchbox said:

Cool. How do I do that?

Click to expand...

It's in the drop down under thread tools

Cold crashing is used for both bottled and kegged beers. Once you cold crash and rack off (or purge from the keg) the cleared beer, it will remain much more clear, regardless of your storage method. By the time bottling/kegging occurs, the yeast is largely done multiplying due to the sparsity of oxygen in the beer - so no/not much new flocculation will happen.

Although I'm still quite new at this myself, I've read hundreds of times on this forum that in-bottle-carbonation has never been an issue for people who cold crash, or even cold crash and use gelatin for clearing. There is still plenty of healthy yeast left in suspension to get the job done. Although I have read that in extreme cases where people have also filtered their beer for clarity, that natural carbonation will still occur but may be slower to do so.

If you cold crash an ale for a while, you won't have any problem with bottle conditioning. Even though the beer appears very clear, there are still plenty of yeast in suspension.

If you're very worried about it, because it's been more than a couple of weeks or the beer is extraordinarily clear, you could always add 1/4 package of yeast to your cooled priming solution when you go to bottle the beer. That will ensure good carbonation without resuspending all of the "stuff" that you took the trouble to allow to fall out with the cold crashing.

It's not necessary, though. It's a "just in case" back up plan.

Anyone cold crash in an plastic bucket? Or only in glass?