Conditioning: Cold or Room Temp?

What is your preference? Do you see a difference? How does it affect your final product?

What I've found is that on my lighter ales (pales, ambers, etc.) cold conditioning for at least a couple of weeks really improves not only the clarity --and the do come out clear as commercial beer -- but also the taste. I've not tried cold conditioning porters or stouts, I usually keep those at room temp but would they improve with cold conditioning?

I don't presume to be an expert at conditioning, but this is what I recall from reading and talking to friends, please correct me if I'm wrong:

Cold conditioning: Less esters & buttery taste, can settle chill haze,

Room Temp: Allows what ever remaining yeast to clear out more byproducts.

My poll answer was "depends on the style"...but more often, it depends on whether I have space in my lagerator. I cold-conditioned a porter for a very long time...2 months maybe...and it turned out to be a really clean beer.

Depends on the style for me. I usually keep my ales ~67oF. I have no way to lager yet. But I'm looking at all the ads, Craigslist, etc., every day for a chest freezer to convert.

In mid-winter, I can put a carboy in my garage with an old blanket over it and it lagers pretty well. The garage stays at a constant 40-45oF that time of year.

FWIW to you hot-weather guys & gals: my A/C is on it's last legs and in the last month, it just hasn't been able to keep up. My HVAC guy says it's time to 'put her down'! Since I'll be moving soon, I'm not putting any $$$ into a new one! So, as an experiment this month, I've kept an IPA I made using White Labs WLP810 in a cooler filled with water and covered with a towel to wick up the water. I took two 1-gallon plastic milk jugs and filled them ~3/4 full of water. I freeze them and alternate one in the morning and one when I get home from work. Those bad boys have kept the surroundeing water at a constant 50oF! I'm curious to see how this IPA will turn out.

It totally depends on the style. Lager must be cold conditioned, whereas an English ale should be conditioned around 60deg (as an example).

I have been just conditioning my brew behind my couch under the sofa table. So whatever room temp. is probably around 80 to 85 degrees for the last week or so. Then I have been putting in fridge as I drink it. Would it help to:
1 Let it carb up at room temp and then put in fridge.
2 Put it in fridge and let carb at fridge temps.
I'm figuring it would take quite a while to carb. in fridge been taking 7 to 10 days to carb. up at room temps.

I've been conditioning my ales at around 66 F in primary and secondary using my Son of Fermentation Chiller. Then bottle condition at room temp 75 F for 3-4 weeks. After that I chill it down in the refrigerator for a few hours and pour into a chilled glass for great liquid pleasure.

i like to bottle condition at room temp then put in the fridge for a couple of weeks. works great.

Willy Boner said:

I have been just conditioning my brew behind my couch under the sofa table. So whatever room temp. is probably around 80 to 85 degrees for the last week or so. Then I have been putting in fridge as I drink it. Would it help to:
1 Let it carb up at room temp and then put in fridge.
2 Put it in fridge and let carb at fridge temps.
I'm figuring it would take quite a while to carb. in fridge been taking 7 to 10 days to carb. up at room temps.

Click to expand...

Let them carb up at room temp and then put them in fridge. I do this for ales and lagers.

I've got the same problem Rhoobarb. I won't be able to get a new AC unit before Tuesday, so I'm gonna make a go at a fermentation chiller tonight. From what I've read, you can actually get it cold enough to lager.

I vote'd room temp becouse i dont have a chiller for my beer keg's.
So I just room condition for one week then put it down the celler that stays at 12/13oC all year. If i do lager I just bottle it and keep one in the fridge in my kitchen for when I fancy one.

Room temperature only here. Being an apartment dweller I'm lucky to be able to brew AG, let alone have a fridge just for beer.

Cold conditioning in the basement. And although I have never done an exact study, I do know that temperature is a key player in so many things that it has to have a significant impact in the process!

bradsul said:

Room temperature only here. Being an apartment dweller I'm lucky to be able to brew AG, let alone have a fridge just for beer.

Click to expand...

How are you able to do a full boil for AG in an apartment? Did you just luck into a stove with enough BTUs?

TheJadedDog said:

How are you able to do a full boil for AG in an apartment? Did you just luck into a stove with enough BTUs?

Click to expand...

Nope, my stove can barely boil 10L. I'm lucky enough to live on the ground floor.

bradsul said:

Nope, my stove can barely boil 10L. I'm lucky enough to live on the ground floor.

Click to expand...

Then I will just go on being jealous! :cross: