Cold Conditioning for Irish/Scottish Ale

[Braumeise]

I am wondering if there is anything that speaks against fermenting at 55°F for ~3 weeks Then cold crashing the primary to 35°F and leaving it alone for 4 more weeks?

This is my first Irish and Scottish Ale brew attempt.

I was planning on doing one Irish red Ale and also a Scottish light ale. Ferment both with Danstar Nottingham Ale Yeast at 55°F.

Do I need to rack them into a secondary for cold conditioning or can I cold condition in Primary after fermentation is complete?

Also I'll probably will need to add yeast for bottle carbonation then because the original yeast will be 7 weeks old, right?

 

[MHBT]

I learned the hard way that time is not what determines when a beer is finished, its all about using a hydrometer..Also i don't think its a good idea to ferment ales that low, Nottingham temp range is 57-70 F..i think middle of the temp range is best..i don't think you would have a problem with cold conditioning for a month in primary but its a better idea to get it into bottles when the beer is finished and carbonated then cold condition..it is a highly flocculent strain so adding yeast at packaging might be a good idea probably not needed though cheers

 

[RM-MN]

Starting Nottingham at 55 degrees is OK. Not the best perhaps but not the worst either. Nottingham ferments very slowly at that temp and makes a very clean beer, nearly like a lager but keeping it that low may cause it to stall out. After the first week I'd warm it up to room temp to encourage the yeast to get the last of the sugars and clean up. I've never cold crashed my beer so I can't tell you whether you need to add yeast for carbonation but I have left one at room temp for 9 weeks and it carbonated just fine without added yeast. That much time allowed most of the suspended material to settle out and I had the barest hint of sediment in the bottom of my bottles.

 

[Braumeise]

Thanks a lot, Mille Grazie.

makes sense what you Guys are saying.

I did that for all my wit beers (ramping up the fermentation temperature) - I guess if I give it enough time after carbing in the fridge, it should turn out well.