How important is cold crashing?

[El Nino]

Hey, so it's almost time to keg / bottle my first batch, and I keep hearing different schools of thought on cold crashing. Some saying it's a waste of time, and others swearing by it. For an extract IPA, how important would it be? Since it's a gallon batch, it fits in the fridge just fine. Should I just toss it in there a day before throwing it in the mini keg?

 

[EDF713]

It depends on how clear you want the beer to be when you put it your mini-keg. The biggest reasons to cold crash are clearing more quickly and cold conditioning. If you have a bunch of yeast and dry hops floating in your IPA, then cold crashing for a day or two should help it drop clear. If the beer looks pretty clear and the dry hops aren't in the way, I don't think you need to cold crash.

 

[FVillatoro]

I cold crashed 3 lagers one time and it didn't really do anything in terms of clarity.

Now I just keg and give them a month or so and they start to clear up automatically without the need to crash or fine with gelatin.

I'm not going to do it again.

Oh, and you run the risk of oxidation due to "suck-back" or whatever solution you use on your airlock.

 

[stieg000]

Cold crashing is good for settling dry hop, cocoa powder and less floculant yeast out. I usually dont bother with most of my beers.

 

[Francus]

I use vodka in the airlock so I don't worry about suck-back. I cold crash and have for years. Most of the time is does great. I will say I think it works better if the yeast/particles have farther to go from the top of the fermenter to the bottom. I do 10 gallon batches so lots of distance. A one gallon batch, not so much. It is like rain drops on a windshield. The ones at the top really pick up the pace after they've traveled a bit. The ones at the bottom don't unless they get sucked in by one coming down from the top.

So, my opinion is use vodka and it will be more worth the effort with larger batches.

 

[springinloose1]

I cold crash lagers but only because it's the natural progression of temperature. I don't toss ales in the fermentation chamber to cold crash, even if I dry hop. I just let gravity do it's thing and over time, it always ends up just fine. Plus since I keg, the time it takes in the kegerator to cool down and carb up is like cold crashing.

 

[Lefou]

If you're bottling a style you'd prefer being clear, use a yeast strain with known good flocculation rates.
Use Whirlfloc or fining agents on the boil, ferment and carbonate like normal. Lagering over time will help settle out and clarify your beer, but that depends on your patience level. My beer is usually gone long before I've bothered to bulk lager primarily due to lack of refrigeration space.

 

[bleme]

I started cold crashing because it makes a lot less sediment in the bottles and when I shared bottles, not everyone was catching on about how to pour a homebrew. Now that I keg, I still cold crash because it makes the yeast cake firmer and easier to siphon off of.

 

[kh54s10]

I hadn't cold crashed for the first 6+ years of brewing then I had a couple that were cloudier than usual so I used Gelatin and cold crashed. That beer was quite clear. And a lot less sediment in my bottles.

I have done it on most since then and will continue. At least when needed. I did a wheat beer that I expected to be cloudy. I did not cold crash and it ended up quite clear on it's own???

 

[Yooper]

I never cold crash- but I keg and when I do I put the keg in the kegerator usually.

I have clear beer when I keg, because of my brewing practices and yeast choices so I don't "need" to cold crash.

 

[jabba11]

How "important" is cold crashing. Its not, its a preference, and a way to get clearer beer. I do not cold crash even though I could do it without suck back worries as I have pressurized conicals. I use fining agents (whirfloc) in the boil and occasionally clarity ferm. I should say I have cold crashed before but didn't think it made a ton of difference over time so I didn't bother to add it to my brewing regimen.

 

[Lefou]

I did a wheat beer that I expected to be cloudy. I did not cold crash and it ended up quite clear on it's own???

A long efficient mash, clear lauter, and a good hot break are several things that help. Top it off with finings, reliable yeast and refrigeration and it's pretty easy to be on your way to acceptably clear beers. I try pretty hard to keep hop sediment and trub out when using the siphon, but like to have a bit of live yeast for the bottling portion. Hazy beer or slightly suspended yeast doesn't bug me much. The beers won't win any contests but getting them to sparkle like the commercials was never the point.

 

[kh54s10]

My present one is a Mesquite smoked beer with Ginger. It is done fermenting and has been at room temperature for 2 days. It is quite cloudy (too cloudy) so I am going to use both a cold crash and gelatin. I believe this one would leave too much sediment if I bottled it as is.

 

[Fenix26]

I have a regular bubbler, not an S.

I want to cold crash for the first time, but I’m concerned about the suck back.

Is there any harm in putting some tape over the airlock to prevent oxidation?

Thanks

 

[bleme]

I have a regular bubbler, not an S.

I want to cold crash for the first time, but I’m concerned about the suck back.

Is there any harm in putting some tape over the airlock to prevent oxidation?

Thanks

Tape won't stop oxygen from getting in - it will find a way! It will keep you from sucking the air lock fluid in though.

 

[MBasile]

I have a regular bubbler, not an S.

I want to cold crash for the first time, but I’m concerned about the suck back.

Is there any harm in putting some tape over the airlock to prevent oxidation?

Thanks

Don't worry so much, you'll be fine without the tape. Your fermenter has a nice, thick layer of co2, which is denser than oxygen.

 

[bleme]

Don't worry so much, you'll be fine without the tape. Your fermenter has a nice, thick layer of co2, which is denser than oxygen.

This is actually an old wives (brewers) tale. If it were true, the surface of the Earth would be covered by CO2 and the other ‘heavy’ gases, but fortunately for us gases don’t act like liquids and mix readily. That said, I cold crash regularly with just a cotton ball, soaked in StarSan, taped over the hole but the O2 that makes it in has never ruined a beer.