Cold Crash/Bottling Process Question

I understand you bring your fermenter down to approx 38 F for a week or two to have everything dropped out and become clear. Now if you rake it and bottle the beer after adding primer sugar of course, do you have to keep it cold or can you shelf it to age? I'm a bit confused....

 

you can shelf age it, no problem, although, most brewers like their beer to be in the fridge a few days before serving

 

I've not tried cold crashing b/c I was under the impression it's only for kegging? If the yeast drop out of suspension and I rack the beer off the yeast to bottle it... is there enough yeast still to carb the beer from the priming sugar?

 

There will be enough yeast left in suspension to carbonate. I have done it a few times and never had a problem. I stopped doing it though as I didn't find it to be very beneficial.

 

You will want to warm it up so the yeast are active and eat the newly added priming sugar so it carbonates. If you left it at 38 degrees, I don't think it would carbonate much or at all. If they do, it would take quite a while.

 

+1 to warming it back up. Definitely an essential part of bottling.

 

+2,I leave my ales in primary 3-5 days at least after reaching a stable FG to clean up & settle out more. Then rack to bottling bucket & bulk prime to style. By about 3 days after bottling,they're clear or very nearly so. By the time carbonation/conditioning is complete they're crystal clear.
Then into the fridge for 1 to 2 weeks. That's my cold crash. This gives time for chill haze to settle out,& co2 to go into solution. 2 weeks gives thicker head,& longer lasting carbonation.