Cold Conditioning in bottles

[glennduggin]

I read somewhere on here about cold conditioning beers in the bottle. I just put an Abbye Ale in the bottle on sunday and I put like half of them in the fridge. Is this gonna be a problem with getting efficient carbonation?
Someone said it would make the beer taste more smooth ( akin to a lager).....HELP!

 

[BierMuncher]

I read somewhere on here about cold conditioning beers in the bottle. I just put an Abbye Ale in the bottle on sunday and I put like half of them in the fridge. Is this gonna be a problem with getting efficient carbonation?
Someone said it would make the beer taste more smooth ( akin to a lager).....HELP!

Big problem.

Don’t confuse conditioning with “priming”.

My bottling mantra is simple:

3 weeks, 70 degrees
3 weeks, 70 degrees
3 weeks, 70 degrees
3 weeks, 70 degrees
3 weeks, 70 degrees

No sooner…no cooler.

Your beer will be 6 months carbonating at chilled temps. The yeast will pass-out and fall to the bottom.

Get that beer to a 70 degree area and leave em be for 21 days.

Then, once they’re carb’d, then you can chill em forever and “condition” them.

 

[Chriso]

What he said.

You might be thinking of "cold crashing", where the entire fermenter is put into cold temperatures (40f) for 24 hours or so to help with clarifying sediment out of your beer?

 

[glennduggin]

yeah probably. So can I take them out of the fridge without hurting anything?

 

[Schlenkerla]

Cold conditioning in the bottle works well (Bottle Lagering). I have made 3 or 4 lagers this way. They are like a cool fermented steam beer. I would say they are super smooth.

Biermuncher is right, carbonate them first. Do so at the same fermentation temp recomended by the yeast mfg'r.

I have made all of my lagers like an ale. Fermented in the Primary & 2ndary at a constant temp. Then primed & bottled. Let them carb 3 weeks at fermentation temp. After they are carbed I put them in the fridge 6-8 weeks at 44F.

I got this idea from M.R. Reese, "Better Beer & How to Brew It". Its a dated book but the concept works. He mentions traditional lager methods are better but this works almost as good.

I used Superior Lager Yeast each time. I liken the quality to that of Nottinghams. Its also a good yeast for basement brewing. 48-65F Its a very tolerant yeast.

BTW - It almost as common as Nottinghams. Every LHBS has it on the shelf.

http://www.homebrewing.org/Superior-Lager-Yeast-Australia_p_57-150.html

Cheers!!!

 

[BierMuncher]

yeah probably. So can I take them out of the fridge without hurting anything?

yes ......

 

[cheezydemon]

Don't hurt your back carrying them.