Cold Crash, how cold is too cold

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MX1

Texas Ale Works
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It is going to in the low 30's for the next few days, I thought about putting my Honey Brown out and letting crash. Temps at night might dip into the high/mid 20's.

I would just leave it in the garage, but it is heated.....

I will also be bottling the brew, should I rack to a secondary then cold crash, or crash the primary then rack and bottle?
 
I will also be bottling the brew, should I rack to a secondary then cold crash, or crash the primary then rack and bottle?

It is up to you, if you are going to cold crash you will get a clear beer if left in the primary. The only time I have frozen beer is in my freezer, temps that low outside will eventually freeze your beer. If you decide to leave outside I would wrap a towel around your beer
 
I have had a cider (low alcohol) start to freeze. It was somewhere between frozen rock hard and slushy.

It came out great.

**EDIT**
Oh and i rack to secondary then cold crash.

Also i try to set it somewhere i can rack from outside. That way i do not have to move it. Moving it may kick up yeast. In fact i try to never move my fermentors.
 
+1 on cold crashing in the primary and then rack off of yeast cake into secondary

As far as temperature, I wouldn't test my luck with the high 20's. Frozen beer = no beer.
 
I put my SMaSH in the garage the other night to CC. Then 10 minutes later I walked back out and brought it back inside. Put it into the the keezer. Didn't want frozen beer. I'd rather have cloudy beer (if no fridge option) than no beer.
+1 to CC'ing in the primary then racking. That is the point.
 
This may be a noob question, but can someone tell me why cold crashing in the primary is better than cold crashing the secondary?
 
This may be a noob question, but can someone tell me why cold crashing in the primary is better than cold crashing the secondary?

Cold crashing helps clear the beer by settling protein and yeast. So if you do it in the primary, then you rack rack off of all that sediment into the secondary for a crystal clear beer. :mug:
 
Cold crashing helps clear the beer by settling protein and yeast. So if you do it in the primary, then you rack rack off of all that sediment into the secondary for a crystal clear beer. :mug:

If you cold crash in the primary, what is the use of the secondary then?

Sorry, this is my first time cold crashing - I will be racking in about 1-1/2 weeks.
 
Well, its not so much that you need to use a secondary. Its that you want to get your clear beer off of the sediment that has formed at the bottom. This ensures that those proteins and yeast don't become mixed back into the beer. I don't ever use a secondary unless I plan on dry hopping. Instead, I rack from my primary into a keg directly.
 
ok, well the weather forcast says it will hold in the mid 30's at night and mid 40's during the day. Not sure I want to have the brew change temps that much. I guess I will just rack to secondary for a few weeks, then to the bottle. THis needs time to mellow out anyway.

Tim
 
ok, well the weather forcast says it will hold in the mid 30's at night and mid 40's during the day. Not sure I want to have the brew change temps that much. I guess I will just rack to secondary for a few weeks, then to the bottle. THis needs time to mellow out anyway.

Tim

I have nothing to contribute to this thread other than we're both named Tim, and are both Mitch Hedberg fans.
 
I cant really answer your question here but I am curious to know how well the beer carbs after you bottle it after cold crashing. I've been too scared to try this yet as I'm afraid there won't be enough yeast left. Let us know how it works out.
 
I am interested too. This batch will be the first one I cold crash. From what people tell me, there isn't a problem with carbonating. But, I am still nervous. Sucks being a noob.
 
i have three things

1) after cold crashing, there will still be enough yeast to carb, although it may take longer
2) despite NEVER cold crashing, most of my beers clear up just fine at 66-70 degrees within two weeks
3) cold crashing is something i would never do- most of my beers end up over-carbed in the bottle, and when you cold crash, its hard to say how much fermentables are left- the gravity gives you a clue, but you don't know precisely

it seems to me that cold crashing would be an invitation to bottling beers that are not fully attenuated; under-attenuated beer has left me with no option but to pour out over 120 bottled brews in my one year as a brewer
 
If you have a problem with under-attenuated brews then maybe pitch a bigger yeast starter, increase your ferment temperature, and/or leave it fermenting for longer. Then, if you wish to cold crash, it should be fine. I think that the beer might have been savable since there was nothing technically (contamination wise) wrong with it
 
I am planning on cold crashing my primary in my utility sink, full of water. I will keep the water cold (but not frozen) with jugs of ice, as they melt, I will swap them out with fresh jugs of ice (and refreeze the melted ones). That seems like a fair way to get it cold without freezing it.

Plus, I can rack to my secondary directly from the utility sink - no moving the primary.
 
i have crashed a primary for 4 days at an average of 27*.

this was AFTER 3 weeks in the primary.

ir carbed in 4 days, as it always does.

i have NEVER used more than 4oz of dextrose/5 gallon batch.

the last cold crashed primary was in the garage for 7 days before bottling, it ranged from 25-45* during that time. ( i see no prob with temp fluctuations well below the active range for ale yeasts, maybe i am crazy?)
that beer was real clear when i bottled, we will see what happens...

i have 10 gallons in the garage now that sat in house fermenting for 3 weeks. it is about 28* in the garage now... both are above 5% abv, if that matters.
 
i have crashed a primary for 4 days at an average of 27*.

this was AFTER 3 weeks in the primary.

ir carbed in 4 days, as it always does.

i have NEVER used more than 4oz of dextrose/5 gallon batch.

the last cold crashed primary was in the garage for 7 days before bottling, it ranged from 25-45* during that time. ( i see no prob with temp fluctuations well below the active range for ale yeasts, maybe i am crazy?)
that beer was real clear when i bottled, we will see what happens...

i have 10 gallons in the garage now that sat in house fermenting for 3 weeks. it is about 28* in the garage now... both are above 5% abv, if that matters.

I have a couple of questions...

Did you let the beer warm back up before you bottled, or just bottled it cold?
Did you use a calculator to figure the amount of sugar and if so what temp did you plug in, the cold crashing temp or the temp at bottling?
 
bottled cold
put in the house ~68-70* where i put the bottles to condition.

i make IPA's, and APA's only. i use 4 oz of corn sugar. i do not calculate it, and i have not ever had an overcarbed beer, maybe im lucky?
 
Reviving this old thread as I have 2 questions on my first 2 batches of homebrew:

1. Making an IPA and it has been in primary for 10 days. I was going to transfer to secondary this Saturday. In the secondary it will sit for 1-2 weeks, add some pellet hops, then sit for another 1-2 weeks. Would it be better to cold crash in the secondary after the addition of the pellet hops or should I do it in the primary? Also, does it hurt anything, for any kind of beer, if I cold crash it twice (in the primary and before bottling)?

2. I'm making a witbier with oranges in the primary and I was going to add oranges to the secondary as well. Basically wanted to know the same questions here. When is it best to cold crash or does it make a difference if I cold crash 2x? Would there be a problem with carbonation then?
 
I would say, and I cold be wrong, but if you are going to cold crash no reason to transfer to a secondary. I would make your additions to to the primary and then cold crash after, no reason to transfer more than you need too.

Tim
 
Just my 2 cents. I froze a beer when my keezer went nuts... all the malt flavor and all the hops flavor went somewhere...ended up being pretty crappy alcohol. I'd be careful on the freeze part. It was a nice beer the 3-4 glasses I drank prior!:confused:
 
We have talked how cold but how about how "warm?" Will CC work in my 40 degree beer fridge?


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40°F is enough to drop free-swimming pellets from a dry hop. I cold crash to ~34°F which takes almost two full days to get there with two five gallon carboys full of beer, but by the end of the first day all of the hops are firmly crashed to the bottom.

If you're looking to really brighten the beer by dropping all the yeast and whatever trubby bits were in the wort, it may well work at 40°F, but might take a few days longer once it gets to terminal temperature.

Give it a try. It certainly can't hurt and your beer will be better off no matter what...

Cheers!
 
Good thoughts. I was thinking the additional days approach might make it work out. Now to brew and see!


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1. Making an IPA and it has been in primary for 10 days. I was going to transfer to secondary this Saturday. In the secondary it will sit for 1-2 weeks, add some pellet hops, then sit for another 1-2 weeks. Would it be better to cold crash in the secondary after the addition of the pellet hops or should I do it in the primary? Also, does it hurt anything, for any kind of beer, if I cold crash it twice (in the primary and before bottling)?
skip the secondary. give your beer 20 days in primary, then add your dry hops directly to the primary, wait 4-5 days, then cold crash. the oils and aromas are extracted quickly from the dry hopping, there is no reason to wait longer than a week. 4 days is plenty.

2. I'm making a witbier with oranges in the primary and I was going to add oranges to the secondary as well. Basically wanted to know the same questions here. When is it best to cold crash or does it make a difference if I cold crash 2x? Would there be a problem with carbonation then?
i wouldn't bother cold-crashing a witbier. the point of cold-crashing is to clear it. wirbiers are supposed to be cloudy with yeast, you don't want to clarify it.
 
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