Cold Crashed beer - a few questions

[AQUILAS]

Back on July 9th, I bottled my blonde ale and it didn't taste how I was expecting it to taste. It tasted better when I took a gravity reading a week into the primary.

I used WLP001 starter. Fermentation went as follows:

• First week was spent at 68F
• Second week was split into two - first 4 days spent at 72F, last 3 days spent at 38F
• I racked to my bottling bucket on top of the prepared priming sugar and then bottled
• Bottles have been in my garage where it's been plenty warm as the weather here has been around 90-100F

I finally tried a bottle of it over this past weekend. Put it in the fridge on Saturday and then had Sunday evening.

The beer had no carbonation, tasted very sweet (diacetyl?), and was hazy.

The carbonation. After drinking the beer and contemplating on it, I thought that cold crashed beer would take longer to carb since the cold crash caused the yeast to settle out. So I figure I'll wait a few more weeks Is this right to assume?

The sweet taste. I used about 151g of dextrose as recommended by the priming sugar calculator I used. Was this too much dextrose and it is therefore contributing to the sweet taste? Or is the sweetness just a combination of being still very young and the yeast simply haven't been woken up enough to eat the dextrose and carb up the beer?

The hazy. In the bottles, the beers seemed really clear. I used amber bottles. When the bottle is held to light, I can clearly see my fingers on the other side of the bottle. When I poured it in my tulip glass, I can't see through it. When I poured, I went down the side first, but when I saw no carb, I immediately when down the middle. Was this what caused the haziness?

 

[rijnswand]

I used WLP001 starter. Fermentation went as follows:
Bottles have been in my garage where it's been plenty warm as the weather here has been around 90-100F

Maybe you killed the yeast? White Labs says "Ale yeast will survive to 90F."

The hazy. In the bottles, the beers seemed really clear. I used amber bottles. When the bottle is held to light, I can clearly see my fingers on the other side of the bottle. When I poured it in my tulip glass, I can't see through it. When I poured, I went down the side first, but when I saw no carb, I immediately when down the middle. Was this what caused the haziness?

The yeast has settled to the bottom of the bottle, but when you pour it gets mixed with the beer, that's why it's more cloudy in the glass.

 

[Natdavis777]

Diacetyl would be more of a butter/butterscotch taste and aroma. What whas your targeted FG and actual FG? If you didnt fully attenuate, that could be the source of the extra sweetness you are detecting.

 

[ricshayne]

The sweetness could be from the priming sugar, you did say that there is no head yet so maybe the yeast hasn't eaten much of the sugar yet. it could also be under bittered, which would cause a sweetness as well

 

[sablesurfer]

July 9th was less that two weeks ago. I never have a fully carbed beer in less time.

I also cold crashed for real for the first time with an IIPA just now. There should be enough yeast in suspension still, but they are basically asleep because of the cold. That is why it takes a bit longer, estimates around here seem to be about 3 weeks.

Hazy can be two things...if it was hazy after you put in fridge then you have a protein haze, just live with it, doesn't impact beer flavor. If it was clear in bottle after fridge but hazy in glass, you poured out too much. I you have to leave bottom 1/4" in bottle to leave the settled yeast alone.

 

[AQUILAS]

Diacetyl would be more of a butter/butterscotch taste and aroma. What whas your targeted FG and actual FG? If you didnt fully attenuate, that could be the source of the extra sweetness you are detecting.

I don't have my notes, but off the top of my head I remember hitting my targeted FG of 1.1014 after temperature correction.

July 9th was less that two weeks ago. I never have a fully carbed beer in less time.

I also cold crashed for real for the first time with an IIPA just now. There should be enough yeast in suspension still, but they are basically asleep because of the cold. That is why it takes a bit longer, estimates around here seem to be about 3 weeks.

Hazy can be two things...if it was hazy after you put in fridge then you have a protein haze, just live with it, doesn't impact beer flavor. If it was clear in bottle after fridge but hazy in glass, you poured out too much. I you have to leave bottom 1/4" in bottle to leave the settled yeast alone.

Right on. 3 weeks sounds about right as my other beers, not cold crashed, were better all-around after that timeframe.

Yeah I checked the bottles this morning before heading out for work and I noticed yeast sediment at the bottom of the bottles. I had a flashlight on the other end of the bottle and can clearly see right through. When I tipped the bottle over and get the yeast in suspension, I couldn't see the flashlight anymore, just the light.

 

[joshesmusica]

Yeah you didn't wait long enough for the carbonation. The sweetness is likely a combo of not enough carbonation which will help up the perceived bitterness, and also means that not all the priming sugar has been eaten up. Not to mention that it's not a particularly bitter style.
The hazy was is because you weren't careful enough with pouring and is from the yeast.

 

[doug293cz]

I vote with @rijnswand, I think you killed your yeast with too high temps.

Brew on

 

[AQUILAS]

Maybe you killed the yeast? White Labs says "Ale yeast will survive to 90F."

I vote with @rijnswand, I think you killed your yeast with too high temps.

Brew on

Sorry about that rijnswand, I didn't see your post when I replied to the others.

But yeah, I worried about that originally, but I stuck a couple thermometers in the area of the garage I kept my bottles and the thermometers are reading 75F at the highest.

 

[doug293cz]

Sorry about that rijnswand, I didn't see your post when I replied to the others.

But yeah, I worried about that originally, but I stuck a couple thermometers in the area of the garage I kept my bottles and the thermometers are reading 75F at the highest.

If your bottles never got above 85°F, then your yeast should be ok.

How do you keep your garage cooler than the outside temp? My garage is usually hotter than outside due to the sun heating the roof.

Brew on

 

[AQUILAS]

If your bottles never got above 85°F, then your yeast should be ok.

How do you keep your garage cooler than the outside temp? My garage is usually hotter than outside due to the sun heating the roof.

Brew on

To be honest, I have no idea. The only thing I can think of is it really isn't 90-100F outside because we usually get a light breeze to cool things down. I dunno. Either that, or my thermometers are wrong, but I don't think they are as I've calibrated them together with other thermometers.