COLD CRASHING and CONDITIONING

[cheezydemon3]

Another member whom I believe meant well, posted the equivalent to "PHUCK ALL KEGGERS" not in those words mind you, but that is what many keggers saw when they stopped seeing red.

What he may have meant, and more importantly, what MY impression is, is that most keggers "cold crash" (as do many bottlers) and then store cold from then on (as most bottlers don't).

I will agree that ESPECIALLY for ALES, cold conditioning and storage are a detriment, and that cold storage for long enough does more than clarify.

I will stop shot of the "L" word, but long cold storage drops "magic flavor crystals" out of suspension, leaving a "cleaner" more flavorless beer.

My IMPRESSION is that most keggers store as many kegs cold as space will allow, and would store their others cold if $ was no object.

I am not saying all keggers do this, so please speak up to prove me wrong, but I think I have a point.

 

[TipsyDragon]

i bottle my beer and have yet to keg but plan to. i don't understand the logic of cold storing a keg after its been pressurized. why do kegers do that?

 

[BrianTheBrewer]

I cold crash all my beers now. I also do not keg yet. I bottle all beers.

 

[Hammy71]

I keg almost exclusively..I rarely cold crash (anymore). Even when I did I still let the kegs sit at room temp until they were 'needed'. The beer will clear naturally after a week or so in the keggerator....so why bother with the mess. With the luxury of a decent pipeline, there's no need to condition an ale in cool temps. Your immpression that most keggers keep their kegged beer cold is flawed. There's no need to. The only ones cold, are the ones I'm serving. At most I have one beer carbing in the keggerator with the set it/ forget it method. It's next in the rotation. I have over 11 kegs....you think I have a giant walk in cooler or something?....LOL

 

[beerthirty]

I cold crash all my beers, but store at room temp under pressure until there is room in the keezer. Damn thing only holds 3 on tap and 1 in the wings! Us PHUCKIN KEGGERS are as lazy as we are smart.

 

[cheezydemon3]

Well, as hoped, I think this has remained civil. Maybe my OP was too lengthy.

Is the concensus that cold storage basically halts conditioning and eventually drops flavor compounds out of suspension?






It is a theory that I have seldom had a chance to test.

 

[beerthirty]

Well, as hoped, I think this has remained civil. Maybe my OP was too lengthy.

Is the concensus that cold storage basically halts conditioning and eventually drops flavor compounds out of suspension?





It is a theory that I have seldom had a chance to test.

I say no, cold crashing is for 3 days max. I dont like the taste of yeast and the only flavor I see dropping out is the yeast.

 

[bdnoona]

Flavor compounds? What are you referring to? Yeast in suspension? AFAIK, there will always be some yeast in suspension even if the beer is cold, unless you filter the beer. I don't think there is any benefit to extended warm storage of beers, unless it is a BIG beer like a barley wine or RIS, aging smooths those out against the harsh alcohol bite. Longer room temp storage helps the aroma/flavor of hops fade quicker. I don't usually keg a beer until 5-6 weeks. In another week or two it will go in the keezer (if there is room) to preserve the freshness as much as possible until a tap opens up for it. I drink mostly hoppy beers, and if I wanted to brew something like Pliny and store it at room temp for months, it would lose a lot of hop flavor/aroma.

Most beer in general is meant to be consumed fresh, so once it is no longer green and is ready to drink, I fail to see any reason to keep it warm.

 

[boredatwork]

My understanding has always been that the temperature of storage is related to flavor stability. The warmer you store the beer the more the flavor is negatively impacted. Beer freshness (in terms of desirable flavor) is supposed to degrade faster as warmer temps.

Usually cold storage is a more ideal situation, albeit not all that necessary if the beer is consumed somewhat quickly.

 

[Yooper]

i bottle my beer and have yet to keg but plan to. i don't understand the logic of cold storing a keg after its been pressurized. why do kegers do that?

I'm not sure of the question. You want to know why we store our carbed up kegs in the kegerator? I do that because if they aren't in the kegerator, then they are warm.

Beer ages at cold temperatures, but much more slowly. For a beer that needs age, I keep it at room temperature until it's aged enough. For a beer that's done aging, it goes into the kegerator if I want to drink it.

Same as someone who bottles, I presume. Put finished beers in the fridge when you want to drink them. Not rocket science for keggers, or bottlers.

 

[DKershner]

Is the concensus that cold storage basically halts conditioning and eventually drops flavor compounds out of suspension?

Halts conditioning? Yes.

Drops magic out of suspension? No.

On a side note, I totally cold crash and keep cold...if it's an IPA or hefe.

 

[Malticulous]

Warm beer ages faster. Most ale yeast are completely finished in less than a week. Many commercial brewers filter only days after brewing.

I cold crash most of my favorite beers. One week at fermentation temp, one week at room temp and a week at 31F. Add yeast and bottle. Most are ready to be drank after a week in the bottle.

 

[cheezydemon3]

I give my dad a sixer of nearly every batch, which he places immediately in the fridge.

I store mine warm, and put them in the fridge a sixer at a time as needed.

I brewed a miller lite clone (bear with me) as an ALE.It was actually quite good and floral.

Maybe six months after bottling, I tasted one at his house.(6 months in his basement fridge)

IT HAD BEEN LAGERED. It had almost no flavor.(yes I let it warm to a decent temp for drinking)

Fortunately I had a sixer put back, so I cooled one and tasted it a day or 2 later.

It was a completely different beer. It was fantastic.

*No not magic, but I had been avoiding the word LAGER because some people get pissed if you suggest an ALE was lagered.*