Cold Crashing, and Keggin'

[McDoogles]

So this is like the 3rd post I have put up about this batch. It's only my second batch. I racked this cream ale style extract batch into the secondary at 9 days after fermenting with Cali Lager yeast. Has been in a secondary for 8 days at what temp to be honest I'm not really sure. I would guess 35 degrees. I am starting to notice some yeast falling out, but it is still quiet hazy. I am assuming it is still fermenting even at that very cold temp because it is a lager yeast. The OG was around 1.055 and was just under 1.010 when I racked it (couldn't see it well enough). Recipe was 4.4 lbs Pilsen LME, 1 lb 10 oz corn sugar, and 1 lb rice solids. Alcohol wise its gonna pack some punch. How long should I expect to wait until it is clear? I am getting antsy. I just bought an all new keg set up. Also what PSI should I run this type of beer at? 9?

 

[jddevinn]

1. You really don't need to secondary, the majority of the time all secondary does is oxidize the beer
2. at 35°F the yeast is not active
3. What was the target FG? You should really wait until the gravity is stable for a couple days before transferring/kegging
4. Glass carboy? The yeasties like to stick to the walls and make the beer appear cloudy when it isn't
5. You can use gelatin to speed up the clearing time
6. 1.055 OG to 1.010 FG gives 5.9% ABV (not what I would call a punch) and 66% attenuation.
7. Assuming https://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_yeaststrain_detail.cfm?ID=131 Attenuation is on the low side of expected for the yeast (although there are many things that affect this)

 

[McDoogles]

1. You really don't need to secondary, the majority of the time all secondary does is oxidize the beer
2. at 35°F the yeast is not active
3. What was the target FG? You should really wait until the gravity is stable for a couple days before transferring/kegging
4. Glass carboy? The yeasties like to stick to the walls and make the beer appear cloudy when it isn't
5. You can use gelatin to speed up the clearing time
6. 1.055 OG to 1.010 FG gives 5.9% ABV (not what I would call a punch) and 66% attenuation.
7. Assuming https://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_yeaststrain_detail.cfm?ID=131 Attenuation is on the low side of expected for the yeast (although there are many things that affect this)

I flush the carboy with CO2 before putting the airlock on so I don't think oxidizing will be a problem.

Just checked the temp in the fridge. It is 41 degrees. Would yeast be active at that temp?

The final OG was under 1.010. I'm guessing closer to 1.008 or even lower than that. That puts apparent attenuation closer 81, and actual at 69.56. I was just shooting for anything under 1.010.

It is a glass carboy so I will just give it another week or two.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

I will say Ive never lagered just because I don't have the patience.That being said if your getting ansy then a lager was the wrong beer style to choose.Next time do an IPA or Hefe for a quick turn around. (2 weeks and youll be drinking) The PSI gets figured from 3 things. Beer style plus serving temp=PSI setting. For a pilsner I would bump it to around 13 psi at 38 deg.Its meant to be fizzy

And as mentioned a 1.055 beer is considered average as best around these parts...This aint your Granddaddys Schaefer drinking crowd...brew on

 

[jddevinn]

I flush the carboy with CO2 before putting the airlock on so I don't think oxidizing will be a problem.

Lagers are for people who don't mind waiting

At (3) brews in thinking about Oxygen uptake is probably not what you want to focus on, however before you get into the mindset of "purging" and "CO2 blankets" I want to point out that that is not how gasses work. Unless you pushed a sanitizer out of the carboy with CO2 or purged under pressure 20+ times it will have O2 levels above acceptable.

Explination here https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showpost.php?p=7532044&postcount=16

 

[McDoogles]

Lagers are for people who don't mind waiting

At (3) brews in thinking about Oxygen uptake is probably not what you want to focus on, however before you get into the mindset of "purging" and "CO2 blankets" I want to point out that that is not how gasses work. Unless you pushed a sanitizer out of the carboy with CO2 or purged under pressure 20+ times it will have O2 levels above acceptable.

Explination here https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showpost.php?p=7532044&postcount=16

Technically I guess you could classify this as a lager, but that's only because of the type of yeast I decided to use. I almost went with California ale yeast, but my basement was sitting at a perfect 59 degrees so I went with the lager. It's not getting drank until the weekend of June 18. I just want to get this stuff in a keg so I can free up some equipment and brew another batch.

I did push the sanitizing solution out using CO2. I brew with some pretty experienced brewers whose skill level is way beyond mine. So I may be relatively new to it, but I am not flying blind by any standards.

 

[jddevinn]

I see lots of "CO2 Blanket" talk and "I put gas on the keg with the lid off for about 30 seconds so I KNOW there is no air left" talk a lot on here so just wanted to make sure

If you're sure it's done fermenting go ahead and hit it with gelatin wait two or three days then keg. If it needs to condition further it can do so just fine in the keg.