Cold crashing or just keep it where it is

[redrocker652002]

Greetings to all, now that I have a fermentation chamber that will work I have got to thinking about what it can do and how I should use it. I know that during fermentation my thought is to try and hit the middle of the yeasts temp tolerances. But what about after fermentation has completed and it is just waiting to be bottled or kegged? Do I drop the temp in the fridge that I am using? Do I stay the course and the bottle and store there at colder temps? My main brews are IPA's and Pale's, but I am going to try a lager or pils soon now that I have the equipment so to speak. As an example, my latest singe hop Pale ale is sitting in my closet dry hopping. Fermentation stopped a week or so ago, so I just dropped the hop bag in and let it ride. It has been dry hopping since Monday, so Thursday is day 4. My bottle day is tomorrow, so my thought is to bottle it, let it sit in the closet for about a week and then put it in the fermenting fridge at about 35 to 40 and store until I am ready to drink. Does that sound about right?

In the future though, would it be better to ferment at say 58 to 60, assuming the range of the yeast is say 59 to 72, and then drop the temps for dry hopping? Any input on processes would be fantastic. Also, with this new piece of equipment I can start to use the kegs from my haul of free stuff and store an on deck one. Colder is better for storage, right?

Thank you all for the input, I have learned so much and have so much more to go. My end game, as I have always said, is to have 3 or 4 taps running. An IPA, Pale, Wheat or Lighter beer and maybe a darker beer like a stout or porter (I have to start looking into tastes of those to find what I like).

Rock On!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[pvpeacock]

I'm sure some will disagree, but I rarely, if ever cold crash despite having the capability of doing so in temperature controlled conical fermenters. After a week or so of fermenting, I gradually raise the temperature for another week and then keg without cold crashing. The only time I cold crash is if the yeast has not flocculated enough after 2 weeks in the fermenter. Then I will cold crash to get the yeast to drop to the bottom before dumping it and kegging the clear beer.

I usually naturally carbonate my beer in the keg by adding 1/2 cup of sugar first. I then let the keg sit at room temperature for 10 days to 2 weeks before putting it in my keezer. I do this because my keezer is usually full and I don't have room to carbonate on gas in the keezer. When I do have room, I skip the natural carbonation and carbonate on gas in the keezer until the keg is fully carbonated and a tap opens up.

If I brew too many beers, it can take 6-8 weeks before a keg that has been naturally carbonating gets into the keezer and then another few weeks before it gets tapped. I have never felt that the waiting time at room temperature hurt the beer. In fact, some beers, like stouts, need time at room temperature to mellow. I had one keg of stout sitting at room temperature for 1 1/2 years and it was excellent.

 

[redrocker652002]

I'm sure some will disagree, but I rarely, if ever cold crash despite having the capability of doing so in temperature controlled conical fermenters. After a week or so of fermenting, I gradually raise the temperature for another week and then keg without cold crashing. The only time I cold crash is if the yeast has not flocculated enough after 2 weeks in the fermenter. Then I will cold crash to get the yeast to drop to the bottom before dumping it and kegging the clear beer.

I usually naturally carbonate my beer in the keg by adding 1/2 cup of sugar first. I then let the keg sit at room temperature for 10 days to 2 weeks before putting it in my keezer. I do this because my keezer is usually full and I don't have room to carbonate on gas in the keezer. When I do have room, I skip the natural carbonation and carbonate on gas in the keezer until the keg is fully carbonated and a tap opens up.

If I brew too many beers, it can take 6-8 weeks before a keg that has been naturally carbonating gets into the keezer and then another few weeks before it gets tapped. I have never felt that the waiting time at room temperature hurt the beer. In fact, some beers, like stouts, need time at room temperature to mellow. I had one keg of stout sitting at room temperature for 1 1/2 years and it was excellent.

Cool. Thank you for the input. I have always wondered about keeping full kegs stored either at room temp or colder. I guess, like most everything in this hobby, there is more than one way to do it and get good results

 

[D.B.Moody]

I can't give you advice about how to use a fermentation chamber with a temperature control, but I will suggest that you consider keeping your pale ale closer to 45 or 50.

 

[redrocker652002]

I can't give you advice about how to use a fermentation chamber with a temperature control, but I will suggest that you consider keeping your pale ale closer to 45 or 50.

You are right, my bad. My serving temp from my kegerator is usually somewhere around 45 or so. I have never stored my bottled beer anywhere except my closet and then move to the fridge at a six pack or so at a time to chill to drink. Having this new toy to play with has given me more questions. LOL.

 

[day_trippr]

I would give the bottles at least two weeks of warm conditioning. And a smart move is to include one 12 ounce re-sealable plastic soda bottle in the mix as you can give that a squeeze periodically and when it is nearly rock hard you will know the batch is ready for cold conditioning without opening glass bottles before they're ready.

As for cold crashing...I do it for pales/ipas/dipas/neipas. As of 2023 I switched my usual dry hopping schedules which typically took from 4 to 7 days to complete (one vs two rounds) for a single 2 day round after "soft crashing" to 50°F, followed by a hard crash to 36°F for two days before kegging. All of the post-fermentation process incorporate low pressure (~0.4psi) CO2 applied to the fermentors to preclude suck-back...

Cheers!

 

[redrocker652002]

I would give the bottles at least two weeks of warm conditioning. And a smart move is to include one 12 ounce re-sealable plastic soda bottle in the mix as you can give that a squeeze periodically and when it is nearly rock hard you will know the batch is ready for cold conditioning without opening glass bottles before they're ready.

As for cold crashing...I do it for pales/ipas/dipas/neipas. As of 2023 I switched my usual dry hopping schedules which typically took from 4 to 7 days to complete (one vs two rounds) for a single 2 day round after "soft crashing" to 50°F, followed by a hard crash to 36°F for two days before kegging. All of the post-fermentation process incorporate low pressure (~0.4psi) CO2 applied to the fermentors to preclude suck-back...

Cheers!

Great info. I usually wait at least 2 weeks for my bottles to carb up, so that goes in line to your post. I will try the soda bottle as that seems to be a better way of gauging than just opening one and giving it a try. LOL. After bottling, they sit in a closet that usually stays in the area of 68 to 72 during this time f the year. Cooler during the winter. After that, they get moved to my fridge either outside in my shop or in the kitchen at six to 12 at a time to cool and drink.