Cold Crashing Then Keg Conditioning Warm?

[Swilliams603]

Hi Everyone,

Bare with me this is my first post and fourth batch of beer. I recently purchased kegging equipment and have been reading a lot about cold crashing and keg conditioning and cannot quite find the answer I am looking for. I apologize if this has already been answered.

I'm brewing a double IPA and want to try cold crashing (because of all of the hype) and also keg condition (in the keg) in warm temps (70 degrees) before cooling and force carbonating. So basically is the process below okay? I have this idea in my head that cooling and warming multiple times will harm my beer.

Process as I see it:

1. Primary (1 week)
2. Dry hop secondary (2 weeks)
3. Cold condition secondary (2-4 days 38 degrees)
4. Transfer to keg, sit in basement warm for 2 weeks
5. Transfer to kegorator cool and force carb.

Is this correct? necessary?

Cheers

 

[Cape Brewing]

I am a bit confused by steps 4 & 5 as well as "keg condition"...

"keg condition" usually means that you're racking the beer to a keg, adding priming sugar and yeast and then carbonating the beer via a small amount of additional fermentation... and for that, yes, you would want the temp to be slightly on the warmer side (70 degrees is a good temp).

but then you're saying force carb... which is connecting CO2 directly up to the keg and applying pressure.

Both are distinct options for carbonating a keg.... so it depends on which one you want to go with. If you want to "keg condition", just do 1-4. If you want to force carb... do 1-3 and then 5.

 

[Swilliams603]

I am a bit confused by steps 4 & 5 as well as "keg condition"...

"keg condition" usually means that you're racking the beer to a keg, adding priming sugar and yeast and then carbonating the beer via a small amount of additional fermentation... and for that, yes, you would want the temp to be slightly on the warmer side (70 degrees is a good temp).

but then you're saying force carb... which is connecting CO2 directly up to the keg and applying pressure.

Both are distinct options for carbonating a keg.... so it depends on which one you want to go with. If you want to "keg condition", just do 1-4. If you want to force carb... do 1-3 and then 5.

Thanks for advice. Sorry let me clarify if it helps. I suppose what I am trying to achieve here is aging my beer further in the keg before cooling it down to improve it. I have read it ages slower at colder temperatures so I was trying to replicate the "bottle conditioning with priming sugar" with my keg while force carbing rather than adding additional sugar. Would there be any difference?

 

[Cape Brewing]

Thanks for advice. Sorry let me clarify if it helps. I suppose what I am trying to achieve here is aging my beer further in the keg before cooling it down to improve it. I have read it ages slower at colder temperatures so I was trying to replicate the "bottle conditioning with priming sugar" with my keg while force carbing rather than adding additional sugar. Would there be any difference?

haha... ok... now I'm a bit more confused!

first off... what kind of beer is it?

If it is a lager, than yes, aging the beer at colder temperatures (aka "lagering") will help it. If it is an ale, I'm not sure I'm following the "cooling it down to improve it" train of thought. Crash cooling an ale, assuming fermentation is complete, will simply clarify the beer a bit quicker and not really "improve" the beer in any material way.

If you are kegging the beer, what aspect of "bottle conditioning" are you trying to replicate?

 

[bob1852]

He's not wanting to "cool it down to improve it" - he's wanting to age the beer further in the keg, before cooling it down, to improve it....

 

[Swilliams603]

haha... ok... now I'm a bit more confused!

first off... what kind of beer is it?

If it is a lager, than yes, aging the beer at colder temperatures (aka "lagering") will help it. If it is an ale, I'm not sure I'm following the "cooling it down to improve it" train of thought. Crash cooling an ale, assuming fermentation is complete, will simply clarify the beer a bit quicker and not really "improve" the beer in any material way.

If you are kegging the beer, what aspect of "bottle conditioning" are you trying to replicate?

It's a double IPA...SO as you probably know, they typically need 4-5 weeks in the bottle to condition before they start to taste great / ready to drink. Maybe I am investing too much stock in warm aging vs aging in the kegorator but I did not want to take those 5 weeks I typically did in the bottle out of the equation because I am now kegging. I want to let the beer just sit for a few weeks before I hook it up to my kegorator and start pouring beers.

I wanted to try a crash cool to see if I could further clarify it before kegging, but my real question was can I crash cool, and then keg condition at 70 degrees and THEN chill it down in the kegorator. Sorry I am a real novice in the kegging department. I was not sure if the cold, warm, cold fluctuations would throw my beer off...

Does that make sense?

 

[BigFloyd]

It's a double IPA...SO as you probably know, they typically need 4-5 weeks in the bottle to condition before they start to taste great / ready to drink. Maybe I am investing too much stock in warm aging vs aging in the kegorator but I did not want to take those 5 weeks I typically did in the bottle out of the equation because I am now kegging. I want to let the beer just sit for a few weeks before I hook it up to my kegorator and start pouring beers.

I wanted to try a crash cool to see if I could further clarify it before kegging, but my real question was can I crash cool, and then keg condition at 70 degrees and THEN chill it down in the kegorator. Sorry I am a real novice in the kegging department. I was not sure if the cold, warm, cold fluctuations would throw my beer off...

Does that make sense?

Sure. It's a legit question.

I think that you're fine cold crashing (which I'm a fan of), kegging, and then letting it condition a month or so at 70*F before chilling and carbing on CO2 over a couple of weeks.

Just be sure that you take the time to purge the air out of that keg with CO2 before putting it aside to "age". If it were a regular gravity IPA, I'd simply keg it cold, purge, keep it cold and stick it on 10-12 psi for two weeks.

 

[Cape Brewing]

Ok sorry... I wasn't following you 100%.

Let me just make sure I'm following... the steps would be:
1) rack to keg
2) cold crash
3) raise back up to 70 and pitch yeast in order to "keg condition"?
4) cold crash it again?

Is that right? if that's right, personally, I don't think those temperature fluctuations are a problem. Someone might disagree but I don't think they're a problem. That said... I don't know what the downside would be of eliminating steps 3 & 4 and force carbing. If you really want to carb with yeast, that's totally fine and no, again... personally... I don't think that's a problem.

One idea might be to cold crash in whatever you are fermenting in order to save yourself a layer of trub on the bottom of the keg... which will then grow if you carb with yeast in the keg. Sorry... you said you needed the fermenter right? so that might not work.

my two cents would be to just force carb, save the extra steps and the think trub you might get.... but again, no, I don't think it would be a problem.

 

[Cape Brewing]

ok... sorry again... I keep seeing "keg conditioning" and taking that as carbonating naturally with yeast in the keg.... hence the responses I was giving.

No, I don't think what you want to do is a problem. Sorry one last time for taking the long road to the same answer.