Cold Crashing Time

[mrgrimm101]

So I wanted to try cold crashing my latest batch. However, I do not have room in my fridge, nor do I have a spare fridge in which to place my primary for cold crashing. It is very cold up here in Michigan this time of year and I was thinking that I could try and wait for a night that will be above freezing to leave my primary outside overnight.

My question is: Would an overnight cold crash be worth it? I see most people do this for days at a time and I just didn't know if it would even be worth it to do for just 1 night.

Also, were I to do it outside, what would be an ideal outside temperature? I assume above freezing, but how much above freezing?

 

[fosaisu]

So I wanted to try cold crashing my latest batch. However, I do not have room in my fridge, nor do I have a spare fridge in which to place my primary for cold crashing. It is very cold up here in Michigan this time of year and I was thinking that I could try and wait for a night that will be above freezing to leave my primary outside overnight.

My question is: Would an overnight cold crash be worth it? I see most people do this for days at a time and I just didn't know if it would even be worth it to do for just 1 night.

Also, were I to do it outside, what would be an ideal outside temperature? I assume above freezing, but how much above freezing?

You'd definitely get some results from a 1-day cold crash, though I think you'd be better off with 2 or 3 days.

As for temp, at least in my opinion you want the beer as close to freezing as possible without freezing it. So you're OK sitting right at 32 or even a bit below (the alcohol in the beer lowers its freezing temp somewhat so it won't ice up at 32). I've read that a standard 5% beer will freeze at ~28 degrees but haven't tried it myself.

 

[mrgrimm101]

The beer in question should be around 7.5%.

If I were to do let it sit at or just below 32F, I assume the beer wouldn't freeze due to the alcohol content. How would I rig my airlock so that it wouldn't freeze? I could add plain vodka to it, but would the actual airlock itself freeze or become damaged?

 

[fosaisu]

The beer in question should be around 7.5%.

If I were to do let it sit at or just below 32F, I assume the beer wouldn't freeze due to the alcohol content. How would I rig my airlock so that it wouldn't freeze? I could add plain vodka to it, but would the actual airlock itself freeze or become damaged?

Vodka has a very low freezing point so I think you'd be safe with that. The cold shouldn't injure the plastic in the airlock.

 

[alane1]

Do you have any snow there yet? Burying it in snow would have a couple of advantages over just leaving it out. Snow is an excellent insulator and it would also protect the beer against uv rays, good luck and let us know how it turns out.

 

[mrgrimm101]

Thanks so much for your helpful and prompt responses!

 

[mrgrimm101]

Do you have any snow there yet? Burying it in snow would have a couple of advantages over just leaving it out. Snow is an excellent insulator and it would also protect the beer against uv rays, good luck and let us know how it turns out.

No there is no snow yet. I would only let it sit overnight..I would put it out after dark and then take it back inside early in the AM before the sun comes out. That's why I was wondering if it would even be worth it, as it would probably be like 9 hours total..

 

[Player3]

I live in Michigan and have cold crashed outside several days in slightly below freezing. It works fine from my experience.

 

[mrgrimm101]

I could put it in my garage for a few days...this would keep it out of the UV light from the Sun. And my garage is uninsulated, so it should only be a few degrees higher than outside.

 

[Gavin C]

So I wanted to try cold crashing my latest batch. However, I do not have room in my fridge, nor do I have a spare fridge in which to place my primary for cold crashing. It is very cold up here in Michigan this time of year and I was thinking that I could try and wait for a night that will be above freezing to leave my primary outside overnight.

My question is: Would an overnight cold crash be worth it? I see most people do this for days at a time and I just didn't know if it would even be worth it to do for just 1 night.

Also, were I to do it outside, what would be an ideal outside temperature? I assume above freezing, but how much above freezing?

Replace your airlock with foil before crashing. The cooled carboy will suck back the contents of your airlock as it cools. Starsan or Vodka. It will end up in the wort.

 

[mrgrimm101]

Ok i can put foil over it. Just with a rubber band or something around it?

Also, do i have to bring it back up to room temp before bottling, or do i bottle it cold?

 

[kevinb]

I have cold crashed outside before and it worked well for me. I say go for it. If you have one of those S-shaped airlocks it will prevent the suck backissue. Lastly, you can start to bottle while it is cold. Just make sure that you store it in a relatiely warm place so it carbs up.

 

[mrgrimm101]

Yea it would be stored at about 68F. I will probably move it inside prior to bottling just to let it warm up slightly.

 

[GHBWNY]

I could put it in my garage for a few days...this would keep it out of the UV light from the Sun. And my garage is uninsulated, so it should only be a few degrees higher than outside.

I think a few days at anything sub-40F will be a greater benefit to clearing than just one night in slightlky colder temp.

 

[mrgrimm101]

So I was curious about what temp range everyone thought would be TOO cold. Assuming my FG reading is the same as it was 2 days ago, the beer is done fermenting and I want to move it to my garage for cold crashing. I've been monitoring the temperature in the garage compared to outside and it seems like the garage is about 4-5 degrees F higher than outside.

The problem is that temps this week are going to dip into the mid to low 20s for highs and down to the mid to high teens for lows. Keep in mind that in my garage it will be about 4-5 degrees higher than outside.

What is the coldest temp that you have successfully cold crashed your brews?

 

[JimRausch]

I coldcrash and lager in my garage all the time. Currently the temp. out there is around 45, but outside temps are predicted to go down into the low teens the next couple days. I keep my buckets and carboys in swamp coolers filled with water to get a moderating thermal effect. Last winter it got pretty wicked cold out there, and there would sometimes be a skim of ice on the water, but the beers never froze(nor the airlocks filled with vodka). Cold crashing, I leave things out there for 4-5 days, lagering for weeks-months. So, it can be done.

 

[mrgrimm101]

I coldcrash and lager in my garage all the time. Currently the temp. out there is around 45, but outside temps are predicted to go down into the low teens the next couple days. I keep my buckets and carboys in swamp coolers filled with water to get a moderating thermal effect. Last winter it got pretty wicked cold out there, and there would sometimes be a skim of ice on the water, but the beers never froze(nor the airlocks filled with vodka). Cold crashing, I leave things out there for 4-5 days, lagering for weeks-months. So, it can be done.

Ok, but as I said, my garage is not insulated and only holds about 5 degrees warmer than outside..so assuming that it gets down to say 17F on a given night, that means the garage will be about 22F. I was wondering if this was too cold for the beer to sit through.

Also, I do not currently have a swamp cooler setup. I was just going to set up a little platform with 2x4's so the carboy isn't sitting directly on the concrete.