Cold crashing.

[danhercules]

I am starting to get into kegging very slowly. When I do, I cold crash to 34 deg. I keg and carb at that temp with CO2.

When bottleing, how cold is too cold when cold crashing when priming with sugar? I'm afraid the yeast will drop out.

Thoughts?


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[MikeInMKE]

I cold crashed two >6% beers at the same time for a whole week late last November out in my garage. These were two of the three beers I gave away for Christmas (2-each in a 6-pack). It was so cold in my garage that ice crystals had formed on the top of the beer, which then stuck to the racking cane.

Both carbed up fully, but a little slower than I had hoped. Instead of two weeks, it took 4 weeks to carb up.

 

[BigFloyd]

I crash a week in the primary at 35-36*F and, if not kegging, prime/bottling while it's cold. I've had no issues with those batches bottle carbing at room temp 70-75*F) in three weeks. There's still plenty of yeast present to carb the beer.

Don't decrease the amount of priming sugar due to the cold crash temp. If using a calculator, enter the highest temp that beer saw prior to the crash.

 

[Yooper]

If the beer freezes, and the carboy breaks, that's too cold.

You can keep the beer at 32 degrees for a month, and it won't harm the yeast, so don't worry about cold crashing before bottling.

Just rack the beer as usual into the bottling bucket with the usual amount of priming sugar in solution, and bottle as usual. No need for the beer to warm up before bottling, but keep it in a warm place once it's bottled so it can carb up.

 

[danhercules]

If the beer freezes, and the carboy breaks, that's too cold.



You can keep the beer at 32 degrees for a month, and it won't harm the yeast, so don't worry about cold crashing before bottling.



Just rack the beer as usual into the bottling bucket with the usual amount of priming sugar in solution, and bottle as usual. No need for the beer to warm up before bottling, but keep it in a warm place once it's bottled so it can carb up.

Ok so here I go. Don't know if I "rack". I use buckets. When I go from primary to secondary I toss out the first bit (8oz or so) and toss out the last bit (8 oz or so). Just want the clear stuff. Is the yeast in there?

Ps. When I say "toss out", I put it in a glass and drink it after it settles to taste it. No drop of my beer gets "tossed out". Lol.


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[AnOldUR]

When I go from primary to secondary I toss out the first bit (8oz or so) and toss out the last bit (8 oz or so). Just want the clear stuff.

Not to deprive you of early samples of your beer, but as your racking skills and technique improve, you may find you're able to get clear beer from start to finish and only leave an ounce or so behind. Wait for the beer to clear before transfer. Cold crashing will speed this up. Start with your cane well above the trub and lower as the beer level drops.

Not a great picture, but you can see that there's only clear beer in the cane and very little left in the carboy. The trick is to only transfer the good stuff. I can't figure out how you're getting anything unwanted at the start of transfer. What do you do? Just drop the cane into the bottom and wait for it to clear?

(Another reason buckets suck is that you can't see where your racking from, but that's a different debate. :cross

 

[Gameface]

Ok so here I go. Don't know if I "rack". I use buckets. When I go from primary to secondary I toss out the first bit (8oz or so) and toss out the last bit (8 oz or so). Just want the clear stuff. Is the yeast in there?

Ps. When I say "toss out", I put it in a glass and drink it after it settles to taste it. No drop of my beer gets "tossed out". Lol.


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Racking just means moving the beer from one container to another, really.

While some may say you don't need to "toss" any of it, I'll tell you, I don't drink the dregs from my coffee cup. They may be fine, but I'll leave that to the fish to find out. I agree, when I move my beer, the first few ounces don't go into my destination vessel, nor the last few. I'm OCD that way.

 

[danhercules]

I don't use a cane. Spigot with hose.


I tip the bucket very gently a few hrs before I start.

8 oz was exaggerated.

Prob 8 oz total. 4 at start and 4 at end.


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