cold crashing

[Surfman]

am i able to cold crash my beer in the bottle to reduce chill haze or does it need to be done while in the secondary?? i dont really have a way to cool a carboy to those temps.

 

[TexLaw]

You can do it in the bottle. Just stick 'em in the fridge AFTER you carbonate them. They will clear in time.


TL

 

[rabidgerbil]

The whole point of crash cooling is to be able to rack away the clear beer, and leave behind the cold break. It will work, but you will have that stuff in the bottom of your bottle instead.

 

[Surfman]

any suggestions on how to cold crash a carboy without having to buy an extra fridge?? maybe and ice bath?

 

[rabidgerbil]

On that one, I would advise watching Craigslist... you can find cheap or free fridges on there all the time. That, or let your family and friends know that you are looking for one. Sooner or later, one of them will remodel their kitchen. That is how I scored mine. You will not regret having a dedicated beer fridge around.

The seattle area listings, as an example, currently have four free fridges that are in working order.

 

[Yooper]

I use my Yooper Lagerator. It's an Icecube cooler, with a new lid made of styrofoam so that the airlock peeks through. (See my gallery for pictures). I could have used the old lid, but it wasn't insulated, and I can just put on the regular lid if I want to use it as a cooler.

I put the carboy in, then put water in it. Then, I add a couple of frozen water bottles and keep it in the basement. Changing water bottles every three days in the winter keeps it at 34 degrees as long as I want. I can lager in this for 6 weeks or more. In the summer, I can change the water bottles daily and keep it in the low 40s.