Cold crashing

[GPP33]

So I've cold crashed before but generally just enjoy my slightly hazy (and sometimes crystal clear) non cold crashed brews. I did a Smash two weeks ago with a friends home grown Cenential. It fermented out well, sat in primary for 12 days with a blow off tube (10 gal so two carboys blowing into one half gallon juice jug) and I've had it in the keezer at 34 degrees for two days. Checked it tonight and The beer looks great only that half gallon juice jug that used to have about 1/4 gallon of starsan is now empty. I'm thinking it probably didn't evaporate at 34 degrees which means it got sucked into my carboys. The StarSan was clear when I put everything into the keezer so I'm not worried about the beer but I guess I have two things.

#1: if you're a cold crash newb make sure your air lock fluid is clean.

#2: how do you cold crash vets keep oxygen and air lock fluid from getting sucked into your beer when everything cools off?

 

[Sadu]

This happens to people all the time, though I have never experienced it. Apparently in some cases the starsan sits on top of the beer and you can siphon it off. Might be worth checking that.

To answer your question 2, you need a S shaped bubbler airlock, these work in both directions and you won't get starsan in your beer.

 

[mongoose33]

I don't know that I'd call my self a "vet" but I use the S-shaped airlocks and they won't suck the Star-San into the fermenter.

Haven't resolved the oxygen going into the fermenter. To this point I haven't seen (or tasted, for that matter) anything that would lead me to believe I'm getting a lot of staling from post-fermentation oxygen, but that doesn't mean it's not happening.

I can think of ways to resolve that--I think. One is related to drawing the "air" from a CO2 reservoir. At some point I'll try to perfect that.

Meanwhile, one of the things I do when racking from fermenter to keg is to create a closed loop so there should be little or no oxygen entering the system. A pic showing that is below. I cut the top off an S-shaped airlock so it would accept vinyl tubing. I pre-purge the receiving keg of air by forcing Star-San out of it with CO2, then as the beer enters the keg, the displaced CO2 is fed back into the fermenter.

I don't suppose there's any reason I couldn't rack to the keg before I cold-crash, thus keeping O2 out of the equation. I could use finings as I did that. Probably would.

 

[GPP33]

This happens to people all the time, though I have never experienced it. Apparently in some cases the starsan sits on top of the beer and you can siphon it off. Might be worth checking that.

To answer your question 2, you need a S shaped bubbler airlock, these work in both directions and you won't get starsan in your beer.

But you will suck in oxygen. Guess it's one or the other.....

 

[jerbrew]

Honestly, I keep a blow off tube ( 1 inch od tube 2 feet long) on my fermenter the entire time if I expect my beer to be done within 3 weeks. I cold crash and will never get stars an or oxygen in my beer.

Alternatively, use vodka in your airlock. Then you won't care about a bit in your beer.

 

[GPP33]

I don't know that I'd call my self a "vet" but I use the S-shaped airlocks and they won't suck the Star-San into the fermenter.

Haven't resolved the oxygen going into the fermenter. To this point I haven't seen (or tasted, for that matter) anything that would lead me to believe I'm getting a lot of staling from post-fermentation oxygen, but that doesn't mean it's not happening.

I can think of ways to resolve that--I think. One is related to drawing the "air" from a CO2 reservoir. At some point I'll try to perfect that.

Meanwhile, one of the things I do when racking from fermenter to keg is to create a closed loop so there should be little or no oxygen entering the system. A pic showing that is below. I cut the top off an S-shaped airlock so it would accept vinyl tubing. I pre-purge the receiving keg of air by forcing Star-San out of it with CO2, then as the beer enters the keg, the displaced CO2 is fed back into the fermenter.

I don't suppose there's any reason I couldn't rack to the keg before I cold-crash, thus keeping O2 out of the equation. I could use finings as I did that. Probably would.

I never really bought into the theory of cold crashing in a keg. All the crap goes to the bottom...right where your pick up tube is. Eventually you erode a passage way through the sludge and it starts pouring clearer.

 

[mongoose33]

I never really bought into the theory of cold crashing in a keg. All the crap goes to the bottom...right where your pick up tube is. Eventually you erode a passage way through the sludge and it starts pouring clearer.

I'm not sure how much stuff you think falls out in cold crashing, but I'm not transferring the trub, just the beer. I sometimes get a little blip of something that comes through, but it's minimal, and it takes about a half a pint to clear.

 

[GPP33]

I'm not sure how much stuff you think falls out in cold crashing, but I'm not transferring the trub, just the beer. I sometimes get a little blip of something that comes through, but it's minimal, and it takes about a half a pint to clear.

I usually dry hop in the keg so I get about the same from some hop material. Then it clears up. Takes much longer to get perfectly clear though and once empty there's some amount of yeast/sediment left in the bottom. Sure, it cold crashed but then I picked it back up as I poured.

 

[mongoose33]

I usually dry hop in the keg so I get about the same from some hop material. Then it clears up. Takes much longer to get perfectly clear though and once empty there's some amount of yeast/sediment left in the bottom. Sure, it cold crashed but then I picked it back up as I poured.

That's the difference we're seeing--if I were dry hopping I'd do it the old-fashioned way, i.e., in the fermenter. My beers tend not to be made w/ dry hopping.

 

[GPP33]

Moved em to kegs today and they are delicious!

One showed no signs of starsan sitting on top, the other had a very light colored layer on top. Almost looked like water when it came up the siphon. So I cut it off and left a little in the carboy. Not sure how water would seperate from beer but figured I didn't want whatever the light color layer was diluting the good stuff.