Do you Cold Crash? (everyone vote! especially if you don't)

[justclancy]

I would if I had a large enough fridge, especially for stubborn yeasts like a kolsch yeast. I don't use kolsch yeast anymore, despite the fact that I love the flavors it produces, because I can never seem to get the yeast to floc out.

 

[terrapinj]

I've never seen any reason to do this. I chill my wort using a 25' copper immersion chiller, which takes about 15 min. for a 5 gal. batch with our 55F well water. That seems to be enough "crashing" for me, because my beer is plenty clear by the time it's ready to drink. I bottle in 9" longnecks and bottle condition for @3-4 weeks before drinking with most styles.

cold crashing is done post fermentation just before bottling or kegging

 

[bobmcstuff]

My setup uses a water bath and an electric coolbox circulating cold water to the water bath - it's good for knocking a few deg C off the ambient and controlling the heat produced by the yeast, but I can't cold crash.

I can still produce really clear beer though, Nottingham I have found to clear reliably and 1469 clears incredibly quickly.

It'd be nice to have the option though.

 

[igotsand]

I cc on every beer I do with the expection of a hefeweizen..that's what makes that beer!
I set my conical temp for cc around 34-38 degrees for a week..
I never have a problem with carbing my beer with cc. I bottle and keg.
There's still a lot of yeast still in suspension..
I like to give out bottles to my friends and want the beer to be super clear.
Igotsand

 

[LBussy]

It makes the beerses pretty, my precious!

 

[DromJohn]

No, but then I truly prefer cloudy beers, going back to the carafes of trub (sometimes with an egg) that I drank in Neu Ulm to fatten me up. It worked suddenly 35 years later.

 

[BigFloyd]

No, but then I truly prefer cloudy beers, going back to the carafes of trub (sometimes with an egg) that I drank in Neu Ulm to fatten me up. It worked suddenly 35 years later.

 

[EyePeeA]

Now that I use gelatin, it kind of goes hand-in-hand to cold crash since it is more effective at colder temps.

 

[BrewinHooligan]

I voted yes, but I honestly only cold crash when I have dry hopped to get all the particles to settle before transferring to bottles or keg.

 

[LBussy]

No, but then I truly prefer cloudy beers, going back to the carafes of trub (sometimes with an egg) that I drank in Neu Ulm to fatten me up. It worked suddenly 35 years later.

See, in Heilbronn we stayed away from that sorta thing ... still put on pounds. :cross:

 

[Ryfi]

Based on your question I do not cold crash before i keg but I consider cold conditioning a keg a form of cold crashing...

 

[Daves69]

I cold crash every batch, I ferm in 1/4 slim Sankey kegs and siphon off via Co2 into a Corny keg. At that time I drop the temp on my frem chamber to 30 degrees or so for 5-7 days.

 

[KurtB]

I guess I technically cold crash in the winter, but not in the summer. It is a side effect of the temps in my garage.

When fermentation has completed in my basement, I bring the bucket up and set it in the garage for a couple of days until I transfer it to a keg. Winter temps rarely get below 35 in the garage, and summer temps are normally in the mid to upper 70's. Either way, after a couple weeks in the kegerator to get carbonated, I pull a pint to get rid of anything that has settled and the rest of the beer pours clear until the last pint or two before the keg kicks.

 

[Conan]

I do currently since it's cold out. I've found I end up with much less trub in the keg (none, pretty much) and the yeast cake is much easier to rack off of while kegging. I'm a convert for now on when it's feasible. Kyle

 

[Krovitz]

Never cold crashed. Cloudiest beer was a pumpkin ale where I forgot Irish moss. Even beers that have a lot of dry hops clear up after I throw a bottle in the fridge for a week or so. Definitely love Irish moss though.

 

[passedpawn]

Tied on yes/no. I'm surprised.

 

[RagingBull]

Used to cold crash every batch. But don't do much anymore, I figure the bottle in the fridge is the equivalent to clod crashing and my beers seem to be just as clear (providing I don't disturb the trub while pouring).

 

[DrHops]

I'm a cold crashes. I ferment in a temp. Controlled mini fridge then turn the dial down to 30 degrees when I'm ready to cold crash.

 

[MtnHiBrewin]

I never really have, yet. I still bottle all my beer, but once I get a freezer set up for lagering and start kegging, I will probably start.
Most of my beers come out very clear, but there is more yeast in the bottles than what is really needed. I don't worry about it, it's all good (great) beer!

 

[No1ukno]

+1 for cold crashing here gives me some extra time to play beer and something else to do.

 

[slippery]

Chalk another up for CC. ...started about 3 batches ago, amazing results. !!

 

[Colorowdy]

+1 no

 

[Piratwolf]

I have cold crashed a few times, and I guess now that I keg my beer each one is technically cold crashed... but if I want brilliantly clear beer I'll use BioFine in addition to my usual Irish Moss.

Mostly I don't care enough to bother.

 

[tennesseean_87]

When I can do it outside on the porch, I do for a day or so before bottling.

 

[Jayhem]

I keep meaning to try it but Irish moss in the boil and a 21 day primary followed by 3 weeks bottle conditioning and 1 week cold conditioning makes my beer crystal clear!

Cold crashing is only necessary if you are impatient or need a beer to be ready much faster than it can naturally clear.

 

[eric19312]

I'm intrigued by the SNPA test. Can anybody that cold crashes before bottling post a picture of that level of residue in a bottle they filled?

Is that a realistic target?

 

[terrapinj]

Cold crashing is only necessary if you are impatient or need a beer to be ready much faster than it can naturally clear.

it has nothing to do with speeding up the maturation process - although i certainly wouldn't want to wait 7 weeks to start drinking an IPA

i get to drink more beer by getting less yeast and trub in the keg instead of wasting pours

also makes racking after dry hopping much easier

 

[Craigmn]

I cold crash and it seems like its been great for my clarity

 

[Braufessor]

I agree with those who have found success simply by letting beer sit, rather than cold crashing. 3 weeks in primary, then careful into the keg (or bottle) and let it sit...... perfectly crystal clear beer. The only times I have tried cold crashing, I saw absolutely no noticeable difference in beer clarity. When I have shortened my primary to 2 weeks and cold crashed - my beer was cloudier than 3 weeks and no cold crash.

 

[SwivelHips]

I haven't to date but plan to try it, garage temps permitting, especially for my lower-floccing alt yeasts.