Experiment with Cold Crashing in Snowbank

[Dirt_McGirt]

Unlike many parts of the country, my area is currently frigid cold and blanketed under 16" of snow. Lows are about 8-12F and highs are around 24-26F. I don't have a fridge for cold crashing indoors yet, so I thought I'd try crashing my IPA buried in one of the huge snow piles created by all the shoveling I've had to do, and test the theory that snow will act as an insulator and keep the beer from dropping too much below 32F and freezing. Thought I'd document the success or failure here for anyone else interested in trying this....

EDIT: photo links don't seem to be working - here's a link to the album?
https://goo.gl/photos/geP4SBSp3vHyaN8o7

After a 2-stage dry hop over 11 days, time to crash this bad boy. ABV is 6.8%, so the hard freeze point should be 26.6F. I left it sitting out for a couple hours until it dropped below 45F, then buried it.

Kind of hard to see, but it's inside a snow mound about 3" high and 7" across, with a fleece thrown wrapped around it to add some extra insulation before piling the snow on top. If you look closely you can see the little foil patch I wrapped over the top of the airlock to prevent the starsan from getting sucked into the carboy.

After an overnight down to 12F and a total of 17 hours later, I uncovered the mouth so I could take a temp reading.

About 35 degrees. Not bad. I'll probably check it again before bed or first thing in the morning to see if it's stabilizing around 31-32 degrees, and post an update.

 

[Dirt_McGirt]

Seven hours since I last checked, and the temp reads as 32.5F. Think I should roll the dice and go for a full 48 hours?

 

[Elkobrewer]

Good info. I will probably do the same thing with the iPa I have in secondary

 

[berrywise]

deleted

 

[beergolf]

What is this snow stuff you speak of?

 

[Dirt_McGirt]

Thanks. I imagine it's even colder at night in Elko than here, so makes sense.

I accidentally overfilled the fermenter a half-gallon with top-off water, so I wouldn't mind racking off around some slushy ice that forms in the next 24 hours, anyway to get it down to proper gravity.

 

[Redlantern]

I was considering the same. The snow as an insulator will prevent hard drops in temp.

 

[Dirt_McGirt]

What is this snow stuff you speak of?

Imagine last year, then the bizarro version of that. We got nada last winter.

 

[corycorycory09]

I've never used snow for cold crashing, but I have used it to chill wort before. 5 gallons plopped into a few foot tall snow bank is a great way to chill.

 

[GHBWNY]

Seven hours since I last checked, and the temp reads as 32.5F. Think I should roll the dice and go for a full 48 hours?

Or find some slightly warmer snow.

 

[Dirt_McGirt]

I wound up pulling the carboy out of cold crash at 44 hours, 'cause I need to get my bottling done before I start on dinner. You may or may not be able to see it in the photos below, but there was no ice other than the very beginnings of a few crystals at the top rim.

I didn't take a temp reading, but it's clear this was a success, and that beginning brewers without temp control can still do at least a basic 2-day cold crash even if the temps are well below freezing, as long as they have enough snow to insulate. Happy brewing!

 

[Elkobrewer]

It is defiantly a little colder at night than in Ogden so I was thinking about just putting it in the shop for a few days it stays about 38 deg

 

[Dirt_McGirt]

That sounds like a lot less work! My garage is exterior with no heat, though, so it was no bueno. My backup plan is to investigate crashing in my attic, which I suspect is somewhere in that range.