German Kolsch cold crashing White labs Wlp029

[brewsandiego]

So im within a couple of days within the final gravity being reached and i have the following questions that i would be very grateful for yalls experienced answers.
1) When cold crashing my beer after fermentation is complete, what temperature (my five gallon carboy fits in the mini fridge) should i maintain and for how long?
2)How to avoid the dreaded suck back into the carboy when cold crashing
3) when transferring my beer to bucket from primary(i refuse to use secondary) to bucket i want to use a strainer to catch any excess sediment. is this okay?
4) does cold crashing still leave enough yeast to bottle condition.

 

[h22lude]

1) There are two ways people do this. Some people like to lower the temp a few degrees each day. Others just set the temp and let it go. Either way you will want to get it to mid 30s. You can leave it there for a few days and will be ok but the longer you leave it the clearer it will be.
2) Suck back is from the pressure difference because of the temp change. Dropping the temp a few degrees each day helps with that. Also getting a bubbler airlock helps.
3) I'm not sure I understand. You say you don't want to do secondary but it seems like you are racking into a new bucket. That would be a secondary. Just cold crash in the bucket you fermented it.
4) yes

 

[brewsandiego]

im sorry on question 3, i got distracted lol, what i meant to ask was, when it comes time to bottle, i will be putting the beer in a transfer bucket and immediately bottle. When, i go from primary to transfer bucket, can i use a strainer?

 

[h22lude]

Yes that is fine just make sure it isn't splashing through the strainer as that many cause oxidation. When cold crashing and bottling, I find the beer to be very clear without doing anything else. The crashing drops everything to the bottle so keep your racking cane off the bottom. Any little trub that does get into your bottling bucket will then sit at the bottom of that which will be below your spigot.