I screwed up by cold-crashing

[BadNewsBrewery]

I've been brewing for a while now, and last month made up 10gal of a Belgian Wit. Everything was going well, using 6.5gal glass carboys with blow-off tubes into a 2000ml beaker with some idophor and water. Got some krausen / yeast blow off, nothing major.

Decided to cold-crash it some before racking to keg as it was a fairly floculent yeast strain. Apparently I crashed too quickly, because when I opened up the fermentation chamber yesterday I found the beaker almost completley empty. Best guess - the temperature change sucked a few hundred ml of idophor, water, and yeast blow-off into each of the carboys.

I'm going to run with it and see how they turn out, but I'm pretty sure I just killed 10 gallons of beer from a boneheaded disregard for the laws of physics.

-Kevin

 

[k1ngl1ves]

Meh. You should be fine. I wouldn't worry at all.

Does it taste good?

 

[ChuckO]

When I go to cold crash a batch I put the blow off hose down to the bottom of a jar that is filled with polyester fiberfill that's been saturated with Starsan. Any air sucked back into the fermenter has had to travel through that and has probably been sufficiently sanitized during the process.

 

[tmendick]

I usually just starsan a square of cellophane and rubberband it to the end of the tube when I'm cold crashing.

 

[MikeInMKE]

I use a one-piece airlock. Unless it's overfilled, the only thing that gets sucked back is air that's bubbled through the starsan that's in the airlock.

 

[DarthCitra]

I trust drinking a little starsan in my brew way more than idophor in the brew. I have a bottle of it and dont use it, i want to say you have to rinse when using it, but my memory could be wrong ?

 

[BadNewsBrewery]

Palmer says that at design concentrations, it's no big deal to no-wash... given that it was in the container for a few weeks of primary fermentation, I'm pretty sure most of the 'free iodine' molocules were used up... I tasted it and it did taste a bit funky, but that may have been as much mental as anything else. Plus it always tastes a bit off until the carbonation does its thing. Only time will tell...

 

[j1n]

I trust drinking a little starsan in my brew way more than idophor in the brew. I have a bottle of it and dont use it, i want to say you have to rinse when using it, but my memory could be wrong ?

Idophor is a no rinse sanitizer just like starsan. it even sanitizes in the same amount of time. the only down side to Idophor is that it stains things. Also starsan has foam that will sanitize things it comes in contact with where with idophor there is no foam.

 

[grittanomyces]

Can I ask why it's necessary to cold crash a beer that's going to be kegged and kept chilled?

I get it with bottles, but just seems more trouble than it's worth with kegging, unless you're trying to save every ounce possible if the beer. After kegging and chilling, I only get sediment, but lots of it, for about the first pint before it clears out. Seen the exact same thing from some commercial kegs.

That's not to say it's a bad thing to do it, obviously can't hurt if you do it right, just wondering if there's much benefit.

 

[westo2]

Can I ask why it's necessary to cold crash a beer that's going to be kegged and kept chilled?

I get it with bottles, but just seems more trouble than it's worth with kegging, unless you're trying to save every ounce possible if the beer. After kegging and chilling, I only get sediment, but lots of it, for about the first pint before it clears out. Seen the exact same thing from some commercial kegs.

That's not to say it's a bad thing to do it, obviously can't hurt if you do it right, just wondering if there's much benefit.

It reduces the amount of sediment still in suspension that would get racked over to the keg, therefore reducing the amount of sediment that ends up at the bottom of the keg. I only bother if I plan on bringing somewhere and serve on the jockey box and I don't want to re-suspend the sediment by jostling the keg. If the keg is just going in my kegorator - I don't bother.

 

[WayFrae]

I just put a sanitized piece of foil over the mouth of my carboys when I cold crash.

 

[BadNewsBrewery]

It reduces the amount of sediment still in suspension that would get racked over to the keg, therefore reducing the amount of sediment that ends up at the bottom of the keg. I only bother if I plan on bringing somewhere and serve on the jockey box and I don't want to re-suspend the sediment by jostling the keg. If the keg is just going in my kegorator - I don't bother.

This was pretty much my reasoning. There was a lot of yeast floculation, and quite a bit was still in suspension. That, and the fact that at least one of the kegs was going to travel with me to a family reunion in August, so I wanted as little sediment as possible. The Wit is a hazy beer to begin with, I figured anything I can do to help knock that down some is not a bad thing... well, except for sucking a bunch of yeasty idophor water up into the carboys!

 

[tmendick]

I find it helps compress the trub so you can get more beer out of the carboy.

 

[westo2]

I just put a sanitized piece of foil over the mouth of my carboys when I cold crash.

That's my process as well. Simple and effective.

 

[PintDrainer]

Good info in here. I'm on track to do this to my Wheat ale later this week. Thanks.

 

[Calichusetts]

I just put a sanitized piece of foil over the mouth of my carboys when I cold crash.

This...sanitize, cover, rubber band. No worries

 

[BPal75]

I just replace my drilled stopper with a non-drilled stopper, then crash. No risk of suck back then and because fermentation is finished, no need for an airlock to off-gas anymore.


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[kombat]

I just replace my drilled stopper with a non-drilled stopper, then crash. No risk of suck back then

There's a risk the rubber stopper will be sucked down into the carboy. This would a) expose the beer to open air, and the associated risk of infection and oxidation, and b) be a pain in the butt to get the rubber stopper back out of the carboy.

Like the others, I just sanitize a piece of foil, fold it over on itself, cover the mouth of the carboy, and secure it with a pair of rubber bands.

 

[Nagorg]

During cold crash, I replace the blow off tube with an airlock filled (properly) with vodka. My first cold crash resulted in about 1/4 gallon of StarSan being sucked back into the carboy. I drank it and I am still alive but the beer just didn’t taste right. Kinda tasted like a very "skunky" heineken.
Seems like this is one of those rite's of passage things...

 

[tmendick]

During cold crash, I replace the blow off tube with an airlock filled (properly) with vodka. My first cold crash resulted in about 1/4 gallon of StarSan being sucked back into the carboy. I drank it and I am still alive but the beer just didn’t taste right. Kinda tasted like a very "skunky" heineken.
Seems like this is one of those rite's of passage things...

You're still likely to get suckback with an airlock even if it is "properly" filled, especially if you use a plastic carboy.

 

[WayFrae]

You're still likely to get suckback with an airlock even if it is "properly" filled, especially if you use a plastic carboy.

Don't the "S" type airlocks just bubble through the starsan? I know with a 3-piece airlock you will get suck back but I don't think you do with the "S" type. Maybe that is what he was referring to.

 

[Nagorg]

I can attest that I have yet to have all of the vodka (or any that I can tell) sucked back. Even if it does, its vodka and a very small amount at that..

 

[BadNewsBrewery]

Well a few days in, tried a half glass of the partially-carb'd beer last night... Smell - definitely could tell something was a little off. Taste - not too terrible, actually. Aftertaste - straight idophor and sanitizer. I'm heading out of town for a few days, and if it hasn't gotten its act together by then - I'll be watering the lawn with homebrew...

 

[RmikeVT]

Bummer.

 

[BadNewsBrewery]

Back from the trip, and try as I might to convince myself that the taste isn't that noticable... *sigh* Down the drain it shall go.

 

[drinkindinkins]

New question alert: can someone clarify what cold crashing is? I would imagine its just using your wort chiller to chill the beer to desired temp?

Thanks

 

[paperairplane]

New question alert: can someone clarify what cold crashing is? I would imagine its just using your wort chiller to chill the beer to desired temp?

Thanks

Nope - cold crashing is done post fermentation to drop yeast out of suspension prior to bottling or kegging. I put my fermeter into my keezer for a couple days or until I'm ready to keg.

Doing this I have super clear beer with no finings needed and since the beer is already cold, CO2 will carb it quicker.

 

[mtnagel]

So what's the best way to cold crash in a bucket? I usually switch back to a regular airlock from a blow off tube after a week or so. Should I keep the blow off on and just put a sanitized piece of foil over the blow off tube? Or could I keep the regular 3 piece airlock on, but remove the liquid and just cover the top of it with the sanitized foil?

I've never cold crashed before, but I am bringing a keg to a competition that will get served that day so I'd like to minimize the stuff in the keg?

 

[day_trippr]

Use an s-lock when cold crashing and you will not get any suck back...

Cheers!

 

[mtnagel]

Cool thanks. I will pick one up!

 

[BadNewsBrewery]

Not having an S-Lock, but having bountiful access to cheap "Military Brand" Vodka, my plan is to just fill my 3-piece with vodka from here out. It'll suck some into the carboy, sure... but it won't mess up the flavor and if I fill it up to the right level it shouldn't suck much or any in while still maintaining a sanitary environment.

 

[WayFrae]

A sanitized piece of foil costs even less.

 

[MindenMan]

I cold crash in buckets all the time, as I ferment in them. I strain out the big stuff from the BK into my primary, leaving very little left to cold crash.

 

[letmeholleratya]

This was pretty much my reasoning. There was a lot of yeast floculation, and quite a bit was still in suspension. That, and the fact that at least one of the kegs was going to travel with me to a family reunion in August, so I wanted as little sediment as possible. The Wit is a hazy beer to begin with, I figured anything I can do to help knock that down some is not a bad thing... well, except for sucking a bunch of yeasty idophor water up into the carboys!

I'd agree with other beers, but I've noticed as wits sit for awhile, they settle and lose flavor. I wouldn't want to crash it.

But for the person asking about the extra labor - if you have temp control it's not really any extra work, and you're all the quicker to a clearer beer.


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