Is there a reason to cold crash when kegging?

[ClemTiger0408]

As I understand it, you cold crash to help settle the yeast and clarify the beer. I have an IPA that's currently fermenting and have been thinking about cold crashing as all my IPAs always end up cloudy.

My question is, if I keg aren't I essentially cold crashing? If I keg and let it sit and carb for a week, wouldn't the first pour of two get rid of what would fall out of suspension? Or am I thinking about this all wrong?

I don't really have a way to cold crash, especially not at an already elevated level so I can directly siphon into a keg so I am trying to evaluate my options.


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[peterj]

Yeah, that's how I feel about it. If you're kegging your basically cold crashing for the life of the beer. So I don't see any reason to cold crash before hand except that it could make it a little easier to siphon and reduce the sediment you get in those first few pints. I don't think I would ever do it myself though.

 

[barnaclebob]

It may take a good portion of the keg before the dip tube stops sucking up stuff. My beers just gradually get clearer and clearer as the keg gets used.

 

[Howhownow]

For additional clarity while kegging try fining in the keg with a little gelatin. It is a very easy step, and it gets the pints pouring much clearer much faster.

 

[j1n]

Its not necessary but i like to just so i have less crap in the keg. If you don't have the means to then i wouldn't worry about it.

 

[hunter_le five]

I cold crash and add gelatin in the primary. That way the beer is already clear going into the keg, and I don't have to "waste" my first few pints drawing up sediment, or wait until halfway through the keg to have clear beer.

Is it mandatory to do it this way? No. But it's how I like to do it. As with almost everything in brewing, there is more than one way to do things.

OP, the way you are talking about should work just fine. Plenty of people do it that way.

 

[Homercidal]

Yes, you are cold crashing when you keg. In my case, I usually consider the keg to be a secondary ferm vessel and cold crash and condition in it.

I find it takes 2-3 weeks to get an even carbonation level when I keg. During that time the beer is clearing and the bottom gets thick with yeast and gunk. The first pour or two are usually kind of gross, but then the dip tube gets cleared away and the beer pours clearer. You can prevent this to a variable degree by cutting the end of the dip tube an inch or so. Or you can bend the thing a bit. This allows more room for the sediment to collect UNDER the dip tube, rather than around it.

Lately I've been cold crashing like that, then when the beer is cleared, I will sometimes jumper that clear beer into a different keg using CO2. This makes the new keg sediment free and much easier to transport without stirring up the bottom. I really only do this for a beer I want to take somewhere.

 

[Yooper]

I generally rack to the keg at day 10 to 14, without cold crashing before hand.

Since I fairly often use a pretty flocculent yeast strain, the beer is pretty clear at that time. Within 3 to 5 days, the beer is completely clear once I pull about 4 ounces from the bottom of the keg with the first tapping.

 

[Pie_Man]

If dry hopping, you may want to consider cold crashing, depending on your dry hop process. I have clogged the keg's dip tube and poppit with hop trub and it's a pain to clear the blockage.

 

[Homercidal]

If dry hopping, you may want to consider cold crashing, depending on your dry hop process. I have clogged the keg's dip tube and poppit with hop trub and it's a pain to clear the blockage.

I have started dry hopping inside the keg. Previously I would put a bag of hops in it and tie it off on the keg handle using a piece of flavorless floss. The floss was thin enough to prevent CO2 from escaping.

Then I welded a small tab with a hole on it to the underside of my keg lid. I can tie it off more easily there, and at some point I will remember to buy a small piece of stainless chain to hang it from.

The fresh dry hop flavor is awesome! Since it's dry hopping at low temps, the hops will last longer before imparting a vegetable flavor.

 

[AnOldUR]

My question is, if I keg aren't I essentially cold crashing?

No more or less than putting bottles in the fridge and calling that cold crashing. Thing is, cold crashing is done before packaging (at least that's what I thought :cross

But more important, a good cold crash is done at close to freezing, not serving temperature. Your beer will drop clear faster and leave a more compact bed that's easier to rack above at the colder temperature.

So, unless you're monkeying with the temperature control on you kegerator or serving your beer really cold, it's not the same.