By the way, if you don't have a temp. controlled fridge, you can use a swamp cooler with plenty of ice bottles to get close.
Yes I have a temp controlled mini fridge. I'm interested to see how cold it can get. Wouldn't 33 be too close to freezing the water in the fridge?
To build on OP topic, if he leaves in primary for two weeks transfers to secondary for two weeks and then cold crashes for a week, will there be any healthy yeast left for bottle carbonation? Or would he need to add yeast during bottling process?
Making an IPA and looking for it to be clear. What temp do I cold crash and for how long? Also, what techniques do I use to prevent suck back?
Do I need to worry about oxidation? Especially if I use tin foil?
No. The amount of oxygen getting into the fermenter is minimal. After fermentation the beer is carbonated to around 1 volume with CO2. Air is only about 18% oxygen so it's really not a big concern unless you're splashing it pretty hard.
Source: thousands of people that cold crash and don't get oxidized beer, including myself.
Quite interested in the responses, so to sum up:
1. You don't need to transfer to a secondary fermenter. (So no off-tastes if the brew is kept in the same fermenter for 5 weeks?)
2. Cold crash as near to 32F as possible
3. You can use a S-shaped air lock to prevent suck-back
4. You don't need to add yeast after a cold crash for bottling
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