ramping, cold crash, bottling temps

[Louz]

This is my first time with a temp controlled fermentation chamber.

I'm planning a dry hop addition at the 14 day mark for 5 days followed by a 2 day cold crash, then bottling.

I've read about ramping the temp up after fermentation is over to make the yeast clean up after itself.
When and how long is that done? The last day or two of dry hopping? My fermentation is set at 70 degrees (white labs california V)... how much warmer should I go?

Also after my 2 day cold crash, should I raise the temp back up to around room temps for bottling?

Thanks

 

[RM-MN]

Yeast don't have a calendar and don't know when 14 days is up. You should be basing your dry hopping on hitting final gravity (plus some days) as when you get a stuck fermentation that 14 days means nothing. The temperature needs to be controlled while the yeast are going crazy with all the sugars. Once the sugars are mostly gone, the beer can be allowed to warm. This encourages the yeast to get that last little bit of sugar and leaves them hungry so they devour the intermediate compounds. If you determine that the beer is at final gravity you can dry hop. I usually dry hop for 7 days but others have used just 3 and sometimes I go 2 weeks for dry hopping when life gets in the way.

Cold crashing will drop out the yeast and hops and if cold enough can drop out the proteins that cause chill haze. I don't cold crash because I give my beer enough time to settle out without the cold crash, then leave my bottles in the refrigerator long enough for any chill haze to settle out.

 

[Louz]

Yes understood about hitting my FG before dry hopping.

What is a good temperature for the ramping up/yeast cleanup stage? And how long should that last before cold crashing?

Is it ok to bottle at cold crashing temp, or should I warm it up some before hand?

 

[Yooper]

You can bottle the beer cold- it will warm up in the bottle at room temperature. When you raise the temperature for the diacetyl rest, it's done at the tail end of fermentation (before dryhopping).

 

[Keith81]

If you are starting fermentation at 70 you shouldn't need to raise temp. I typically start at 65 and raise 1 degree per day up to 70 then just let it sit at there until done (I don't cold crash).

 

[Louz]

Thanks. Actually I've been fermenting at 68, not 70.

Let me recap so I'm clear on this:
1: ferment at recommended yeast temp until final gravity is reached
2: gradually raise temp up to 70 degrees for a couple days for yeast cleanup
3: dry hop 7 days +/-
4: cold crash for about two days
5: bottle

 

[Keith81]

That'll work. On #2 you don't have to do it gradually, I just do it that way because I ferment in a SS Brewtech Brew Bucket with FTSs and use a cooler with water and frozen gallon jugs as my cooling source so I have to go to the fermenter each morning to swap out jugs anyway.