I recently made a Blonde Ale and I just finished bottling it. The BJCP guidelines say that sometimes Blonde Ales are cold conditioned and Kolshs seem to also be cold conditioned as they are in the same category of beers. However, John Palmer in his book says that Cold Conditioning just helps to participate out large proteins including tannins and phenols which is what fining agents do anyway. I’m of course paraphrasing but my question is if one were to use fining agents, in my case I use whirlfloc, is cold conditioning really necessary?
If you are desiring a really clear beer I would follow the cold recommendations
“Friends don’t let friends drink bad beer”
I consistently make clear beer. I’m worried about taste.
Sounds like a great time to experiment. Put a few in the fridge for a month and compare
“Friends don’t let friends drink bad beer”
I have to ask, do you type that quote every time you post?
No it’s automatic signature. If it’s annoying I’ll take it off
“Friends don’t let friends drink bad beer”
It dont bother me none. It’s not like you have a history of everything you ever brewed as a sig 
Ouch, ya I’ve seen that somewhere before. I use tapatalk which defaults to something like’ sent from my droid’ or whatever. I started changing it to something more interesting but just found the option of no signature
Necessary? Probably not. But I’m convinced beyond any doubt that a few weeks of cold conditioning (or a few months or more, depending on the beer) will usually improve the taste.
I think a lot of homebrewers miss out when they impatiently consume beers too young.
In my opinion cold conditioning will help to improve the beer overall whether it’s appearance or taste. I never had the ability to really cold condition when I was bottling. I definitely notice an improvement after two weeks of cold conditioning in the keg before drinking.
+1. Definitely helps flavor.
Ahh okay, I gotcha. It comes from the app, not the forum. Don’t bother me none, I was just curious.
FYI whirlflock is a kettle fining agent. Post fermentation it’s not doing anything for you. Use some dissolved (but not boiled) gelatin.
I cold condition all my beers and on beers I want very clear I add fining agents.
Indeed. I usually ‘lager’ my big Belgians to round everything out. Works very well.
IMO, unless your bottle conditioning or dry hopping, once the beer is finished fermenting and has a few days to “condition” at fermentation temps it should be stored cold from then on.
I have another question about cold conditioning then…if I cold condition a beer that I intend on bottling (with priming sugar)…do I bring it out of the cold temp and let it come back up to room temp before bottling, or does it affect the yeast when it’s cold conditioned?
Thanks guys!
Chris
Bottle first, wait until it’s carbonated properly, then you can cold condition as long as you like.
Ive got a blonde in the keg cold conditioning now. I did use gelatin, and in 3-4 weeks time its very clear and has had time to mature - making for a mighty fine beer. if you can do it, take the extra time and cold condition…i think it makes a nice difference in the finished product.