Does anyone see added benefit of longer than normal cold crashing at 34 or so? I’m wondering if more than a day or two will be result in clearer beer.
cold and time should equal clear/clearer beer if all is well with the brew process.
if i’m not in hurry to keg something, I will let it sit 32-35 for week or longer, then rack to keg with gelatin.
Isn’t there some German lagering “rule” about one week per degree plato? So a 1.050 beer would lager about 12 weeks?
The longer the clearer, until it is brilliant.
If you are using a fining agent like gelatin, then once the beer is cold, add it, wait a day and you are ready to package.
I should add this is for ales.
Doesn’t matter, cold crashing results in clear beer, longer cold crashing results in clearer beer.
Yes, I figured it was for ales, but as mainebrewer says, it doesn’t matter. The longer the clearer, up until it can’t get any more clear.
for me, ale or lager they all get period of cold conditioning before consumption. 2-3 weeks at 32F and some gelatin is guaranteed clear beer for me.
So after fermentation chill for 1-2 weeks at 32-35 then bottle or keg?
That’s one way. I also will just rack to keg with gelatin after having cold crashed for 24-48hrs. More than one way to go about things.
In order to answer, you;d have to define “normal” for you. For me, “normal” is when it’s done. I let the beer make the schedule.
Same here
I used to cold crash for 2-3 days to give my beer a fighting chance to be clearer going into the keg. Then I started using gelatin. Once gel finings were incorporated into my packaging process, I no longer felt the need to cold crash any longer than 24hrs. Just long enough to get a good bulk of the yeast to floc out and get the beer cold enough to mix with the gelatin which completely clears the beer for me. Saves time, electricity, and money.
I agree. I get the beer super cold - ~ 32F - for 24 hrs, add gelatin, and get on with the process. Adding gelatin at around 32F maximizes is effectiveness IMO. Definitely saves time.
Do you guys cold crash/use gelatin with porters?
I use it on dark beers, too. Obviously not for clarity, but to clear the yeast out faster. Beer just tastes better with the yeast out of suspension. Hefe and wit excluded, of course.
I would cold crash, but probably not gel fine based on the color of the beer. For example, I just kegged a pretty dark baltic porter (almost stout color) that was cold crashed, but not fined as I did not feel it needed it for clarity. A lighter porter might benefit from both a cold crash and gelatin though. I would say it is probably color dependent.
Just kegged and gel fined o’fest today that was 5 days at 32f. Why 5 days…busy. Good thing is less yeast trub in my keg, but other than that just a matter of convenience in how quickly I get from cold crash to keg.
I don’t know why you would want to cold-condition an ale. Particularly when using a strain of yeast that produces subtle flavors and characteristics that can be lost by doing so. If the strain is a good flocculator and your ales are still cloudy/opaque/turbid after fermentation subsides then you should look at your process: are you doing a good, vigorous boil, chilling the wort quickly, have a decent filter when running into the fermenter, pitching adequate yeast, etc? My ales stay in the fermenter for a minimum of 10-14 days and are ran directly into the keg(s) for serving. If there is any haze (which typically comes from my excessive use of hops!) it settles in the serving fridge over time and the beer does not lack for anything just because it is not crystal clear. Your opinion and taste buds can and will vary!
On everything. Even with dark beers, you can see clarity.