I typically cold crash for about 3-5 days before I keg my beer and have been toying with the idea of skipping the cold crash altogether. My reasoning is that the beer is usually pretty clear at fermentation temperatures and I’m going to let it sit for a few days at 35-38*F in a keg before drinking or serving it. Usually I have to scrap the first pint anyway because of the settled out yeast. Any thoughts on the advantages of cold crashing compared to just doing it this way?
As always, thanks.
After fermentation is over I just keg, cold crash/condition, and force carbonate at the same time. Carbonation happens quicker at cold temps and sometimes a beer need cold conditioning. It is not just about precipitating yeast and other material. I usually cold condition for about a week.
When all of the beers in my freezer finish together, I cold crash to 32° for two or three days. These beers are always a little clearer than the noncrashed beers, but not much. I think it depends on your yeast and etc.
I’m pretty consistent about cold crashing, especially for lagers and hybrids like Kolsch. My home method is more gradual than a typical crash. Once I’m satisfied that fermentation and if necessary a diacetyl rest are complete I’ll gradually ramp down the the temperature by a couple degrees per day until the beer has sat just above freezing for three days. Minimal yeast transfer to the keg and brilliant clarity without fining.
My practice varies with the seasons. I have two dedicated chest freezers in my garage - one at 50F and one at 32F. I can only fit 6 cornies in the 32F chest along with a 5 pound CO2 tank, so it is typically full with lagers, but if space allows I will put an ale in there after primary. So, in the mildly warm months, I will do a D-rest on my lagers by simply removing them from the fermentation chest to sit in the ambient temperatures for a few days before racking to cornie and cold crashing in the second chest freezer. At those times, the ales are fermented in swamp coolers, then racked to cornie and put into the second chest freezer. During colder months, I cold crash in primary by moving the ale fermenters (buckets) into the garage or if in the garage already, then removing the ales from the heater wraps (digitally controlled); the lagers will cold crash without a D-rest by pulling them out of the fermenter chest freezer and sitting in the garage for a few days before racking. At the extreme hot times, I will try to find place in another refrigerator for the cornies, but will sometimes settle with a slower production and put the whip to the drinking crowd to free up some taps! They seem always willing to oblige 