Cold Crash ?

moderate order · Jul 11, 2022

Nottsbeer said:
It's been about a year since I brewed from kit, and yep I can't recall having anything to add to help clear them. Someone may be able to suggest something, especially if you're going to lose the ability to CC. The brews I did with kits did take longer than my AG brews to clear, so you should be fine with longer conditioning time. However, if you are setting up a kegorater, does that mean you are putting your beer under pressure....I'm sure that will help with clearing? Again, someone else can help with that. Sorry, I'm just a bottler

Yeah I've got the CO2 etc, my plan is to force carbonate the corny, and assuming I have the amount of beer I'm supposed to, put the rest in a 5l mini-keg and add sugar to that.

moderate order · Jul 11, 2022

Dutto said:
I agree, but please remember that the people who sell kits are desperate for you to buy another one!

This is why they promise stupid times for Fermentation and statements like “Ready to drink in 5 days!” i.e. It won’t kill you!

FWIW the kit I'm using specifies 21 days conditioning in the bottle / keg, so I think you're being a little unfair, at least in this case.

Dutto said:
I’m sorry but I agree with your wife for the following reasons:

Drinking cold beer is an acquired affectation that became possible only when they invented fridges!

Sure, but my wife also only drinks beer when it is cold....

Dutto · Jul 11, 2022

moderate order said:
Sure, but my wife also only drinks beer when it is cold....

Er … that rather supports my case doesn’t it?

Dutto · Jul 11, 2022

moderate order said:
FWIW the kit I'm using specifies 21 days conditioning in the bottle / keg, so I think you're being a little unfair, at least in this case.

Muntons is one of the better kit producers and the Instructions for Gold Pilsner states:

“Fermentation will be complete when bubbles cease to rise (usually after 7-8 days), …”

… an optimistic time in my experience, and

“Finally, move the bottles to a cool place for at least 21 days, or until the beer is clear, before drinking.”

No mention of Cold Crashing, just patience!
:hat:

Stuart Wilson · Jul 12, 2022

The first brew I ever did cleared perfectly after about 2 weeks in bottles. The next 2 were cloudy as hell! No idea why.... spent ages googling, reading about finings and worrying what had gone wrong. Most got drunk as cloudy beer, but a few left over bottles remained in the garage. I found them 3 months later....absolutely clear.

I now routinely add 0.5 teaspoon of gelatine to a 20 L batch when bottling, but I'm also much more patient and prepared to wait 2 - 3 months for them to be ready to drink.

I've decided that patience is the best way to get really clear beer. I've now built up a stock of nearly 200 bottles in the garage....that was an important step. Easier to be patient if you already have a few brews ready to drink!!

foxy · Jul 12, 2022

Stuart Wilson said:
The first brew I ever did cleared perfectly after about 2 weeks in bottles. The next 2 were cloudy as hell! No idea why.... spent ages googling, reading about finings and worrying what had gone wrong. Most got drunk as cloudy beer, but a few left over bottles remained in the garage. I found them 3 months later....absolutely clear.

I now routinely add 0.5 teaspoon of gelatine to a 20 L batch when bottling, but I'm also much more patient and prepared to wait 2 - 3 months for them to be ready to drink.

I've decided that patience is the best way to get really clear beer. I've now built up a stock of nearly 200 bottles in the garage....that was an important step. Easier to be patient if you already have a few brews ready to drink!!

It isn't just patience. Cloudy beer could be a number of things, poor milling, the mash, the sparge, the boil, the transfer from kettle to fermenter, even pH. Getting the process right eliminates clearing agents (dismissing rye and wheat) to get a clear beer within 2 to 3 weeks of bottling.

Cheshire Cat · Jul 12, 2022

If the beer’s not clear don’t bottle or keg. I usually “cold crash” in the 2FV/bottling bucket at my garages ambient temperature and it clears usually in 3-5 days. Never used finings but do use protofloc or Irish Moss. All my wheat beers are clear.
However if I don’t need the brew fridge for the next brew I turn the temperature down for 3 days when primary fermentation is complete. I don’t use the 2FV if I’m kegging so clear in the primary.

Cold Crash ?

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