Cold crashing beer...sideways.

[DarkIsland]

Apologies if this is in the wrong place but I would like to get some thoughts on the following:-

My fridge is not big, it's big enough to hold a fermenter but when it comes to chilling bottles, I can't store too many at once upright. Is there any downside to cold crashing with the bottles on their side, pyramid style? I can fit them all in this way. I do sanitise the caps but I am aware that no one I know does this (maybe for a reason).

What say you?

 

[Clint]

Why do you want to "cold crash" mass amounts of bottled beer? Is it to have lots of cold beer ready to drink or are you conditioning or lagering it? Cold crashing is usually a practice to apply to your fv after fermentation is complete to drop it clear ready for packaging.
If you put your bottles on their sides the sediment will shift and make pouring a clear beer harder unless your yeast is very sticky.
After bottling I carb mine at room temp for a week or so then move to my shed. I chill bottles as required.

 

[Session]

I was halfway through a reply but @Clint beat me to it! Exactly what Clint said - cold crashing and cold storage (prior to serving) are two different things.
I wouldn’t chill bottles on their side if you want the beer to be clear, as all the sediment that has fallen out of suspension will be agitated again when the bottle is poured

 

[DarkIsland]

Ok, this is perhaps a habit I got into years ago based on some (possibly ****) advice.

When I brew a pale beer, I condition and carbonate in the bottle for about 2-3 weeks at warm temperatures, then chill the bottles to encourage clarity. Side by side experiments have shown the beer to be clearer more quickly doing it this way, but I'm happy to have my mind changed.

 

[Dutto]

**** advice indeed!

Four stages are:

1. Ferment. (Done in FV at yeast temperature.)
2. Cold Crash. (Done in FV 5*C to 10*C to assist in clearing brew.)
3. Carbonation. (Done in bottles, PBs, Kegs or Growlers either with sugar addition at yeast temperature or with CO2 gas injection at "cellar temperature".)
4. Conditioning. (Done at "cellar temperature".)

Personally, I normally take:

1. 2 weeks to ferment.
2. 3 to 5 days to Cold Crash.
3. 2 weeks to Carbonate.
4. An absolute minimum of 2 weeks to condition.

Very occasionally, I also add up to 10 weeks of Lagering at 10*C for lager brews. The brew is racked to a clean FV and lagered after the Cold Crash and before Carbonation.

Enjoy!