No cold crash in the FV

The Homebrew Forum

Help Support The Homebrew Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Chris_S

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 12, 2020
Messages
154
Reaction score
51
Not having the ability to cold crash in the fermenter, when the brew is packaged into a corny keg, is it ok to place the corny keg straight into the kegerator or does it require any time in warmer conditions ?
 
Sorry, forgot to mention, it will be carbonated with co2, no sugar in the keg.
 
Is there a minimum temp for serving or is it down to individual’s preference?

I’ve recently built a kegerator using a chest freezer that will maintain its temp at fridge levels. The problem is the temp zones vary between 1C & 6C depending on where the temp probe is sitting. I don’t really want to use temp controller, as the chest was obtained specifically to be used in fridge mode.
 
Is there a minimum temp for serving or is it down to individual’s preference?

I’ve recently built a kegerator using a chest freezer that will maintain its temp at fridge levels. The problem is the temp zones vary between 1C & 6C depending on where the temp probe is sitting. I don’t really want to use temp controller, as the chest was obtained specifically to be used in fridge mode.
It's down to your preference. The simple hassle free way to operate is to set the kegerator at your preferred serving temperature and pressure (mine are in the post above) and leave it for 2 weeks to carbonate and condition then start pulling pints.

To keep the temperature reading stable and reflecting close enough to the beer temperature, take a square of kitchen roll and fold it up into a padded wad. Tape that to the side of your corny and slide your temperature probe behind it so it's got the corny on one side and that wad of insulating kitchen roll on the other. Use a few pieces of tape because if moisture gets behind then they'll fall off.
 
It's down to your preference. The simple hassle free way to operate is to set the kegerator at your preferred serving temperature ...........

.................................

Er ... an even easier way is to use a cool place to store your brew and not use any form of chilling.

Personally, I hate an artificially cooled brew of any kind. I'm pretty sure that the reason behind the chilling of a commercial brew is to numb a customer's taste-buds so that they can't actually test the **** that they have paid all that money for!

Back in the day, all brews in a UK pub were served at "Cellar Temperature" which was normally five to eight degrees Fahrenheit below the ambient temperature of the Bar. In those days a pub was known by it's Cellar!

Then they introduced Lager to the UK. It was cheap, but it was so rank that it had to be served with a "Splash" (usually of Lime Cordial) or a "Tops" (usually of Lemonade) in order to get anyone to drink it. Suddenly, every pub in the UK was chilling every type of brew - and the standard was (and still is) dropped accordingly.

I have brewed "real" Lager which was consumed at "Cellar Temperature" (the concrete floor of my garage on the shaded side). It was delicious.

I can assure everyone that there is absolutely no need whatsoever to chill any of the brews that were invented before the domestic refrigerator ...

... unless you are brewing something that requires the consumer's taste-buds to be inhibited!

Enjoy!
 
Give me a chilled/cold beer any day, ideally, everyday!
My chilled NEIPA in the kegerator is tasting great. Next in will be a raspberry wheat beer - bring back the summer!
PS I’ve got the kegs on an inkbird set to 6c, cause that’s how I like it....
 
I use a converted fridge as a fermentation chamber to control the temp so have experimented with cold crash in the final days of primary fermentation quite a bit. My conclusion is it makes no discernible difference if it’s going into a chilled corny anyway.

I have a similar final set up to the OP - into cornies, under CO2 pressure and they sit improving for 2-3 weeks before I crack open the keg. My only conclusion is that any benefit of cold crashing is achieved within the corny in any case. I imagine if you’re bottling (or even get through enough in your home bar to cask it!), the cold crash might be more beneficial.
 
Personally what I do with mine is once in a corny, turn the kegerator to its lowest temp say 1 degree and leave for a 2 days.
Then I will add gelatin and leave for a further day and then introduce co2.

Leave this for a further week to absorb the co2 whist turning the kegerator temperature to serving temperature.

If you have already used a 2nd fermentor then there won't be a lot of trub collecting at the bottom of the keg and just pour off half a pint or so to ensure that it's clear.

This will ensure that you have a clear beer. 😉
 
i tried it on my last brew, just because i could, kept it between 0 and 1c for a week, but all it achieved was chill haze.
As others have said, if its going to sit in a keg at fridge temps for weeks, that should be enough.
 
Back
Top