Beer temperatures in storage/conditioning

[Kev888]

Hi all,
The temperature cycle for my ales is as follows:

1. After primary, chill the FV to a few degreesC for four or five days to help clear & cold condition,
2. Leave in the cornie at 'whatever' garage temperature for 'however long' (icy in winter, roasting in summer)
3. Bring into serving cupboard a steady 14C (About a week before serving), whilst force carbonating

So the middle part is fairly random compared to the others... Does this matter at all? Should I try to keep it at a given temperature for at least some time between chilling and serving - e.g. to help the yeast mysteriously clean up after itself?

Many thanks
Kev

 

[rivetcatcher]

After primary I keep the beer at a warmer temp (same temp as the primary fermentation) for 1 week to help with carbonation then drop the temp down to around 13degC to cold condition. I generally serve my ales around the same temperature.

Rivet
:drunk:

 

[Kev888]

Thanks Rivet.

I don't prime so I don't need the warm week for that, but maybe i should introduce it anyway after kegging to encourage the yeast into finishing off fully..

Otherwise it sounds similar to my process without the random 'garage' stage in the middle.. Thinking about it, I guess having it get too warm may be bad for longevity, and freezing would probably be a bad idea too...

Cheers
kev

 

[graysalchemy]

If you leave it in the fv at the same temp for another week, or drop into a secondry it allows the yeast to mop up after themselves and get rid of any undesirable by products from the primary fermentation.

 

[Kev888]

Ah thats good to know, thanks - I hadn't realised that would be long enough. I guess it makes more sense to do before crash cooling too, so there's more yeast still in suspension to do the mopping.

EDIT: Right, after a bit of thought I'm probably going to change my routine a bit and give it (very roughly) three weeks in the conical: Allowing say two weeks for primary fermentation and the subsequent yeast conditioning/mopping-up phase, and then a few days to a week for chilling/clearing before kegging.

Cheers
kev