Cold Crashing & Fining

[dougieorr]

I have never had the need to cold crash or fine my beers.

However I am now experimenting with dry hopping & have had a few beers that did not clear.:-x

In what order do I do cold crash & fine beers
e.g.
1. Fermentation over, put fermenter in fridge for 24 hours, then add finings (Kwik Clear), leave for another 24 hours, then fine, bottle & cask ?
or
2. Fermentation over, add finings (Kwik Clear) leave for another 24 hours, then but fermenter in fridge for another 24 hours, then fine, bottle & cask ?
or
3. Other suggestions:grin:

 

[zippy40]

I do neither either. When I refridgerate the bottles they always clear with a little time. I have been considering changing over to cold crashing before bottling but don't know if its worth it.

 

[johnnyboy1965]

What do you mean by " cold crashing" ?

 

[AlanManley]

Good question... also do you cold crash a stout?

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

[DoctorMick]

Good question... also do you cold crash a stout?

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

I did with my last one, not for clarity tho cos that would be pointless. I done it to get as much yeast out of suspension as possible so that I could harvest it and so there was less sediment in the bottles.

 

[geetee]

There should be a How -to for this topic as it comes up frequently although many people have different ideas about how long to leave after fermentation and cold conditioning. May still be worth doing with one or two optional regimes.

My usual regime for an ale (not lager) is once fermentation is over then reduce the temperature to 14°C or so for 24-36 hours to allow yeast to clean up any bi products and higher alcohols. At this point you can add auxillary finings if desired. I then reduce fridge temperature to 3°C and allow the beer to condition at this temperature until it is visibly clear ie not hazy.

This crash cooling may only take 3-4 days after which I would then keg or bottle , remember that further maturation will take place in the bottle including secondary fermentation.

 

[peebee]

"Cold crashing"? It's an "americanism", but because the "craft beer" thingy that's been transforming home-brewing in the States has caught on over here "cold crashing" has come with it.

It's not lagering. That involves storing beer for weeks at low temperature (about 0-4C). "Cold crashing" is just done for a matter of days and unlike lagering it's main purpose is not to alter flavour.

In the "olden days" some brewers would chill beers that were to be served cold to drop out chill haze forming material; "cold crashing" does this (Americans like beer from a fridge), but we never had a cringe-worthy name for it back then.

But it's also used instead of "finings" (and filtering if that way inclined) to encourage yeast and the like to drop out of the beer and leave it clear.

Finings are much quicker and don't require outlay on yet more equipment. But if you are a vegetarian, finings (made from cattle, fish, or crustaceans) are not welcome.

 

[AlanManley]

Ah brilliant. Thanks for the info. I'll be moving my stout this evening then. 😁

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

[Rixs]

Can I use finings after I added my keg priming sugar or am going to have to wait a few weeks or drink murky beer?

 

[simon12]

When using a cask or pressure barrel you can add the finings when you fill it and the trub that drops out will settle in the bottom and will be discarded when its empty, when bottling you really want it to drop out in the FV before you bottle. @ Rixs yes you can add them at the same time as the priming sugar.

 

[peebee]

Can I use finings after I added my keg priming sugar or am going to have to wait a few weeks or drink murky beer?

I add finings and primings to a keg at the same time, as "Simon12" suggests. I suspect CO2 conditioning takes longer as the yeast tries to work on the priming sugar at the same time as the finings tries to remove the yeast. But... can't say I've ever got good evidence of priming taking longer.

 

[dougieorr]

I decided to go with the following for my IPA with 8 different hops incl 3 in dry hopping.

Fermentation over, put fermenter in fridge for 24 hours, then added finings (Kwik Clear), left for another 24 hours, then primed, bottled & casked.

Bottles & cask kept at 19C for 2 weeks - I used 1 clear glass bottle so I could easily check & it is clear as a bell :thumb:.
Hopefully no taste will have been lost thru fining & cold crashing (I also hate the term) - I will let you know the outcome when it is drinking, next week

 

[geetee]

Hopefully no taste will have been lost thru fining & cold crashing (I also hate the term) - I will let you know the outcome when it is drinking, next week

You could use the term cold maturation or conditioning. this is the stage when most of the physical stability of the beer is established i.e the "crashing" of the suspended proteins and yeast to give a more stable, prolong life beer. this occurs not only in the FV but also onwards in the bottle.

The initial phase where the yeast cleans up is warm maturation or conditioning and is essentially chemical in nature.

 

[BeardySi]

I brew with a bit of Irish Moss, fermenter for 3-4 weeks, bottle, carbonate min 1 week, then outside to the shed (now that the weather is cool) . Everythings turned out crystal clear to date after a week or so outside...

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

[terrym]

There should be a How -to for this topic as it comes up frequently .

Your big opportunity has arisen :thumb:

 

[Rixs]

I only brew with kits, so fining really can only be added to the FV prior to kegging. All this Irish moss stuff is way above my head,my last kit I tried kegging without fining, I tried the cold crashing method, nowt happened, cloudy beer, the keg at 0 degrees for a week, beer tastes good but it's cloudy. The beer tastes so good I just put on another kit, this time though I am going to fine or filter. Recommendation for findings for a beer kit please?

 

[Rixs]

I feel a bit humbled by admitting I'm a kit brewer

 

[JapanBrew]

I've never tried this so others could chime in but for kits, couldn't you just take a liter and boil it? You could then add Irish moss and even add some hops to boost the aroma and flavor. Then add it back to the mix. I can't see why this wouldn't work.

 

[DoctorMick]

I feel a bit humbled by admitting I'm a kit brewer

Nothing wrong with that, you can brew decent beer with kits and most AG/extract brewers started with kits.