Would it be a crime to cold crash the FV outside?

[BeerisGOD]

many of us dont own a fridge for our brews. to cold crash the best we can do is an ice bath which is time and money, and even then its not gaurnteed youl get the beer down to the required temp, unless ur there to add more ice.
so with the cold nights here, would anyone risk leaving they're precious beer outside covered in black sacks overnight before bottling day, with a cold night expected of course like 3-4c.

im planning on doing this but just wanted to see if anyone else would consider it (or has already), or if anyone thinks its plain bonkers.

reading some threads on newbies beer having floating yeast and hops i thought we could take advantage of the cold nights ahead!:nono::thumb:

 

[Paddyg84]

Yes I have done this with no ill effects. Can't think of any reason it would harm your brew

 

[DoctorMick]

As long as there is no way of any nasties getting in to the FV I can't see why it would be an issue.

 

[Lord0]

I've never done this but if you keep it protected from any nasties then why not?

BTW what's your address? I'll come round, say 3am, and check it for you...

 

[Dutto]

An excellent idea! :thumb: :thumb:

There is very little danger of an infection with reasonable precautions.

Few nasties float or fly about at +/-2 degrees but I did see a bunch of mozzies in the sun yesterday so there's still that small chance.

At the moment my garage is maintaining a steady 8-9 degrees and that constitutes "cold crashing" to me! :lol: :lol:

 

[gedburg101]

Wrap all possible openings with cling film...

 

[TartanSpecial]

At the moment my garage is maintaining a steady 8-9 degrees and that constitutes "cold crashing" to me! :lol: :lol:

That's what I do in winter...crash it in the garage.

 

[Personal91]

I've never done this but if you keep it protected from any nasties then why not?

BTW what's your address? I'll come round, say 3am, and check it for you...

at witching hour no less.......

 

[Brewmarc]

Will be perfectly ok
Keep an eye on the weather though,don't let it freeze, otherwise the viable yeast for carbonation will be savearly impaired, if not completely dead. :-o

 

[BeerisGOD]

bottling sat, according to the weather friday nights dry and around 3/4c so that sounds perfect for a few hours till morning. the garage would be perfect but its a trek down to the end of the garden through the back gate.
Gedburg, great idea on the cling film. i think ill still keep the bubbler airlock inbut wrap that up.
are these airlocks anti suck back? i think thyere also classed as the 'S' shaped ones

 

[BeerisGOD]

I've never done this but if you keep it protected from any nasties then why not?

BTW what's your address? I'll come round, say 3am, and check it for you...

Funny and creepy at the same time. Overall verdict: unsettling

 

[BeerisGOD]

Sorry lads I bottled it (literally) in the end. I was concerned with suck back. But I did put the FV in the porch way which is pretty Damn cold anyway. The temp strip had no sign of color which starts at 14c which was encouraging.
The beer was definitely clearer and I can see a lesser amount of sediment in the bottles so ill definitely be using this process in future.

 

[jceg316]

I usually leave my beer to cold crash in my garage which is the same temp outside. If I didn't have a garage I'd probably leave outside with a bin liner over it. I'd keep it out the dog's way though in case he mistakes it for a tree stump, but if you don't have a dog then that's one less issue to worry about.