[trapae]

I finally upgraded and now have the ability to cold Crash. Just wondering how long most of you all Crash for ales?

[Richard]

I do 3-4 days at 34 F.

[BrewBama]

While others probably cold crash in the FV, my goal is to close transfer from FV to a keg just before completion. I try to spund allowing fermentation to complete at room temp, then cold crash under CO2 head pressure.

I use an old side-by-side fridge to cold crash one keg in the freezer side temp controlled at 32*F and serve from two kegs in the fridge side. The kegged beer remains in the cold side until I need it which is routinely 2-3 weeks.  Incidentally, it’s the same process for lagers.

I am considering adding a 4th keg to my pipeline which will lengthen the cold conditioning to 4-6 weeks. Sometimes, the 2-3 weeks isn’t enough to clarify the way I like even with floating dip tubes. This additional time will lower the stress I put on myself to get clear beer into the glass.

Hope this helps.

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[denny]

I could crash anywhere from 3 days to several weeks.  The schedule depends on how the beer reacts.

[Robert]

I could crash anywhere from 3 days to several weeks.  The schedule depends on how the beer reacts.

Yep. The beer's ready whenever the beer's ready.

[Visor]

    Usually 3 to 4 days at ~30, if it hasn't cleared up by then I just go ahead and bottle it anyway, but that usually isn't the case. I suppose if drinking a less than perfectly clear beer really bothered me - which it doesn't - I could always turn out the lights and imbibe in the dark. I think sometimes we can get a bit too focused on the visual results, when beer - for me at least - really should be about what my mouth thinks of the experience.

[trapae]

Is there any reason to slowly decrease the temperature (Like 10° a day) to cold Crash temperature with an ale.?  I read that people do that for lagers.

[denny]

Is there any reason to slowly decrease the temperature (Like 10° a day) to cold Crash temperature with an ale.?  I read that people do that for lagers.

Nope, no need.  That's why its called a crash! Sometimes the temp is slowly lowered for lagers, but that's if the yeast is still active.  When you crash it's post fermentation so there's no need for that.

[Robert]

Is there any reason to slowly decrease the temperature (Like 10° a day) to cold Crash temperature with an ale.?  I read that people do that for lagers.

Nope, no need.  That's why its called a crash! Sometimes the temp is slowly lowered for lagers, but that's if the yeast is still active.  When you crash it's post fermentation so there's no need for that.

I don't even find it necessary to go slow for lagers with still active yeast, depending somewhat on the strain.  As Denny often says, there's theory and then there's practice!

[ynotbrusum]

Crash pretty much as fast as you can, but realize that the vacuum created by the drop in temperature in a sealed vessel needs to be accounted for and CO2 applied to equalize that - and as to blow off tubes/airlocks on unsealed vessels, you will get suck back on them.  Pretty much a given and most of us provide for CO2 to avoid that, but just thought I should mention it for "clarification" (pun intended).

[denny]

Is there any reason to slowly decrease the temperature (Like 10° a day) to cold Crash temperature with an ale.?  I read that people do that for lagers.

Nope, no need.  That's why its called a crash! Sometimes the temp is slowly lowered for lagers, but that's if the yeast is still active.  When you crash it's post fermentation so there's no need for that.

I don't even find it necessary to go slow for lagers with still active yeast, depending somewhat on the strain.  As Denny often says, there's theory and then there's practice!

I agree completely on the lack of need for slow crash.  I should have pointed out that I was repeating the rationale of those who do it.

[Richard]

Crash pretty much as fast as you can, but realize that the vacuum created by the drop in temperature in a sealed vessel needs to be accounted for and CO2 applied to equalize that - and as to blow off tubes/airlocks on unsealed vessels, you will get suck back on them.  Pretty much a given and most of us provide for CO2 to avoid that, but just thought I should mention it for "clarification" (pun intended).

I have two holes in the (4-inch) cap for my fermenter. The first one has an airlock. The second one starts with a stopper in it, but after fermentation has been going long enough that I feel that all the air has been blown out of the headspace, I put in a piece of stainless tubing connected to a standard "Happy Birthday" mylar baloon. When the balloon is full of CO2 and generates some backpressure the airlock begins bubbling again. When I cold crash the balloon provides more than enough gas to keep anything else from getting sucked back in. Why buy CO2 when you are already making it?

[tommymorris]

    Usually 3 to 4 days at ~30, if it hasn't cleared up by then I just go ahead and bottle it anyway, but that usually isn't the case. I suppose if drinking a less than perfectly clear beer really bothered me - which it doesn't - I could always turn out the lights and imbibe in the dark. I think sometimes we can get a bit too focused on the visual results, when beer - for me at least - really should be about what my mouth thinks of the experience.

Everyone’s different. I like clear beer when I can get it.

[ynotbrusum]

Is there any reason to slowly decrease the temperature (Like 10° a day) to cold Crash temperature with an ale.?  I read that people do that for lagers.

Nope, no need.  That's why its called a crash! Sometimes the temp is slowly lowered for lagers, but that's if the yeast is still active.  When you crash it's post fermentation so there's no need for that.

I don't even find it necessary to go slow for lagers with still active yeast, depending somewhat on the strain.  As Denny often says, there's theory and then there's practice!

Sounds like the perfect work around, but I ferment in a chest freezer for my 10 gallon batches, so I don’t have room for a balloon in there...Cheers!

I agree completely on the lack of need for slow crash.  I should have pointed out that I was repeating the rationale of those who do it.

[Visor]

   I just put a stopper in the airlock hole, my FV's seal up well enough to hold the small amount of vacuum created by crashing. I remove the FV from the fridge the day before bottling and let it warm back up to room temperature, presto chango vacuum gone.
  And I prefer clear beer too Tommy, I just don't get all worked up and bummed down when it doesn't happen. That being said I'll admit that I have tinkered a bit with my Red Ale recipe for the sole purpose of getting the Red right. Guess that makes me a hypocrite, oh well.