8 replies to this topic

[SchwanzBrewer]

Ok, my first beer, Ken Lenard's recipe for Memory Lapse Pale Ale has been in secondary for two weeks and I need to bottle. Should I cold crash the beer before bottling, or will that take too much yeast out to prime with?Thanks!Rich

[stellarbrew]

If it were me, I'd cold crash first, so as to minimize the amount yeast sediment you get in the bottles. It would be virtually impossible that you would not have enough suspended yeast remaining for conditioning after such a short time in the fermenter and a day or two of cold crashing. However, if it were me, I'd also give it another week or two in the primary before cold crashing and bottling, in order to give yeast ample time to clean up after themselves.

[Big Nake]

Agreed. You can cold-crash it for a few days or a week and you will cut down on the amount of yeast in the bottles. Don't worry about not having enough yeast to prime... you'll be fine on that part. The cold will help things settle and may smooth out the flavor. Then you'll have to bring the bottles back up to room temp for the priming. Good luck, have fun & cheers.

[SchwanzBrewer]

The beer was in primary for two weeks, and secondary for two weeks (In there now), so its had time to clean up already. I have a swamp cooler and I was thinking about crashing it for just a few days before I bottle on Friday. I was just worried about not having enough yeast after crashing to prime with.Thanks,Rich

[Big Nake]

The beer was in primary for two weeks, and secondary for two weeks (In there now), so its had time to clean up already. I have a swamp cooler and I was thinking about crashing it for just a few days before I bottle on Friday. I was just worried about not having enough yeast after crashing to prime with.Thanks,Rich

I've had lagers at 36° for 6-8 weeks and there was still plenty of yeast for priming. No worries.Ps. Shhhh... Rich, come here. No, closer. You need to get a kegging system... no more priming and you can drink your beer quicker. Cheers.

[Deerslyr]

You could also use gelatin to clarify the beer as well.

[SchwanzBrewer]

Shhhh... Rich, come here. No, closer. You need to get a kegging system... no more priming and you can drink your beer quicker. Cheers.

I know! I have been checking craigslist just about everyday for a cheap mini fridge, but haven' had any luck getting one that was worth it. Money is tight so I have to do this in stages. I have been working my butt off trying to earn extra money doing trash & tire hauling. But life happens and even that money can go away quickly.

[zymot]

If you can conveniently cold crash, go ahead. If it requires an additional transfer, or some other significant effort, do not bother.You have already put it into a secondary, so it is about as clear as you are going to get.It is your first beer, you will love it either way.

[SchwanzBrewer]

So, ultimately I was too lazy to cold crash it. I had the day off today so I cleaned my buckets and bottles and got ready to go. I went to the LHBS and got some corn sugar and some caps. I get home get everything ready... I bought the wrong kind of caps. I can't believe I did that. I bought some larger screw caps, I was looking at all the equipment in the store and didn't even realize I was getting the wrong thing. So, I called my buddy Joe after I broke two bottles and I'm asking him if he has a different capper (because I hadn't realized the caps were wrong yet) and then it dawned on me. I said, "awe shenanigans, you're gonna call me an idiot when you see these caps". Fortunately, Joe had a huge supply of caps and gave me a bunch to use, plus his capper, which is the same, but the middle punch with the magnet isn't angled so I won't get dents in my caps. After that I poured in the corn sugar primer and started filling. Having a bottling bucket with the filler rod is really nice, I'm glad I didn't have to fill with the siphon.1 week to go before I try the first carbed beer!Cheers!Rich