About to transfer my IPA to secondary. 2 week dry hop with oak added after a week. I have never had a temp controlled fermenter till now. Will my fridge get cold enough to crash? What temp do you recommend? When do I do it? After one week?
If I am going for a clear beer, I crash for a couple of days at about 38 degrees (keezer temp) and add gelatin and let it sit for a few more days, then I transfer to the bottles. I do it once fermentation is confirmed to be complete and I’m done with dry hopping.
Now I keg, so I’ll probably just crash in the keg, add gelatin, pour a couple of murky pints, and hopefully have super clear beer 
Templar has a good idea using plain gelatin. I have a Johnson controller on my little frig and CC at 33 deg for a wk or two and can get crystal clear. Check your frig to see if you can get into the 30’s, and if you can that should work. If you don’t have a controller you should consider one as it works great for me as it gets pretty warm where I ferment during the summer. Most any frig is capable of low 30’s with a controller.
When kegging I cut about 1" off the bottom of the dip tube. Just transfer beer and carbonate. It takes about 10 days to 2 weeks and the beer runs clear. The sediment drops to the bottom and just sits there and is not picked up my the dip tube. I only have one co2 line going to 6 kegs so I carbonate at serving pressure. That takes about 10 days to 2 weeks so it’s good timing for the clearing process.
…the plain gelatin method…
What is it, please? Just dump it in? I have always been averse to gelatin mainly due to all the hassle of heating it up in certain amt of water, etc
…the shortened dip tube keg method…
This wouldn’t work for me-- I wouldn’t want my beer sitting on old yeast, hop particles, etc. My kegs last at least a month or two and I don’t believe that contact with such sediment is positive, in the long term.
If your beer goes fast, though, mabbe it’s a good method for your pub.
Here is another option for you. One of my friends that doesn’t have a fridge cold crashes his beer in a big cube cooler. He can’t close the lid due to the carboy being to tall so he cut a piece of 1 1/2 styfoam for a lid and cut circle tight around the carboy and covers with a blanket puts ice in and last little over a week works well him
[quote=“beermebeavis”]…the plain gelatin method…
What is it, please? Just dump it in? I have always been averse to gelatin mainly due to all the hassle of heating it up in certain amt of water, etc[/quote]
Its really simple. Cold crash your beer for a couple days. Add 1/2tsp to 1 cup of cold water and let it bloom for an hour. Take that and pop it into the microwave for about 1 minute. Dump that in your cold crashed beer. I swirl it a little at this time to mix. It will drop crystal clear as long as other things were correctly done (correct pH, good boil, etc.)
I have a dual stage thermostat on my fridge. Just wasn’t sure if a standard fridge would drop low enough. Sounds like it should.
Standard fridge temp is 4C (about 40F), which is a bit higher than ideal for cold crashing, but most fridges can be adjusted down to the point where anything close to the cooling elements will freeze, so it shouldn’t be a problem. Besides, pretty much any temp drop will help clear the beer, so you don’t need to quibble about a few degrees for this purpose.
My fridge is a side by side. I’ll measure and see if my fermenter will fit in the freezer.
Freezer is too cold, you are better off using your fridge.
But if I put my probe from my dual stage cooler on my fermenter won’t the freezer shut down when it hits the proper temp?
Yes it will. Forgot you have an external controller.
Awesome. Thanks all.
[quote=“beermebeavis”]…the shortened dip tube keg method…
This wouldn’t work for me-- I wouldn’t want my beer sitting on old yeast, hop particles, etc. My kegs last at least a month or two and I don’t believe that contact with such sediment is positive, in the long term.
If your beer goes fast, though, mabbe it’s a good method for your pub.[/quote]
Never had a problem with off flavors with this method and my beers last a couple of months. I really don’t care too much if my beer is clear or not. Just that it tastes good.
