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I have a gose fermenting now that should be ready to bottle this weekend. My homebrewing setup is very new (I've only been doing it for about 3 months), so I don't have temperature control during fermentation. However, my basement is very cold this time of year (40-50°F). I'm considering moving the fermenter (plastic bucket type) from my kitchen down to the basement for a few days in the hope that the lower temperature will improve the clarity of the beer.

How risky is it to move the fermenter near the end of fermentation? I'm worried that moving it down the stairs will cause sloshing and aeration, or disturb the trub and nullify any clarifying effect from the chilling. I added a Whirlfloc tablet near the end of the boil, does that reduce the benefit of cold crashing?

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  • Whirlfloc works in conjunction with cold crashing to help settle the trub out of the beer for clearer/cleaner bottles/kegging.
    – GHP
    Commented Mar 6, 2014 at 19:16

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I would certainly move it down there and just do my bottling down there as well so as not to disturb the sediment again.

I cold crash all my beer and I sometimes use gelatin (plain knox) once the beer is cold to further clarify it. The trub will be disturbed by carrying it down stairs, but if you have enough time, the cold (with or without the gelatin) will help it clump and drop. I would do it for 4 days if you can.

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  • I moved the fermenter downstairs tonight. I'm not sure if I'll bottle Sunday like I planned or if I'll give it a couple extra days. Based on the hydrometer sample, it looks like the trub wasn't disturbed too badly by the move.
    – Simon
    Commented Mar 7, 2014 at 7:28
  • Why would you add an animal product to your perfectly vegan beer just do make it look different?
    – markus
    Commented Mar 7, 2014 at 10:12
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If the beer sits for 4-5 days, any disturbed sediment will settle out again, and then some.

In Winter, I cold crash in my garage, and then rack to the bottling bucket in the garage before moving back inside (be sure to cover the spigot with a sanitized plastic bag and keep everything sanitary). I put the bucket on top of a crate when I start cold crashing, so I can use gravity to transfer beer. That way, I don't have to disturb the sediment again by moving the bucket, nor do I have to bottle in a cold location.

Note: No need to warm the beer up before bottling, but use the warmest post-fermentation temp for the priming sugar calculator, not the cold temp.

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  • I like the garage idea. I think my beer might freeze solid after 4 days, though.
    – Simon
    Commented Mar 7, 2014 at 7:30
  • I live in one of the coldest parts of the U.S., and my beers stayed liquid in my attached, but unfinished and uninsulated garage, even when I had to go out of town during sub-zero weather and unexpectedly left it there for a week. YMMV.
    – Chino Brews
    Commented Mar 8, 2014 at 4:35

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