Cold Crashing beer - how much time?

Question

I've made beer from a kit a number of times before, nothing special, and I've let the beer crash from between 1 to 3 months (temperatures between 13º and 16º), but I'm now wondering:

Is there a standard duration for a cold crash, after which "most" of the suspended yeast will have settled, but there still remains enough suspended yeast to finish pressurizing in the bottle? If there is little benefit of crashing after x days, then I'd like to know when, because every day it's in the carboy is one more day I'm not enjoying my beer! :-D

Answer 1

It really depends on the type of beer. Cold crashing isn't necessary, but works better the longer it goes. For a typical ale, I usually wouldn't bother for more than 3 days mostly 'cause I prefer fresh over crystal-clear. However, for something like a lager, going a month really smooths out the beer.

I'm guessing that your cold crash range temps are in celcius. If that's the case and you have the capacity- try going colder temps (closer to 5ºc at least) for shorter times (1-3 days).

You don't need to worry about 'over-crashing' or anything. Unless (and perhaps even if) you use a serious micron filter- there will be enough yeast in suspension to carbonate your beer.