What is about to cool your beer quickly and why should you consider it?
Have you ever noticed that some beers have a crystalline brightness and clarity worth admiring? Much has to do with a process called freezing beer in its final moment. But in reality, it is not just about looking good, but also to accelerate that patience that good brewing requires: maturation time.
Science behind express cooling
When the fermented temperature is rapidly decreased, the disappearance of unwanted particles is favored. How does this work? It’s like when you leave hot coffee in the fridge and sediment particles settle. In the beer world, solids such as proteins and tannins become less soluble in lower temperatures, accumulating in the bottom more quickly. This also helps the yeast, in its eagerness to survive, form larger groups, known as ‘flocs’. These groups, thanks to Stokes’ law, fall faster, facilitating their elimination and leaving a cleaner and brighter beer.
Practical tips for applied homebrewer
When is it time to cool?
The trick is waiting for your fermentation to reach its end point. Many times the home breeders waste the potential of cooling if they do it before fermentation stabilizes. The key is to verify that gravity remains constant for a few days before introducing the cold.
What method use?
Although commercial brewers can use sophisticated equipment to cool in a matter of hours, at home the simplest and most effective is to put the fermenter in the fridge or in a keeezer. The idea is to reduce the temperature by about 12 hours or more, approaching as much as possible at 0.5 ° C to 5 ° C, avoiding total freezing – since alcohol in beer helps reduce its freezing point.
Duration and precautions
In general, a cold week is enough to obtain notable benefits, although some experts recommend even a few days. It is important to be careful with the pressure inside the fermenter, since cooling can create emptiness and attract airlock fluid. A simple solution is to cover the opening with sterilized aluminum foil or use a double -track airlock.
And what about aromas and flavors?
Many times, cooling too soon, the aromatic essences of beer are reduced. The recommendation is to make the last hops infusion – the famous technique of Dry Hopping – after cooling, thus preserving those aromas that make each special beer. If you want to further enhance the sensory experience, raise the temperature a little before adding the final aromas, so that they remain intact in the container.
Looking to the future brewery
The art of CRASHING not only transforms the aesthetics and clarity of your beer, but can also significantly reduce the waiting time between fermentation and tasting. With increasingly accessible domestic technology, beer lovers at home now have simple tools to improve their art and get closer and closer to the results of the big breweries. Do not forget that each lot is an opportunity to experiment and polish that technique that will make your beer even more memorable – and, who knows, maybe one day you can impress your friends with a brightness that seems taken from a glass.
