Lookin Good there Craigerrr I hope it turns our as expected for you mate.
Wee Heavy
- Thread starter Craigerrr
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30 hours post pitch, maybe close to 2" of krausen
Will keep an eye on that the next few days for @RoadRoach
Will keep an eye on that the next few days for @RoadRoach
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I'd let it go a lot longer than six days for a heavy beer that will be bottled. Even for normal strength beers I ferment for at least 2.5 weeks before cold-crashing and bottling. For my Wee Heavy I let it sit for a month or more before moving it to secondary for a few more months aging.
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Just curious what the benefit would be from that. I could easily transfer it to a keg for a secondary.
That would actually be good as I am expecting at least one of the four taps I have going right now to kick soon, would like to free up the fermenter to get another brew going.
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It was cold-crashing and bottling after a 6 day ferment that had me concerned; especially for a heavy beer. I prefer bulk aging big beers rather than aging in bottles. I feel it's better to age a big beer, like a wee heavy, unpressurized. I figure that since you wouldn't pressure-ferment a wee heavy because you don't want to suppress ester production, you wouldn't want to pressure-age a heavy beer, like a wee heavy, for the same reason. But I have zero proof of that, so we can probably just mark that down to personal preference.
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If you can spare a keg, I would say go that route. If not then bottle after fermentation completes. I looked around on other forums on bulk aging vs bottle aging and I found nothing conclusive. Some posts were, like mine, "this is what I do", with even split between bulk aging and bottle aging. Others said there wouldn't be much of a difference. So, the real, definitive, solid, final answer is......"Who knows?".
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Why the cold crash?
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I guess there is need for the cold crash, I will transfer to a keg and leave it be for a while.
Before I do I think I will transfer some to a PET bottle, carb it up and give it a little QC.
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If your going to age a beer you definitely want to get it off the yeast. Cold crashing drops sediment to the bottom of the fermenter and compacts it and the trub already at the bottom. That makes it easier to transfer only beer. Even after cold crashing there will still be enough yeast in suspension to work on the beer as it ages.
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Ok...I learned something!
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After three weeks in the fermenter this has been transferred off the yeast. Transferred 2 liters to a PET bottle to carb up for a test drive in a few days. Balance went into a keg to bulk age. Thinking that I will bottle it in late June.
