Pre-chill before kegging/carbonating to enjoy on New years?

[HObrew]

Hey guys,
New to the forum here. I have my first ever brew (an IPA) hitting the 2 week mark in the fermenter tomorrow and I want to keg it, force carbonate it at 30 psi for 24 hours, and drop down to 11psi all while it is in the fridge so I can enjoy it new years eve night.

From what I understand, cold liquids carbonate more easily. Since this is a 5 gallon batch, it will most likely take my beer at least 24 hours to reach serving temperature and will absorb more co2 from there (I assume).

Original gravity was around 1.068 estimate according to the extract calculator. I did not have a proper reading as the hydrometer was sitting on a lot of sediment (rookie mistake)

I took my first gravity reading at 1.012 last night, plan on taking another tonight, and tomorrow hoping it doesn't change.

Does it make sense to put the fermenter in the fridge tonight, to get it nice and cold, take the final gravity reading tomorrow(of course compensating for temperature difference) and kegging it while cold into a prechilled purged keg tomorrow?

My fears are ruining my beer, not being carbonated or cold by new years eve night, and overcarbonating.

Any input is appreciated!

 

[HObrew]

How it looked last night
Image attached

 

[Homercidal]

Either way is fine. I doubt 1 day will make much difference in clarity, so no reason to wait to keg it as long as you are confident it's fully fermented.

OTOH - if you want it clearer faster, maybe try chilling it ASAP and then adding gelatin to the keg after you keg it. Gelatin can work very well, in 2-3 days, but is best in chilled beers.

The process, as I recall, is to take 3/4 cup cold water and add 1/2 tsp clear, unflavored gelatin. Heat in microwave in 7 second bursts, stirring and checking temp between each. When the gelatin hits 145 degrees or so, stir and pour into kegged beer. After a day or so you should see it clearing up. (volume of water for gelatin may not be exact...)

 

[Justincolby]

^^I agree. I typically cold crash to 32 with my Brewpi and then keg. Usually hit the keg with about 50 psi for 12 hours then drop it to 12 for another couple days. It's drinkable after about 16 hours but is just right for me after 48 hours. I like my IPAs super fresh. I've used gelatin several times but haven't been lately. They naturally clear up in the keg but generally start out a little hazy. Not a biggie to me considering how many commercial IPAs are hazy now.

 

[HObrew]

Thanks for the advice! I'm not overly concerned about clarity, more so about drinking on New Years. It's actually clearer than I wanted. Next brew will be a New England style IPA and I will aim to make it cloudy.

So I'll take a gravity reading, hope is the same as yesterday's, pop the brew bucket in the fridge with airlock still on and keg it tomorrow.
I'll try it at 50psi for 12 hours and drop it down from there.