Crash Decision — Decision Aid¶
FUERST WIACEK Version 1.2 | Reference — when to advance a tank out of fermentation | Frequency: as triggered (per fermentation cycle)
Purpose¶
Crash FV X if ready appears as a daily check on Wednesdays and bridge days. It's a decision task: the brewer reviews each fermentation tank that's approaching FG and decides whether to advance the Botec recipe to soft crash today, or wait another day.
This page is a decision aid, not a procedure. The actual advance happens in Botec under Fermentation Management — Step 06.
The Decision Tree¶
Tank is at Botec Step 06 — Fermentation, VDK?
├─ NO → Cannot crash. Wait until recipe reaches step 06.
└─ YES → Continue.
Final Gravity confirmed?
(Two consecutive daily readings: today equals or exceeds yesterday)
├─ NO → Do not crash. Continue daily monitoring.
└─ YES → Continue.
VDK Pass confirmed by 4-eyes?
├─ NO → Do not crash. Repeat VDK tomorrow. Check ferm temp / yeast health.
└─ YES → Continue.
Off-flavours noticed in sample?
├─ YES → Do not crash. Flag to team immediately. Investigate.
└─ NO → CRASH GO
│
├─ Beer is dry-hopped warm (West Coast)?
│ └─ YES → NO soft crash. Beer stays at 20 °C → Ready for Dry Hop → DH at 20 °C → VDK + hop-creep retest AFTER the dry hop.
│ └─ NO → Beer dry-hopped cold? → Step 07 Soft Crash → Step 08 Ready for Dry Hop at cold temp.
│ Non-hopped beer? → No soft crash — cold crash starts immediately.
│
└─ Advance Botec recipe past Step 06.
Required Conditions (must all be true)¶
| Condition | How to verify |
|---|---|
| 1. Recipe at Step 06 (Fermentation, VDK) | Botec recipe screen — see Botec Navigation |
| 2. Final Gravity confirmed | Two consecutive daily Plato readings: today ≥ yesterday. See Fermentation Monitoring. Typically Mon + Tue readings. |
| 3. VDK Pass | 4-eyes sensory pass per VDK SOP. |
| 4. No off-flavours | Subjective check during VDK sample evaluation. Any flag → stop. |
If any one fails, do not crash today. Repeat tomorrow.
Warm / West-Coast exception — no soft crash. These beers are never cooled before the dry hop, so there is no crash phase here at all: they advance out of Step 06 on FG confirmation alone and stay at 20 °C. Both the VDK (condition 3) and the off-flavour check (condition 4) are deferred until after the dry hop — they are done together on the post-dry-hop VDK sample, while the beer is still warm. Only conditions 1 and 2 apply before advancing.
Alcohol-free exception — no VDK, automatic crash. Alcohol-free beers are pitched with LONA yeast (recorded in the Brewing tab yeast column). They are not VDK'd at all, and they are crashed automatically ~36 hours after knockout — there is no manual crash decision and no crash task. None of the conditions above apply. If you see a LONA beer waiting on a VDK or a crash call, that is a mistake.
What Happens After "Crash GO"¶
You're advancing the Botec recipe out of Step 06. Where it goes next depends on the recipe:
| Beer style | Next step | Why |
|---|---|---|
| West Coast (warm DH) | No soft crash — the next step after fermentation is Dry Hop | Beer stays at 20 °C and is never cooled before the dry hop. The soft-crash step is not part of the recipe at all |
| Hoppy beer dry-hopped cold | Step 07 Soft Crash → Step 08 Ready for Dry Hop | Beer cooled to dry hop temp before addition |
| Non-hopped beer | No soft crash — cold crash starts immediately | No dry hop step; skip straight to cold |
The brewer manually advances Step 06 → 07. The rest is automatic in the recipe until the next manual gate (Step 08 Ready for Dry Hop, or Step 13 Swap Glycol Valves).
Hop-Creep Edge Case (Warm Dry-Hopped Beers)¶
For West Coast / warm dry-hopped beers, the standard crash decision is followed by an additional crash decision after the dry hop:
- Advance out of Step 06 on FG confirmed alone — VDK and the off-flavour check are skipped here (both done after the dry hop). No soft crash: the beer stays at 20 °C.
- Dry hop added per Dry Hopping SOP.
- Hop creep retest: dry hop enzymes can restart fermentation. After dry hop, FG and VDK must be re-confirmed before Botec advances past Step 09 Dry Hop.
- Recipe stays at Step 09 until both pass again.
If hop creep is suspected (FG dropping, VDK failing) — do not advance. Continue monitoring. Discuss with brewmaster.
See Fermentation Management — Step 08 / Dry Hop note.
Common Errors and Fixes¶
| Error | Symptom | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Crashed before VDK pass confirmed | Beer drops to cold; diacetyl yeast no longer active to reduce it | Cannot reverse easily. Discuss with brewmaster — may require warming back up + holding to retry VDK reduction. |
| Crashed before FG confirmed (gravity still dropping) | Stuck fermentation risk; off-flavours from cooling fermenting beer | Warm tank back up if practical. Otherwise discuss disposition. |
| Crashed despite borderline VDK | Diacetyl in finished beer | Discuss with brewmaster. May require extended yeast contact + warming. |
| Did not crash on time, beer overshoots | Yeast autolysis risk after FG; off-flavours | Monitor for autolysis flags. If detected, escalate. |
Daily Operational Pattern¶
The Crash FV X if ready task is a daily review, not a guaranteed action:
| Day | Typical action |
|---|---|
| Tue | First check after Mon FG reading — most tanks not yet ready |
| Wed | More tanks at FG; many crash decisions made here |
| Thu | Continued — some tanks may have moved on to dry hop step |
| Fri | Final crash decisions before weekend (no monitoring Sat/Sun without staff in) |
If a tank is borderline on Friday and the next monitoring is Monday, discuss with the brewmaster before deciding. A weekend in stuck-ferm or borderline-VDK state is risky.
Quick Reference Card¶
Use this when reviewing tanks for the daily Crash FV X if ready task:
| Check | Tank ready to crash? |
|---|---|
| Botec Step 06? | ✅ / ❌ |
| FG confirmed (today's Plato ≥ yesterday's)? | ✅ / ❌ |
| VDK pass (4-eyes)? | ✅ / ❌ |
| No off-flavours in sample? | ✅ / ❌ |
All four ✅ → Advance Botec Step 06 → 07. Log in fermentation spreadsheet. Any ❌ → Wait. Repeat tomorrow.