From what perspective? From a carbonation perspective, neither scenario will hurt it. In the first scenario, just make sure the pressure is set appropriately for the volumes of CO2 you want, calculated at the lower temperature.
I don't cold crash in a fermenter. I rack to keg (at room temp), set the pressure, burp the keg, and chill the keg as I'm using the set-it-and-forget-it method of carbing. If the keg is going to sit at room temp because there's no room in the keezer I: Add 3 oz of table sugar to the bottom of an empty keg, rack beer to keg, burp under heavy pressure, and let the keg sit for a week. I test the pressure and leave it be `till it is ready for chilling in the keezer.
I ferment in corny kegs. Ferment in one and cold crash then transfer to a serving keg to leave trub and yeast behind and then carbonate that keg. I personally am not fond of the idea of jumping carbonated beer from one keg to another just because I don't like the possibility of the beer foaming up and settling in the serving keg. I've transferred carbonated beer between kegs so it can be done and I didn't notice any difference in the taste. But unless you're pressed for time you only need to cold crash for minimum 24 hours to get great results in terms of creating a cake at the bottom of the fermenter. I burst carb at 25 psi for 24 hours then purge and carb at 12 psi for a few days and the beer is well on its way to being nicely carbed. Try it and see what happens But I can tell you that it won't negatively affect the beer in a noticeable way (as far as I can tell from my experience).
cold crashing just means the beer is rapidly chilled. after a few days it isn't crashing at all. it's just cold. you should force carbonate at serving temperature. unless you have a really good sense of the amount of gas needed to achieve the right carbonation level of warm beer, you will never be able to get the carbonation right. warm liquid holds less CO2 than cold liquid, so carbonate at your serving temp. Cheers.
Is there really a benefit of jumping from one keg to another after cold crashing? If you just left it in the first keg, it would have the same effect, you just need to pour the solids off in the first few pints, right?
the benefits of moving to a secondary after cold crashing is that you can leave some of the solids behind. but every time you transfer beer you oxygenate a bit, no matter how careful your technique. and disturbing beer that has been sitting quiet will just bring up sediment, the opposite of why we are cold crashing. i use gelatin, and really only get about a half pint of gunk to toss on the initial pour. after that it is clear, so long as you don't disturb the keg much. gelatin finings hold the precipitate in a jelly (jell-o i guess) that clumps up nicely. Cheers.
Mostly. Jumper cables are handy for when you know you need to transport a keg and pour clean beer immediately after moving the keg.
