56 replies to this topic

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

Just a note - the other day I figured out you can actually use some starsan to get foam out of a container. Just empty out the container and then add in some non-foamy starsan. gently swirl the starsan around (gentle so you don't make more new foam) and invert the container. I discoverer a lot of the foam came out with the liquid and I was left with significantly less foam.

[Joe]

Just a note - the other day I figured out you can actually use some starsan to get foam out of a container. Just empty out the container and then add in some non-foamy starsan. gently swirl the starsan around (gentle so you don't make more new foam) and invert the container. I discoverer a lot of the foam came out with the liquid and I was left with significantly less foam.

Cool trick. But why are you afraid of the foam?

[Stout_fan]

Cool trick. But why are you afraid of the foam?

Probably a bad bathtub experience as a child that left him scarred for life.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

Cool trick. But why are you afraid of the foam?

sometimes I just try to minimize it so it doesn't get all over the place as the vessel fills up.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

so 2 week primary, 1 week in secondary on the gelatin (at fridge temps) and then into the keg (so 3 weeks old now) and the beer is more clear than my american amber that was brewed at least a couple of months ago now.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

so 2 week primary, 1 week in secondary on the gelatin (at fridge temps) and then into the keg (so 3 weeks old now) and the beer is more clear than my american amber that was brewed at least a couple of months ago now.

so I'm going to have to backtrack here - seemingly while getting carbed this beer has become progressively less clear. My cold storage fridge is likely colder than my kegerator so it shouldn't be chill haze. What gives?

[Big Nake]

so I'm going to have to backtrack here - seemingly while getting carbed this beer has become progressively less clear. My cold storage fridge is likely colder than my kegerator so it shouldn't be chill haze. What gives?

Good question. If I have very clear beer in secondary (and I can tell because I can look straight through it) and then it eventually clouds up, it's usually because it went from about 50° (secondary) to maybe 35-38° (serving) and I got some chill haze. Does the beer taste good? I wish I had an answer but with all of the effort I put into getting clear beers, I occasionally fail and get semi-clear beer. Something tells me that it's mash chemistry or a lack of some water ion or another. How long has it been at this temp? Also, have you just started serving it? Could it be yeast that was kicked up from the bottom of the keg? Just grabbing at straws now.EDIT: I have this Mexican Dark Lager on tap right now and the first few pulls were disappointingly cloudy. Put I concluded it was yeast because I pulled a few more last night and it cleared up nicely. Remember that using gel will create more sediment and it may take a few more pints to get past that sediment and on to the clear beer. Good luck.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

Good question. If I have very clear beer in secondary (and I can tell because I can look straight through it) and then it eventually clouds up, it's usually because it went from about 50° (secondary) to maybe 35-38° (serving) and I got some chill haze. Does the beer taste good? I wish I had an answer but with all of the effort I put into getting clear beers, I occasionally fail and get semi-clear beer. Something tells me that it's mash chemistry or a lack of some water ion or another. How long has it been at this temp? Also, have you just started serving it? Could it be yeast that was kicked up from the bottom of the keg? Just grabbing at straws now.EDIT: I have this Mexican Dark Lager on tap right now and the first few pulls were disappointingly cloudy. Put I concluded it was yeast because I pulled a few more last night and it cleared up nicely. Remember that using gel will create more sediment and it may take a few more pints to get past that sediment and on to the clear beer. Good luck.

I'm hoping it's the yeast b/c nothing else makes sense. Initially maybe the yeast was evenly distributed throughout the keg but maybe now it's more concentrated towards the bottom of the keg. It wasn't Ken-like in it's clarity to start but it was certainly more clear than it is now. Maybe I should have let this beer hang out in secondary a little longer. Either way it will eventually clear up I think. It's more or less carbed to the level I wanted so I brought it downstairs to the storage fridge and brought my munich dunkel upstairs to the serving fridge

[Big Nake]

Here's a guess: You have gel & yeast in a secondary and it drops as you would expect. Then you pick up the secondary and move it so you can rack to a keg. It kicks up a little bit and maybe it settles by the time you rack. But you do get some yeast and gel in the keg and over the course of a week (or maybe more), all of that continues to settle and you get some schputz in the bottom of the keg which is going to be the first to come out. About six months ago I moved a keg to my draft fridge and pulled a pint. It was cloudy. I was a little disappointed, but the beer was good. Next pint, cloudy. Next one, cloudy. Hmm. Then I went for another one and I couldn't believe it. I said, out loud, Whoa, how did that happen? It was crystal clear. One of my kids was nearby and said, What? How did what happen? My guess is that I got a bunch of yeast and gel in those first pints and somewhere in the previous pint, the beer started to run clear. By the time I pulled that last pint, most of all of the sediment was gone.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

Here's a guess: You have gel & yeast in a secondary and it drops as you would expect. Then you pick up the secondary and move it so you can rack to a keg. It kicks up a little bit and maybe it settles by the time you rack. But you do get some yeast and gel in the keg and over the course of a week (or maybe more), all of that continues to settle and you get some schputz in the bottom of the keg which is going to be the first to come out. About six months ago I moved a keg to my draft fridge and pulled a pint. It was cloudy. I was a little disappointed, but the beer was good. Next pint, cloudy. Next one, cloudy. Hmm. Then I went for another one and I couldn't believe it. I said, out loud, Whoa, how did that happen? It was crystal clear. One of my kids was nearby and said, What? How did what happen? My guess is that I got a bunch of yeast and gel in those first pints and somewhere in the previous pint, the beer started to run clear. By the time I pulled that last pint, most of all of the sediment was gone.

yeah - I'm guessing I'll experience something similar when I bring this beer back upstairs to the kegerator.

[Thirsty]

My guess is that I got a bunch of yeast and gel in those first pints and somewhere in the previous pint, the beer started to run clear. By the time I pulled that last pint, most of all of the sediment was gone.

I am wondering if some people have kegerator/coolers that shake a bit each time they cycle on/off. I have had a keg go from clear to cloudy moving it very carefully just a foot or 2, thinking I wasnst disturbing anything. It is so easy to rouse up that low collected, as Ken loves to call it "shputz", that possibly some vibration will keep some in constant suspension? Really grasping, but to a small degree I bet this does happen, and perhaps depending on a person's system to a large degree.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

I am wondering if some people have kegerator/coolers that shake a bit each time they cycle on/off. I have had a keg go from clear to cloudy moving it very carefully just a foot or 2, thinking I wasnst disturbing anything. It is so easy to rouse up that low collected, as Ken loves to call it "shputz", that possibly some vibration will keep some in constant suspension? Really grasping, but to a small degree I bet this does happen, and perhaps depending on a person's system to a large degree.

there is no question that when I move things from downstairs to upstairs that some things get stirred up!

[harryfrog]

I've gelatined (hmm...) the last two batches, and must say I love how I can have cloudy beer one day, a glass full of schputz the next then super clear beer the third day. I'm adding the gelatin to a keg to solve a stubborn chill haze problem, but should I worry about how long the beer sits on this tiny amount of gelatin and schputz?

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

I've gelatined (hmm...) the last two batches, and must say I love how I can have cloudy beer one day, a glass full of schputz the next then super clear beer the third day. I'm adding the gelatin to a keg to solve a stubborn chill haze problem, but should I worry about how long the beer sits on this tiny amount of gelatin and schputz?

I wouldn't worry about that honestly. If it's chilled I wouldn't expect the yeast to do a whole lot but just hang out down there.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

So I'm trying to rethink my procedures here. How does this sound...1. slightly extended primary (for regular strength ales, about 2 weeks, for stronger ales 3-4 weeks)2. crash primary after 2-4 weeks mentioned in (1)3. rack to secondary on top of gel4. let clear for a while in cold storage5. keg and carbonate6. ???7. PROFIT!!My main question is regarding (4). Should I be keeping the secondary in cold storage or should I keep it at a slightly warmer temperature?

[DaBearSox]

I have heard before that if the sediment gets kicked back up after you have used gel it takes a lot longer to settle again....so this may be your answer. I racked 2 beers to 2ndary last night...one I had chilled and racked onto gelatin the other I just racked to 2ndary and stuck it in the fridge. The one I didn't use the gel on used 1968 so it was really clear...I am hoping a few weeks at 35 degrees should drop some of the chill haze.

[Big Nake]

I don't have as much cold storage space as I would like so my beers go 10-14 days in primary and then to secondary on top of the gel solution. They sit on my cool basement floor which may be between 50° and 60° depending on the season. They may sit there for anywhere between 2 weeks and 2 months... possibly more. They always look crystal clear on the way to the keg (but they're basically room temp so no surprise). Then they get chilled down into the low-to-mid 30s and carbed and they may sit in that "on-deck" fridge for an additional month or so before hitting the taps. Cheers.