Why is my beer so dang cloudy?
#1
Posted 11 May 2009 - 03:03 PM
#2
Posted 11 May 2009 - 03:26 PM
#3
Posted 11 May 2009 - 03:32 PM
#4
Posted 11 May 2009 - 03:39 PM
#5
Posted 11 May 2009 - 05:54 PM
#6
Posted 11 May 2009 - 06:12 PM
this was what it was in my case. My beer tasted great but had a haze. I started formulating recipes for .5 gallons more than my final yield so the balance isn't effected (really it's like $2 of base malt...) but you can leave all the thick hazy protein behind. I use whirfloc, have tried long term cold storage and the biggest noticeable difference came from leaving behind the break material and hops at the bottom of the pot. Prior to auto-siphoning out the wort I was just dumping the pot through a screen so everything that made it through that SS screen got into the fermenter.As an experiment, on your next batch I highly suggest taking great pains to leave behind anything that isn't crystal clear siphoning out of your boil pot. If it's hazy going in, it stands to reason it can be hazy coming out the other end of the brewing process. If this doesn't work, then you know you have different issues but it's a good place to start and knock down one possibility! Clarity isn't my biggest concern but I don't like not knowing, so I tried this method to see if I would get a clearer beer. And I did. Now I don't look back, as much as it pains me to dump that cloudy, break-y wort down the drain.EDIT: I believe it was MtnBrewer that had mentioned the aforementioned tactic of brewing 5.5 gallon recipes to make 5 gallons and leave behind that thick half gallon. Good tip, thanks again!My cheap nature - I drain the kettle down to where there's maybe a pint or two left. Do you all leave more in there?Any suggestions?
#7
Posted 11 May 2009 - 07:32 PM
Nah, It's not chill haze, it's always cloudy.I batch sparge, do I have to worry about pH and/or conversion?I'm leaning toward the "leave more in the kettle" approach.....Does the beer get cloudy when it's cold, and clears up as it warms up?Do you check to see if conversion is complete in the mash?Do you check and adjust for pH throughout the brewday?Hopping heavily can make beer cloudy as well...
#8
Posted 11 May 2009 - 07:44 PM
that's really strange i basically dont leave anything in the kettle but i still get clear beers....i do use a secondary however and give it time to settleNah, It's not chill haze, it's always cloudy.I batch sparge, do I have to worry about pH and/or conversion?I'm leaning toward the "leave more in the kettle" approach.....
#9
Posted 11 May 2009 - 07:57 PM
You always need to worry about pH and conversion. Improper pH and an incomplete mash can cause problems.Nah, It's not chill haze, it's always cloudy.I batch sparge, do I have to worry about pH and/or conversion?I'm leaning toward the "leave more in the kettle" approach.....
#10
Posted 11 May 2009 - 08:05 PM
#11
Posted 12 May 2009 - 02:32 AM
I vote for these two things as the issue. You can leave that half a gallon. It's what you need to do to improve your beer. For whirlpooling, give the beer a good stir, then leave it ten minutes, then drain. In that time the bits (hops, break) will settle in the middle and you can drain clear wort off from the side.My cheap nature - I drain the kettle down to where there's maybe a pint or two left. Do you all leave more in there?My whirlpool technique - I kinda stir while I'm draining, if there's not something else needing my attention - is there more to whirlpooling than that?
#12
Posted 12 May 2009 - 03:44 AM
I pour everything through a paint strainer bag on it's way to the primary vessel. I don't think I could bring myself to leave a 1/2 gallon of beer behind. Whirlfloc and cold storage clear a beer up pretty well I've found.I vote for these two things as the issue. You can leave that half a gallon. It's what you need to do to improve your beer. For whirlpooling, give the beer a good stir, then leave it ten minutes, then drain. In that time the bits (hops, break) will settle in the middle and you can drain clear wort off from the side.
#13
Posted 12 May 2009 - 04:03 AM
I was under the impression that that was an old-brewer's tale. I thought I remembered a study that showed that a beer fermented on the break was indistinguishable from the same beer separated from the break. No?Calcium is supposed to be another important factor for beer clarity. A good flocculant yeast helps, too. I find that any last bit of haze I have usually drops out during the first week of cold conditioning.If it isn't chill haze, though, I'd be concerned that it's starch and check for incomplete conversion.I vote for these two things as the issue. You can leave that half a gallon. It's what you need to do to improve your beer.
#14
Posted 12 May 2009 - 04:16 AM
#15
Posted 12 May 2009 - 04:37 AM
#16
Posted 12 May 2009 - 06:31 AM
I've always believed that if it settles out in the boil kettle, it will settle out in the fermenter. I pour almost all of my break material into my fermenter, and I don't whirlpool. I typically get crystal clear beer.I believe the most likely causes for a new AG brewer to have hazy beer are:1. boil not vigorous enough2. cooling not quick enough3. not vorlaufing enoughSo, with those things in mind, what is your boiloff rate? How rapidly are you chilling the wort? How much mash runoff to you recirculate through the mash?I've poured the whole kettle into a fermenter, break, hops, and all, and gotten clear beer at the end, so I don't think that's it. Are you recirculating enough before draining the mash tun?
#17
Posted 12 May 2009 - 07:08 AM
do you keg orudis? It seems like storing beer at serving temps in the keg would help clear it in a way that bottles stuck in a closet wouldn't get.OP are you bottling or kegging?I've poured the whole kettle into a fermenter, break, hops, and all, and gotten clear beer at the end, so I don't think that's it. Are you recirculating enough before draining the mash tun?
#18
Posted 12 May 2009 - 09:23 AM
#19
Posted 12 May 2009 - 10:24 AM
Edited by stellarbrew, 12 May 2009 - 10:25 AM.
#20
Posted 12 May 2009 - 10:27 AM
is look into chill haze, maybe your boil isnt vigorous enough to get a really get the proteins to drop out. IF all else fails go agead and get some gelatin isinglass or poly clar and go nuts with brilliantly clear beer.Ever since I went all-grain a year or so ago, everything I make is cloudy. It all tastes pretty good, at least by my standards, but everything is cloudy. Even my first lager was cloudy. I use Whirlfloc, but still cloudy.Some guesses as to what it could be:My cheap nature - I drain the kettle down to where there's maybe a pint or two left. Do you all leave more in there?My whirlpool technique - I kinda stir while I'm draining, if there's not something else needing my attention - is there more to whirlpooling than that?Dry hopping - I just throw the hops in there, no bags or nothing.I'm not brewing for any competition, so it's not a big deal, but it does bug me a tiny bit. Any suggestions?
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