Improving Clarity

dan125 · Feb 14, 2017

I'm determined to do something about the haze that I seem get in most of my beers over the next few brews.

I don't currently cold crash before the beer is kegged and this would seem like the obvious thing to start with.

At the moment I'm brewing every fortnight usually and so leave the FV in the brew fridge for 2 weeks before transferring to 2ndry then leaving in the house at room temp while dry hopping and conditioning for an extra week.

So the question is - am I likely to get any off flavours caused by high/uneven fermentation temps if I bring brew B out of the brew fridge after just one week to make room for Brew A to be cold crashed?
I'm inclined to think that as long as the vigorous first few days of fermentation are over I should be OK, but what do you think???
: cheers:

DoctorMick · Feb 14, 2017

I'm inclined to think you're right. In my experience, a 3 day cold crash is sufficient for perfectly bright beer so you wouldn't need to take it out after a week, more like 10-11 days in which time fermentation would be most likely complete and any temperature variations would have very little effect.

aamcle · Feb 14, 2017

If I understand your post correctly you are fermenting for 2 weeks, dry hopping for a week then carbonating and drinking, I'm not surprised it's cloudy it's too quick.

Cold crash for 3 - 5 days, keg or bottle, carbonate and leave it for a month or more and it will be clear and usually at it's best.

If it's has a high ABV it will take much longer to condition a RSI may take a year or more, IPA types still take a month but dry hopping does tend to leave a little bit of haze so you may have to live with it.

Patience is hard but if you build up a stock there will always be some ready.

Good Luck. aamcle

wfr42 · Feb 14, 2017

I think I told you my process in pm.

I biab and have added a tsp of Irish moss with my first late addition (usually 10mins).

I then ferment in water bath with aquarium heater for weeks, checking gravity after the first week and (if finished) dry hop if required. After 2 weeks I move water bath (minus the heater) out to the shed (where i bottle) for 24-48 hrs.

Not sure if my cold crashing affects my hop hit from the day hop...

Do you have a shed a or garage to cold crash in? I think you will have to disrupt your brewing schedule to fit in a cold crash in your fridge, unless you could start brew B in a water bath.

DoctorMick · Feb 14, 2017

aamcle said:
If I understand your post correctly you are fermenting for 2 weeks, dry hopping for a week then carbonating and drinking, I'm not surprised it's cloudy it's too quick.

Cold crash for 3 - 5 days, keg or bottle, carbonate and leave it for a month or more and it will be clear and usually at it's best.

If it's has a high ABV it will take much longer to condition a RSI may take a year or more, IPA types still take a month but dry hopping does tend to leave a little bit of haze so you may have to live with it.

Patience is hard but if you build up a stock there will always be some ready.

Good Luck. aamcle

There are a few of us that think certain beers don't need that long conditioning time, hoppy ipas etc I find best after about a week of conditioning and they're usually clear by that point too. Cold crashing is that has made the diffeeence for me, you can see the beer is almost clear when it comes out of the fv.

Covrich · Feb 14, 2017

Cold crashing helps but I personally haven't found it the be and end all when I have done it.. (time gravity and chilling bottles will help it clear anyway)

What really cleared mine up was water treatment, not saying don't go down the cold crashing route by any means just putting another suggestion out there.

dan125 · Feb 15, 2017

DoctorMick said:
I'm inclined to think you're right. In my experience, a 3 day cold crash is sufficient for perfectly bright beer so you wouldn't need to take it out after a week, more like 10-11 days in which time fermentation would be most likely complete and any temperature variations would have very little effect.

Thanks DM
Thinking about fitting this with the schedule - it would be easier if I cold crashed the FV for say days 12-14, before racking to 2ndry.
Do you think they'd be any adverse effects of having the 2ndry in the warm for a week before kegging after its been cold crashed?

dan125 · Feb 15, 2017

aamcle said:
If I understand your post correctly you are fermenting for 2 weeks, dry hopping for a week then carbonating and drinking, I'm not surprised it's cloudy it's too quick.

Cold crash for 3 - 5 days, keg or bottle, carbonate and leave it for a month or more and it will be clear and usually at it's best.

If it's has a high ABV it will take much longer to condition a RSI may take a year or more, IPA types still take a month but dry hopping does tend to leave a little bit of haze so you may have to live with it.

Patience is hard but if you build up a stock there will always be some ready.

Good Luck. aamcle

Thanks aamcle, but I have to agree with DoctorMick as I make mainly hoppy pales/IPAs and like to drink them before the hoppiness fades.
I'm force carbing the kegs so start on them quickly but obviously leave bottles to condition for a few weeks before drinking.

aamcle · Feb 15, 2017

I usually prefer beer with hops rather than hops with beer so I can condition longer, but there is an option nobody has mentioned.

Finnings, I hardly ever use them preferring simply to wait but combined with a cold crash they can clear beer in a very few days and may be just what you need.

aamcle

geetee · Feb 15, 2017

I always use protafloc in the kettle but nothing else. After fermenting I leave at 14ÃÂ°C for 2 days as a rest and then take the temp as low as possible, 2-3 ÃÂ°C. This allows the proteins that cause haze to settle out and once out they do not come back when the beer is warmer.

With hoppy beers I find that they will clear in 3 -5 days and once bottled are ready for drinking usually within 2 weeks of starting. I have never had a hoppy beer that took weeks to be ready for drinking and find that they may change in flavour profile with time but not always for the better!

dan125 · Feb 15, 2017

wfr42 said:
I think I told you my process in pm.

I biab and have added a tsp of Irish moss with my first late addition (usually 10mins).

I then ferment in water bath with aquarium heater for weeks, checking gravity after the first week and (if finished) dry hop if required. After 2 weeks I move water bath (minus the heater) out to the shed (where i bottle) for 24-48 hrs.

Not sure if my cold crashing affects my hop hit from the day hop...

Do you have a shed a or garage to cold crash in? I think you will have to disrupt your brewing schedule to fit in a cold crash in your fridge, unless you could start brew B in a water bath.

Thanks wfr42 - sounds like our methods are fairly similar.
I'm thinking of trying the new cold crashing regime with Brewbrite in the kettle as well as/instead of the Irish moss.

I don't have anywhere that would be cool enough in summer to cold crash other than the fridge - if only I had space & permission for another!

dan125 · Feb 15, 2017

Covrich said:
Cold crashing helps but I personally haven't found it the be and end all when I have done it.. (time gravity and chilling bottles will help it clear anyway)

What really cleared mine up was water treatment, not saying don't go down the cold crashing route by any means just putting another suggestion out there.

Thanks Covrich I'd thought about this, but think my basic water treatment is pretty much nailed down - although I don't have a Ph meter I use a calculated dose of AMS/CRS and a touch of gypsum /calc chloride to adjust.
The Ph meter could be next on my brewing shopping list.

Covrich · Feb 15, 2017

dan125 said:
Thanks Covrich I'd thought about this, but think my basic water treatment is pretty much nailed down - although I don't have a Ph meter I use a calculated dose of AMS/CRS and a touch of gypsum /calc chloride to adjust.
The Ph meter could be next on my brewing shopping list.

I will be honest mine is far from nailed down but I have basic settinsg which I calculate based on style.

I know photos are decieving but here is a pseudo pilsner I made, It is absolutely clear though, I never cold crashed this although i have lagered the bottles but the beer is normally pretty clear once I have bottled anyway.

dan125 · Feb 15, 2017

Covrich said:
I will be honest mine is far from nailed down but I have basic settinsg which I calculate based on style.

I know photos are decieving but here is a pseudo pilsner I made, It is absolutely clear though, I never cold crashed this although i have lagered the bottles but the beer is normally pretty clear once I have bottled anyway.

Wow that looks crystal clear :hat:
I tend to find that my usual heavy dose of dry hops has a big impact on clarity which others don't seem to suffer from as much.

Brew_DD2 · Feb 15, 2017

If you're going for a late hop charge, chances are that even a good cold-crash won't get you complete clarity. Are you bothered though? Tennant's Lager is crystal clear and completely ****e.

Besides, opaque New England IPAs are all the race at the moment.

Covrich · Feb 15, 2017

Yeah I agree with that, Loads of dry hops always give that hop haze effect.. I don't mind it when its punchy like that though Like Brew says I kind of attribute it to that style I am drinking I guess.

BeardySi · Feb 15, 2017

How are you transferring from kettle to fermenter?

Personally I can't be bothered with screens or false bottoms and pass all my wort through a fine filter bag when putting it into the FV. A little Irish Moss is all I use in the boil.

Ferment at 18-20 for a couple of weeks and bottle, no crashes etc.

I've only had one beer that didn't clear well (well pale/light beer - hard to see with stouts!

).

I opened a bottle last night that was bottled last sat and brewed 2 weeks earlier - absolutely crystal clear.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

dan125 · Feb 15, 2017

Brew_DD2 said:
If you're going for a late hop charge, chances are that even a good cold-crash won't get you complete clarity. Are you bothered though? Tennant's Lager is crystal clear and completely ****e.

Besides, opaque New England IPAs are all the race at the moment.

Thanks Brew & I totally agree - I current have a V2 of a NEIPA in the FV that will be hopefully deliberately very hazy.
I don't mind a bit of haze in hoppy ales but its always a bit too extreme in my beers I feel & I'd like to be able to get it a bit more under control

dan125 · Feb 15, 2017

BeardySi said:
How are you transferring from kettle to fermenter?

Personally I can't be bothered with screens or false bottoms and pass all my wort through a fine filter bag when putting it into the FV. A little Irish Moss is all I use in the boil.

Ferment at 18-20 for a couple of weeks and bottle, no crashes etc.

I've only had one beer that didn't clear well (well pale/light beer - hard to see with stouts! ).

I opened a bottle last night that was bottled last sat and brewed 2 weeks earlier - absolutely crystal clear.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

I have bazooka type filter in the kettle and I use a hop spider for pellets as these clog it instantly.
Recently I've been allowing the wort to settle in the kettle for around 30-60mins after chilling before I transfer to the FV and this helps reduce the amount of trub transferred quite a bit.

I'll post a picture of a beer tonight to illustrate the problem.

Covrich · Feb 15, 2017

dan125 said:
I have bazooka type filter in the kettle and I use a hop spider for pellets as these clog it instantly.
Recently I've been allowing the wort to settle in the kettle for around 30-60mins after chilling before I transfer to the FV and this helps reduce the amount of trub transferred quite a bit.

I'll post a picture of a beer tonight to illustrate the problem.

Yes I do this also (although I let the hops in loose no spider)

Let it sit and the first 70% of the wort is really clear..

Do you use a clarifying agent?? like whirfloc or irish Moss like BeadySi uses?

Improving Clarity

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