cloudy brew

[crazycatman]

Hi
Bit of advice needed. after several failures with my king kegs i tried bottles, the lager is crystal clear in the house, hazy when moved to the garage and cloudy when placed in fridge.
Could anyone tell me why this is please. I thought the colder the better..
Ta.

 

[NickW]

That's odd :hmm: - even from my limited experience, when I put something in a cooler environment it entises a brew to clear...

It seems strange that a perfectly clear brew would cloud up when put in a colder environment!

Would be interesting to see what answers people may have.

 

[Aleman]

Chill Haze, As the temperature falls the protein and tannins combine to form haze . . . with a beer that has undergone laagering at cold temperatures the haze has sedimented out and been left behind . .. so they don't experience chill haze again. . . . Commercial beer is often filtered to remove the protein . . . Labbat's have a continuous process whereby the beer is flash frozen into a slush, passed into a whirlpool where the slush (and haze particles) are removed, and the clear beer exits and is liquored back to the original ABV with sterile de oxygenated water

 

[Jonnyv]

I've had the same problems with a lot of my brews. Here are some tips to try in the future for avoiding chill haze which have helped. The main thing that cleared up my chill haze problems was boiling for harder and longer to get a good hot break.

• Ensure you're mash is complete by doing an iodine test - take a clear sample of your wort and place on a clean white plate - put a tiny drop of iodine onto the wort - if it goes purple then starch is present and the mash hasn't fully converted. Mash for longer.[/*:m:3sw702nw]
• Boil harder and for longer[/*:m:3sw702nw]
• Use whirfloc to help with the cold break[/*:m:3sw702nw]
• Chill as quickly as humanly possible post-boil[/*:m:3sw702nw]

Failing all that, get some Polyclar and add it to your keg

 

[Wez]

The advice about is all great :thumb:

I've also used auxillary finings (AF) then issinglass (IG) to clear a brew quickly - the AF drops the protien out then the IG drops the yeast cells out, i've been told not to use them together as they are both oppositely charged and will cancel each other out.

Let us know how you get on :)

Welcome to THBF by the way :thumb:

 

[ciderman]

Crazycatman,

You've definitely come to the best place on the web for advice on this problem. THBF, helped me no end when I was panicking about my first cider brew. I didn't really have a clue, :wha: but good help and advice was at hand. I suffered the same problem, :pray: though siting my keg in my freezing cold workshop did the job and my god, what a beautifully clear, crisp tasting cider resulted. I don't think i will be buying anymore commercial cider again, I'm gonna make it myself. I find drinking a pint you've brewed yourself and fretted over such a rewarding experience. :drink: You are in good hands with these lads on this site, the knowledge base and advice given is second to none. :clap: Good luck with your brew, I hope it works out. :thumb:

 

[Wez]

thats a fantastic credit right there to all our great members :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

 

[ciderman]

You all deserve the highest of praise : MMMMMM delicious :thumb:

 

[Wez]

feedback like that makes it worth while for us (the admin team) and the members who devote lots of their time to being involved with the forum.

Thanks :thumb:

Right - sorry - back on topic now :grin:

 

[NickW]

I must agree with ciderman,

I may have stopped brewing with frustration if it wasnt for this forum!! :clap: :clap: :clap:

It makes me feel at home with brewing, and that it is a hobby, not a weird habbit! (like some people I know think)

:

 

[Parva]

I have to say that since I moved from 60 minute boils to 90 minute boils my beer has been crystal clear despite only being primaried and kegged. The first couple of pints out of the cornie are cloudy admittedly but after that the beer is absolutely spot on. I can't say categorically whether the extra boil time is what fixed it but that was the only thing I changed in my routine.

Now having said all of that, I'm dispensing beer from the keg via a flash chiller so the keg itself is room temperature. It just so happens that I bottled 2 litres in a PET bottle at the same time. At room temperature the beer in that bottle is sparkling, at fridge temperature it's hazy to the point that I could almost say it's cloudy. The 90 minute boil has certainly improved things for me to the point where I am happy but without going the flash chiller route I think you'll need to look at the options mentioned earlier.

 

[crazycatman]

Tanks for all the replies and the welcome. i'll keep you informed on my progress and will no doubt need more advice as i continue.