Clear beer

GhostShip · Mar 22, 2018

The kits I’m doing are gradually improving, but my beers are rarely ever clear.

I’ve heard of finings, but do they really make any difference, do they have any adverse effect on the taste of the beer, and at what stage of the process are they added?

Or are there better ways of clearing a beer other than finings?

I’d be grateful for any advice.

chewie · Mar 22, 2018

Allowing your beer to clear before bottling, being extremely careful when racking and not disturbing any sediment when pouring are three of the main steps to making a polished product.

If you haven't tried racking before bottling then it is well worth giving it a go. I rack from FV to bottling bucket a day before I bottle, this allows the bulk of sediment to be left behind and, any that is transferred gets time to settle out.

ACBEV · Mar 22, 2018

As above + ... Ferment your kits for at least 14 days. Then transfer carefully to a bottling bucket with a siphon, being careful not to transfer any gunk. The beer should be clear without finings.

Drunkula · Mar 23, 2018

After the 14 days - or however long it takes - put it somewhere as cold as you can for 3 days or more. If you've got a fermentation fridge and can chill it down to near zero then all the better. Look up "cold crashing".

I used to be really paranoid about racking but if you're naturally carbonating in the bottle or barrel it isn't something to get wrecked about because you'll be making a little more yeast during priming. After priming get it somewhere cold for a while and then it'll get clear.

Finings are added after fermentation and there's anecdotal evidence about them stripping out flavour but the only blind test I've seen is the Brulosophy one and nobody could tell.

Google "fining with gelatine" and there's plenty out there. I used to do it but haven't had to since I just put it somewhere cold after 10 to 14 days.

Thing is - do your beers taste good even though they're a bit mucky? Beer clarity, head retention, lacing... all that stuff is just so superfluous compared to how it tastes. It's so often the fuel for pre-judgement boys' club snobbery. Look at that wonderful beer that got reviewed recently on here - it looks like what's in the bucket when you get your stomach pumped but is a legendary brew.

Clarity, I think, is one of those things you get hung up on early doors and then just forget about. Your beer will be clear and you won't even think about it.

Bigcol49 · Mar 23, 2018

GhostShip said:
Or are there better ways of clearing a beer other than finings?

Hi!
As @Drunkula wrote, time and temperature are the best clearing agents when brewing beer.
I've always had crystal clear kit beers by allowing two weeks for primary fermentation, cold crashing for a few days, racking to a bottling bucket for batch priming and then leaving overnight before bottling.
The other thing to consider is the yeast - some, like Nottingham, form a very compact sediment that is easier to rack off without disturbing it.

BeerisGOD · Mar 23, 2018

When (if) you start freshening up the kits by adding specialty grains and hops ,
You could add some Irish moss to the half hour boil

Ive found this does speed up the clearing process but time will always anyway' just depends on how soon you want to drink them

terrym · Mar 23, 2018

Leaving it longer in the FV is the simple answer. Mine usually get a minimum of 16 days with a couple of days in a cold place at the end, although I only bother with my fridge in the summer. And I also rack off at about day 10 for most beers. That way you get clear or nearly clear beer going forward but with enough yeast to carb up.
And after carbing is done find a cool place if you have one to store and condition the beer, although this is not essential.
Finally you don't need finings in my view, gravity and time do the job without.

pms67 · Mar 23, 2018

Drunkula said:
After the 14 days - or however long it takes - put it somewhere as cold as you can for 3 days or more. If you've got a fermentation fridge and can chill it down to near zero then all the better. Look up "cold crashing".

I used to be really paranoid about racking but if you're naturally carbonating in the bottle or barrel it isn't something to get wrecked about because you'll be making a little more yeast during priming. After priming get it somewhere cold for a while and then it'll get clear.

Finings are added after fermentation and there's anecdotal evidence about them stripping out flavour but the only blind test I've seen is the Brulosophy one and nobody could tell.

Google "fining with gelatine" and there's plenty out there. I used to do it but haven't had to since I just put it somewhere cold after 10 to 14 days.

Thing is - do your beers taste good even though they're a bit mucky? Beer clarity, head retention, lacing... all that stuff is just so superfluous compared to how it tastes. It's so often the fuel for pre-judgement boys' club snobbery. Look at that wonderful beer that got reviewed recently on here - it looks like what's in the bucket when you get your stomach pumped but is a legendary brew.

Clarity, I think, is one of those things you get hung up on early doors and then just forget about. Your beer will be clear and you won't even think about it.

Super post
I’m getting to the stage I’m a bit disappointed if it’s clear
I love a hop filled hazy belter of a brew.
To just repeat, cold crashing solves almost all, an old fridge and and inkbird and you can make almost anything

GhostShip · Mar 23, 2018

Thank you all for your replies. I'm not going to quote individual posts because I feel I'd have to quote them all, but all of your replies are really helpful.

If I take my latest kit - Youngs Americal IPA, it's tasting great but is not partiuclarly clear. It was in the FV for 3 weeks and cold conditioned outside in the shed for anothr 2 weeks (and the temperature was around freezing at that time). It doesn't particularly bother me but if I'm offering a pint to someone who comes in for a drink, it always looks so much better if it's clear (I think people that don't home brew just assume it's always cloudy because it's full of 'bits').

I'm going to take much more care when I siphon and I will look at racking.

Thank you all again!

terrym · Mar 23, 2018

GhostShip said:
If I take my latest kit - Youngs Americal IPA, it's tasting great but is not partiuclarly clear. It was in the FV for 3 weeks and cold conditioned outside in the shed for anothr 2 weeks (and the temperature was around freezing at that time). It doesn't particularly bother me but if I'm offering a pint to someone who comes in for a drink, it always looks so much better if it's clear (I think people that don't home brew just assume it's always cloudy because it's full of 'bits').

I also found that the yeast that comes with the Youngs AIPA (and probably the APA) are reluctant to settle, however they do settle in the end. But move the bottles and they cloud up again at the bottom irrespective of how long they have been stored or how cold they are, As others have suggested some yeasts floc, settle and compact better than others. The Youngs yeast is not one of them in my view, but a bit of yeast haze does not detract from the taste.

Jakeyboi · Mar 24, 2018

pms67 said:
Super post
I’m getting to the stage I’m a bit disappointed if it’s clear
I love a hop filled hazy belter of a brew.
To just repeat, cold crashing solves almost all, an old fridge and and inkbird and you can make almost anything

Me too. I dry hopped a pale ale with 150g of citra, it was super hazy and funky. Couple months in the keg now and it's clear as a bell. Still tastes great but I'm a little bit disappointed. @GhostShip tell them the bits will help them sh*t in the morning and watch their reactions, that's what I do. If it puts em off then they aren't worthy of a decent beer.

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