cloudy when chilled

[Hollow Legs]

Hi all

I brewed my first AG lager a couple of months ago and it tastes fine, only trouble is that when it's chilled it goes cloudy, when it's not chilled it's clear as a bell?

Grain is: -
4600g Lager Malt
575 Wheat Malt, mash temp 66degC for 90 mins, sparge liquor temp raised to 85degC to hit the grain bed at around 75degC

Mash temp was 63degC after 90 mins even though I wrapped a quilt around the tun.

Hops are: -
48g Saaz
48g Hallertau Hers, both 90 mins boil
15g Bobeck, 15 mins boil

1 Protofloc tablet used 15 mins from end

Yeast is Saflager S-23 pitched at 22degC

In the FV for 14 days and then bottled, in the airing cupboard for 12 days and then in the coldest room for a few weeks.

Any ideas as to why it goes cloudy when chilled? oh and no it's not because the glass is chilled and clouding the outside

 

[Mark1964]

that can happen it can be cured using poly clar. We have some but never used it

 

[jonnymorris]

Sounds like classic chill haze. Did you cool the wort after the boil using a chiller?

 

[Hollow Legs]

Yes chilled using wort chiller, any way of avoiding what I did wrong Johny? oh and thanks for the replies.

 

[jonnymorris]

Rapid chilling from near boiling to room temp will form the cold break and remove the unwanted proteins from the beer. I believe these are only cosmetic but that's what you describe. If you did cool the wort rapidly to room temp then maybe there's another explanation.

 

[Hollow Legs]

Only thing that I can add that I'm not 100 percent sure of is that when doing the boil the foam that forms on top, I believe it is called the hot break, I scoop it away into the sink! is that necessary?

Thanks

Colin.

 

[rich27500]

No need to skim the foam ( not the hot break apparently) perversely I don't chill and don't get chill haze but no way do I believe chilling causes your haze. Sounds to me like you've been unlucky.

 

[Dave1970]

As Rich says, the foam at the start of the boil isn't the hot break, it's the enzymes that were present in the mash breaking down...no need to skim them...they're breaking down anyway

 

[Hollow Legs]

Thanks for the replies guys, I have just read a few posts on another forum for this problem and it seems I may need to chill the wort down more than I anticipated before pitching :thumb:

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

My chill haze was cured by making a double wort cooler on "Big Yins" how to do....

<<CLICKY>>

BB

 

[Hollow Legs]

I hear what you're saying BB as my chiller is quite small (story of my life) it takes around 15 - 20 minutes to get to around 22degsC from boiling, I'm not sure if I have the water flowing fast enough from the tap or not, I suppose it's all experimental at my stage of things.

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

I hear what you're saying BB as my chiller is quite small (story of my life) it takes around 15 - 20 minutes to get to around 22degsC from boiling, I'm not sure if I have the water flowing fast enough from the tap or not, I suppose it's all experimental at my stage of things.

I was the same until I had enlargement surgery with 10mm copper pipe and a blow lamp, was quite easy and I didn't feel a thing.

 

[The Goatreich]

My chiller takes a good 45 minutes to cool from boiling to 30C and I also suffer with chill haze. Yours is a lot quicker than mine. How long is a good time to get it to pitching temp? It's highly likely I don't have the water running through quickly enough.

 

[PD]

you still get the occasional bottle that suffers chill haze when making kits and the bottle is in the fridge overnight. I try to get my beer cold in storage by using the concrete floor and not the fridge these days, cool beer and no haze. But its space consuming.