For those that worry about 'cloudy' beer

[puravida]

Here is a wonderful article written by Justin Hawke who runs Moor Beer Company...

http://protzonbeer.co.uk/columns/2013/1 ... loudy-beer

 

[Ceejay]

Hehe. One of my absolute favourite breweries and I wholeheartedly agree. Their beer tastes sublime. I don't worry about crystal clear beer. There's many more things to be worried about in brewing. Flavour being the #1! :

Do yourself a favour - stop putting fish guts and animal bones in your beer :whistle:

"The best fining agents are time and temperature control, as most beer styles will clear naturally if left long enough at the right temperatures in clean, oxygen-free environments. This is where the knowledge, experience and attention to detail of clean brewers come to the fore."

 

[JimmyB78]

Great article, thanks for posting. Now I wish I hadn't decided to experiment using gelatine for fining my latest brew yesterday!

 

[Bowl sprayer]

I know it only affects the visual appearance and not the flavour when the beer is cooled to below 8-10C but does chill haze settle out over time, or if present in a batch will it always be a problem?

The reason I ask is that I have a couple of batches affected and although ready to drink I am not sure whether leaving them longer will improve the problem.

 

[Rukula]

I know it only affects the visual appearance and not the flavour when the beer is cooled to below 8-10C but does chill haze settle out over time, or if present in a batch will it always be a problem?

The reason I ask is that I have a couple of batches affected and although ready to drink I am not sure whether leaving them longer will improve the problem.

My first AG was a 1 gallon batch. I forgot to pour the wort trough the grains to filter out particles, so the beer in the fermenter started off really cloudy grayish-yellow. Some of it went away while it fermented, but it was still really really cloudy.

After bottling it, and leaving it "in the warm" for a little while, i noticed that light could break trough more easily, so it cleared even more. When i placed the bottles in my cellar, the chill haze started. I decided to leave some of the bottles as an experiment in age-clearing beer. After some months, it was way-way better. And now, about a year later, its crystal clear. Just as clear as the tasteless canned lagers from the shop. So the cloudiest brew ever made, got crystal clear... Now, to make a long answer short: Yes, it does clear with age.

And please don't look at cloudy beer as a problem. I would be skeptical if i got a crystal clear bottle of something claimed to be "craft brew" or homebrew.

 

[StevieDS]

And please don't look at cloudy beer as a problem. I would be skeptical if i got a crystal clear bottle of something claimed to be "craft brew" or homebrew.

Agreed.
Unless you're trying to win a competition, I can't understand people's obsession with beer clarity.

 

[zgoda]

To remove chill haze completely the beer has to be filtered when ice cold. The nature of cold break is that it drops with time but then dissolves again when beer gets warm. You may reduce the haze to very low level but to remove it completely you have to filter it out.

 

[Pearlfisher]

We stayed a few days last year in the pub mentioned in the article , it was quite disturbing to see people drinking ale which looked like orange juice! , I didn't try that one but did try their pale and golden ales , they were quite good ,but nothing to rave about IMO.

 

[NickW]

Been trying that link all day, doesn't load for me Really wanted to read that article

 

[photek1000]

Page and site is now working again, what an excellent read, and something for the SWMBO to read when she next says my beer is cloudy :thumb:

 

[Pjam]

and something for the SWMBO to read when she next says my beer is cloudy :thumb:

Same here. And friends that come for a beer too ..... it's the first thing they do, hold it up to the light.

 

[Hawks]

And friends that come for a beer too ..... it's the first thing they do, hold it up to the light.

Yep, it's a common one.. just kegged a beer up today unfined ( I had read this and conveniently run out of gelatine :whistle: ) - almost a shame as I would have done a keg with some in and one without..

As I use WLP023 I fully expect this to stay a bit cloudy and will just tell people its natural beer and better for them :thumb:

 

[nobyipa]

quote [
Finings are anything added to your beer that helps remove haze-forming particles. These could be yeast, protein, oils, polyphenols, herbs, spices, hops, fruit, coffee, etc. We could add bacteria to the list (the reason cloudy beer got a bad name in the UK in the first place). After all, it was the slow sale of (real) ale decades ago and the resultant long duration in unclean lines that led people to incorrectly link haze with spoilage. Thankfully it is much rarer now to find poorly brewed or kept beer. For our purposes I’m assuming clean brewing and cellar practices.

Isinglass finings are an acidified, aqueous solution produced from the swim bladder of fish and preserved with sulphur dioxide. They work by electrically attracting yeast, forming large clumps, and letting gravity pull them to the bottom. In the process they also drag down other flavour active particles such as hop oils. Yes, there are fish guts, acid, and sulphur dioxide added to most real ale sold in the UK, all with the purpose of shortening the time it takes them to drop bright.] unquote

never used finings all me beers have been perfect without

I thought that the use of finings could result in next morning hangovers etc
so never used finings and never will

 

[NickW]

What a cracking read

I know "seasoned" ale drinkers who frequent my local when they get a slightly "hazy" ale.. although, if that certain beer is meant to be clear, that may be a different story.

I have yet to use finings, and never really planned to - but I'm pretty sure I won't be in the future after such a brilliant read :thumb:

- this article almost :lol: absolves me of having break material in my bottles today ... almost

 

[orlando]

Some of the best beer I have ever had has been fined. It is perfectly possible to produce very clear (not crystal, that's filtered) beer without finings. I like to produce clear beer myself as I like the technical challenge and it is never at the expense of flavour.

 

[bobsbeer]

I have had both clear and cloudy beer in my time, but I think I would be hard pressed to say all the cloudy beer has been the best. But we are conditioned to thinking clear is better. I never fine my beer but it is usually fairly clear. Wine on the other hand I always do. Good article.

 

[Good Ed]

Excellent article, thanks. Taste over appearance every time, you know where the opposite of this comes from .... supermarkets :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

 

[brewtim]

I'm not convinced by either side of the argument, the flavour of beer is subjective regardless of clarity, I'm not a fan of hoppy IPA's or way too bittered brews, preferring balanced ales with a bias towards malty, sweet, caramel flavours and floral aroma, also sour or Belgian, dark or light, pale or copper, it doesn't matter if it's cloudy or not.

If the style calls for it then I like my homebrew clear, as there does seem to be a cleaner taste, but thats maybe a perception/psychological/sensory thing just as increasing hop aroma will provide more perceived bitterness despite what the IBU is.

Why is there a judging quality in competitions that looks for clarity is that to do with the technical challenge or the flavour? Surely if it wasn't an important aspect of brewing then clarity wouldn't form part of the judgement?

 

[Good Ed]

brewtim, I think you are missing the point of the article by Justin, which is by adding fining ingredients you will be taking out some of the flavour of the beer, which can't be a good thing surely. It's the same with vegetables, the supermarkets have conditioned you to what is normal. We had a friend visit who couldn't eat our organically grown carrots because they tasted too strong, ie they tasted too much of carrots. That is how the supermarkets and big breweries have conditioned people to ignore the taste of things over the years.

 

[Pjam]

I found his comments on German beer interesting, He say's no one in Germany complains about a cloudy beer, it's considered acceptable etc ...... I was thinking, well of course, fining must be unheard of! Reinheitsgebot, the Beer Purity Law would forbid it ....... right ?