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**sweetcell** · 02-07-2013, 03:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gelatin

The only thing I haven't done is cold crash because I don't have the facilities to do this. I'm a little confused though because after refrigerating for several days, shouldn't that have the same effect in bottles?

i too lack a fridge for cold crashing, so i do "cool crashing": place some water and ice/ice packs/bottles of frozen water in a tub, then drop your fermenter in there. replace the ice two or three times a day. i don't get down to 34*F like i might in a fridge, but i get to the mid-40's which is plenty to get the yeast to flocc out.

**PhelanKA7** · 02-07-2013, 03:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetcell

i too lack a fridge for cold crashing, so i do "cool crashing": place some water and ice/ice packs/bottles of frozen water in a tub, then drop your fermenter in there. replace the ice two or three times a day. i don't get down to 34*F like i might in a fridge, but i get to the mid-40's which is plenty to get the yeast to flocc out.

If you don't want to do a tub too, what I do is get a cheap 30 gallon trashcan and put your fermenter into it with about 40lbs of ice and then wrap some sort of insulation around the trashcan if you can. This will chill your fermenter down to cold crash temps for long enough to clarify.

gelatin · 02-07-2013, 03:35 AM

Not being able to produce a clear beer means to me that there's something attainable and desirable but not understood. I don't mind an unintentionally cloudy beer that tastes great, but I would have a great sense of accomplishment if I can figure out the missing piece. I love giving out my wheat beers and dark beers, but I feel like I've failed when I have a cloudy cream ale. There's something beautiful and proud about a clear and tasty beer.

I'll pick up a can for a graff I have in the fermenter now and try cold crashing with ice. I'm going to have to be careful with all these great tips so I don't apply more than one to a batch and not know what it was that did the trick!

NanoMan · 02-07-2013, 03:38 AM

BrewBrite is a polyclar product, synthetic. Not sure of the shelf life. Rep recommended to me it be kept sealed in the freezer.

Yeast flocculation is time and sugar (actually lack of) dependent, plus strain character.

Cheers!

NanoMan · 02-07-2013, 03:40 AM

I should have added temp to that list. Cold crashing is very helpful.

BetterSense · 02-07-2013, 03:40 AM

I also find that enough cold time will clear anything. I learned this from kegging. After a couple months, all my kegged beers are clear, even wheats. The same effect should occur in bottles, but I can empathize with the disappearing bottle syndrome. It can be pretty hard to keep bottles in the fridge for months.

How long have you kept your bottles? I have found that my bottled beers continue to clarify as the months go by, even at room temperature. I don't think I've kept anything 6mo or more that has not cleared in that amount of time.

Gelatin is magic if you want clear beer fast.

I don't pursue

**mkringii** · 02-07-2013, 03:41 AM

Craigslist a used fridge.. we got them all over arou.d here from 50-200$ .. trash can cost $30-40.. apply a few bucks and pick used fridge.. what i did (if you have room for it) good luck either way cold crashin is the easiest way in my experience

**Ogri** · 02-07-2013, 06:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gelatin

I'm 14 batches in and I have yet to be able to produce a beer with perfect clarity. I use whirlfloc and primary for 3-4 weeks. I've tried adding gelatin and waiting a week with only minor effect. I'm not dry hopping. I've both filtered wort and dumped everything.

I've thought about longer primaries, but if that was going to clear things up shouldn't they have cleared up in the bottles after several months?

The only thing I haven't done is cold crash because I don't have the facilities to do this. I'm a little confused though because after refrigerating for several days, shouldn't that have the same effect in bottles?

I'm starting to think there's some sort of process error I'm making. What could cause a lack of clarity? I've done extract batches and all-grain BIAB without noticeable difference.

As I can't really comment on the factor of your water my money is on the highlighted sentences. Go longer in primary with a cold crash before bottling. The clearer the beer is going into the bottles, the more chance for a clear beer after a few weeks chilling in the fridge.

The only other thing that springs to mind for me is, how quickly do you cool down your wort after brewing and before pitching?? I think I've read something about longer post-boil cooling times equating to cloudy beers.

gelatin · 02-07-2013, 01:17 PM

I had hoped that getting a wort chiller would help, I picked one up after my first three batches and now cool the wort from boiling within 15 minutes very reliably (sometimes in 5 minutes with the 2.5 gal batches).

Why does bulk conditioning clear beer better than it would in bottles over the same amount of time?

**aiptasia** · 02-07-2013, 01:30 PM

1) Make sure you have a good rolling boil for at least 45 minutes during your boil phase. This will help precipitate out a lot of proteins.

2) Definitely use whirlfloc or 1 teaspoon of irish moss at 15 left in the boil.

3) Give your yeast at least 3 weeks in the primary whether you think it's finished fermenting or not. For higher gravity beers, four or even five weeks in the primary is best.

4) Allow your bottles/kegs to condition for 3 weeks in a room temperature spot, in the dark.

5) Chill your bottles a full 48 hours prior to serving.

6) Use proven, highly flocculant strains of yeast. I recommend: WLP001, WLP007, Super San Diego, Safale S04 & 05.

7) Cold crash if your beer looks hazy prior to bottling. 72 hours at 40 degrees is usually sufficient to force yeasts to floc out.

8) Try the gelatin trick if cold crashing doesn't clear the beer. Add 1 packet of knox gelatin to a cup of very warm (but not boiling) sterile (usually distilled) water. Stir until dissolved. Slowly and carefully pour the gelatin into your cold beer and let sit another three to five days.