jongrill

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I'm three batches in on my beer brewing hobby and every day I am learning something new. Today I am trying to research how to have "clearer" beer.

My last batch, a rye ale, sat in the fermenter for three weeks. It didn't seem to be less cloudy than a beer I left in a fermenter for two weeks.
Is there a way to make my beer have a more more clear appearance?

Pontiac_Guy

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Try Irish moss at the end of your boil

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Varmintman

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Cold break after the boil will help along with fining agents. A week in the fridge after it has carbed will help a lot as well.

jongrill

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Cold break?

jongrill

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What will that do?

NordeastBrewer77

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A quick chilling will cause a "cold break", basically a coagulation of break proteins from the boil. This will allow them to fall out more freely, and produce a clearer beer.

Also, a week or two in the fridge will clear up most "chill haze", which is also cause by proteins.

And.... irish moss or Whirlfloc at about 10 mins left in the boil will work wonders for protein coagulation.

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julioardz

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This blog has some helpful information, and pictures of beautiful clear beer. Here is different post on the use of gelatin.

I don't remember if he says it in there, but in my experience, these methods don't substitute for one another, but when used collectively, can produce a crystal clear beer.

rklinck

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Cold break refers to cooling the wort quickly after the boil. The faster you cool the wort, the less chill haze you will have in the finished beer. Irish moss/Whirlfloc causes the proteins to clump together, so you get bigger pieces of trub. It will make the trub layer more compact in your fermenter.

You can also "cold crash" your fermenter before bottling/kegging. That means getting the temperature down to near freezing and holding it there for a few days, which causes some of the yeast to fall out and takes some of the other material that is in suspension out as well. If you have a spare fridge, this is a good place to do it. Otherwise, an ice water bath tends to work well.

With all that said, nothing will replace letting the beer sit in the bottle/keg in the refrigerator for a good amount of time before serving. I use Whirlflock, get a very good cold break with my wort chiller, and cold crash my beers for a week prior to kegging. With all of that said, my beer remains cloudy/hazy. It tends to clear up after it has been in the keg in the fridge for about two or so weeks.

scottland

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If you aren't adding Irish Moss or Whirlfloc in during the boil, that is the biggest source of your haze. Irish moss and Whirlfloc are known as kettle fining agents. As rklinck mentioned, they cause proteins to clump together, once the proteins clump together enough, their molecular weight is such that they sink to the bottom of the kettle.

Both irish moss and whirlfloc are dirt cheap. Your LHBS will have them. Add one or the other when there's 10-15 minutes left during the boil. You'll notice much, much clearer wort going into your fermenter.

That will make the biggest difference.

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cram

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Besides whirfloc or Irish moss and cold-crashing as already mentioned, the most simple solution is likely leaving your beer in primary or secondary longer--the difference in clarity between two weeks and one month+ can be quite extreme. Certain yeasts settle out more readily, so that';s something else to consider. Also, being extra careful when you rack the beer to leave the sediment behind takes a little practice.