duffman

Recipes 

I am new at making beer but have a quick question. I have only made 2 batches so far, and finally had my first beer that I brewed yesterday. It is in IPA that I made from a kit. The taste/color was okay but the main thing I noticed was that it was not clear. It was so murky that its consistency resembled a hef. (that I love drinking), but was not part of the recipe. Here is my question:

1. Why did it turn out so murky?

2. How can I avoid this in my second batch? It is currently in a carboy.

Thanks for the reply. I really appreciate the input. Duffman

drengel

Recipes 

did you use a secondary? if not that is probably the reason. homebrews are very hard to turn out super clear, and if you dont use a secondary you can be guaranteed that your beer will be murky. also you can use finings, wgich form a sort of gelatin and drop everything down to the bottom. also be careful when racking and bottling to not disturb the sediment on the bottom of the carboy/bucket. chill haze could also be a culprit.

Cheesefood

Recipes 

Clariy is merely aesthetic. Cloudiness won't change the flavor. One thing I've noticed is that there's a remarkable difference in clarity between the first and the 30th beer I drink from each batch. My last batch was opaque when I poured the first bottle, but now it's remarkably clearer.

Another trick is to use Irish Moss, which will settle many of the proteins that cause chill haze.

The ultimate answer (always) is: "Relax, don't worry, have a hombrew."

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david_42

Recipes 

If you have a water filter with a charcoal cylinder, you could use a 1.0 micron element instead and filter the IPA. Chill it as much as you can (without freezing) and then filter. I first purchased a filter to clear up hop particles in Stiffy (a bastard born of a Wee Heavy & a Left-coast IPA).

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duffman

Recipes 

When I brewed this batch it was with only one fermentor, (a plastic bucket) and it was then transfered to the bottles. My second batch I am using a glass 5 gallon carboy so hopefully that will solve the problem. Hopefully it will not be murky this time. Thanks for the help. Duffman