Chill Haze in a lager

My lager is in the 3rd week of lagering in the cold. Last night I took a sample to check the gravity and noticed that it had a definite haze in it that I wasn't expecting. Is this chill haze? And if it is what can I do about it at this stage? Will it settle out as it lagers?

The temps have been pretty cold here the last few days and while the beer hasn't frozen it must be below 32 with the alcohol lowering the freezing point. The room itself measured in the low 20's yesterday. It is the entrance to my very old house, with a leaky old glass door and a mail slot. The inner door keeps the cold out of the house.

It tastes great in any case.

Let the next sample warm up. Wont chill haze go away when the "chill" is gone? If it's clear = chill haze

I was reading up on chill haze and most of the material says that the haze should settle out during lagering. It's been 2+ weeks, so maybe it just needs more time to settle.

I have a lager that's been in bottles for about two weeks now. It's just beginning to drop clear. In another week or two it will probably be crystal.

Next time try gelatin. I gelatined half of my batch to compare the results, the gelatined bottles were bright and clear after a week. However, the bottoms are gunked up with super fluffy, flocced out yeast. Next time I'll do it in the bulk vessel.

Gelatine will floc out yeast. However chill haze is caused by polyphenols. They can be removed using Polyclar - this is how we buy it in Australia, I expect it's available in the USA http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=726 (no affiliation with the supplier here) - two teaspoons in some boiling water and give it a good stir, then tip into the cold conditioning lager. I use it in all my brews, not just lager as it's cheap and reliable and some ales can get chill haze if you are serving them below 8° C.

Yea, it's available. One thing about it though is that it will also floc out the yeast. I bottle condition my beer and I need the yeast. I may give it a try and keep some of the yeast cake from the bottom to stir back in.

Sort of like "krausening" - yes that should work fine.

You don't need finings to get rid of chill haze. After a few weeks at fridge (lager) temperatures, it'll drop out and you'll have clear beer.

I'm not a gelatin user, ever, but I do use kettle finings like Whirlfloc. Chill haze is never an issue with Whirlfloc but back when I used Irish moss, I sometimes had chill haze in my lightest beers. That was fixed by time at cold temperatures, and it doesn't come back once it's gone.

Yooper said:

You don't need finings to get rid of chill haze. After a few weeks at fridge (lager) temperatures, it'll drop out and you'll have clear beer.

I'm not a gelatin user, ever, but I do use kettle finings like Whirlfloc. Chill haze is never an issue with Whirlfloc but back when I used Irish moss, I sometimes had chill haze in my lightest beers. That was fixed by time at cold temperatures, and it doesn't come back once it's gone.

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I'm beginning to bend this way as well. When I finally get a keg setup I may experiment with gelatin again if I'm in a hurry for clear beer, but I've yet to have a beer not clear up in a couple of weeks using Whirlfloc.

How much Whirlfloc do you use Yoop? I've began using only half a tablet per 6 gallon batch and I've not noticed a difference compared to using a whole.

smizak said:

I'm beginning to bend this way as well. When I finally get a keg setup I may experiment with gelatin again if I'm in a hurry for clear beer, but I've yet to have a beer not clear up in a couple of weeks using Whirlfloc.

How much Whirlfloc do you use Yoop? I've began using only half a tablet per 6 gallon batch and I've not noticed a difference compared to using a whole.

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I use a whole tablet, but it's more for convenience that a belief that I need a whole one! I get crazy cold break, since I chill fast, and lots of hot break.

One reason I'm anti-gelatin is because many of my friends are vegetarians and would never think of beer as non-vegetarian/vegan friendly. I never thought about it before, but won't use isinglass in my wines either now. Some of my friends are old hippies, and some young vegans too.

Yooper said:

I use a whole tablet, but it's more for convenience that a belief that I need a whole one! I get crazy cold break, since I chill fast, and lots of hot break.

One reason I'm anti-gelatin is because many of my friends are vegetarians and would never think of beer as non-vegetarian/vegan friendly. I never thought about it before, but won't use isinglass in my wines either now. Some of my friends are old hippies, and some young vegans too.

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Interesting. I did the same but read that too much Whirlfloc could damage head retention. I've noticed no difference, so I'll prolly just chuck in a whole tablet from now on, those crumbly things suck to try and divide in half!

My GF is a veggie, and she is my most trusted palate, so I can't lose that. She'll tell me flat out if I have an off-flavor knowing I won't resent her criticism. I can say for sure that gelatin makes chill haze clear faster though, contrary to some things I've read.

OK, another week+ has gone by and the chill haze is gone. I didn't do anything except let it sit in the cold. It was low 20s to mid 30s all week. I had planned on bottling this past weekend but didn't get to it. So now I have to do it this coming weekend as I'm traveling the following weekend. My luck with the weather will run out.

Pretty tasty now too. So, let's see, if I bottle this weekend (Super Bowl), do my trip to India (that's not as exciting as it sounds), another week after I get back and it should be ready. Can't wait.

I'm back from India and tried my first bottle, now 2 weeks in. It still needs more time to condition, but it was absolutely clear. It still has that 'green apple' taste to it. Another week at least, probably 2-3 would be better.

As I get ready to try another lager, I should comment that this was the best tasting, crispest, most refreshing, and absolutely clearest beer I've ever made. I used no electric refrigeration and no clearing agents. It's a shame that it's long gone...

Now, if only the weather will get cold.