All my brews are cloudy/hazy?

Every singe batch of AG that I have brewed has ended up very cloudy/hazy. I am recirculating with my pump for several minutes before I start to collect. I even use gelatin before I keg. What is the cause of the cloudyness, and how do I stop it?

(i know that my hefe's are supposed to be cloudy, but all my summer ales, pale ales, ipa's have been very cloudy)

Also, I use a 3 tiered keggle system, direct fired MLT, pump and sabco false bottom...


EDIT - and I use Whirlfloc...

Also, I should note that every couple batches I will get an influx of grains around the FB somehow. I have no idea how as it seems to fit great. I have always strained these out... it has only happened on a couple batches, and maybe that has caused those to get cloudy, but all my batches are cloudy.

Are you using Whirlfloc or Irish moss?

Yes, I use Whirlfloc in every batch.

Is this cloudiness that clears up when the beer warms up? Could be chill haze.

What yeast? A yeast like 1056 or Kolsch blends aren't very flocculent and takes a while to clear.

Is it consistent over different grists? (looks like you said it is)

How long is your primary? I've noticed even when I use whirlfloc it can take a while to clear. Does it clear if it sits in the kegerator for a few weeks? Nothing can resist that (except chill haze). I've had hefeweizens turn crystal clear in the keg

Are you getting a good "hot break" and "cold break"? That makes a huge difference.

A couple of questions that might help in diagnosing the problem:

1. Are you testing conversion? Unconverted starch in the wort can contribute to cloudiness.

2. How vigorous is your boil? Getting a good strong hot break is important to coagulate proteins.

3. For the pales, IPAs, etc - are you dry hopping? My IPAs rarely come out star-bright because of polyphenols from the hops. Time and cold will (slowly) aid in clarity.

4. Are you using wheat or similar protein-rich malt to aid in head retention? An excess of wheat malt is another possible culprit.

You'll find many dismiss haze as merely an aesthetic issue, but it can be more complex.

Maybe he's doing "no-chill"




JK, sorry couldn't resist...

If using whirlfloc, your wort should be clear coming out of the boil, with lots of coagulated and flocculated proteins and other junk floating around. A normal beer that has been fined should be pretty clear at this point, in my experience at least.

One possible suspect that messed with my clarities for a while is starch haze - when you vorlauf too hard, you pull little bits of grain through and around the false bottom. These bits of grain get into the boil kettle when you transfer, and they have a lot of starch that can cause cloudiness, just like adding flour. I have since vorlaufed much more gently and never transfer to boil kettle until I see zero grain particles in the runnings. My beer is always clear going into the fermenter now when I use kettle finings.

Good questions/comments here. Just to cover all the bases, what's your typical base malt (or does it vary greatly) and what's your typical mash schedule?... or an example of one that was hazy?