beer not clearing 5 weeks

Intro:
I decided to see what the internet can do for my brews, I'm here to learn brewing, not just to brew.
I have been reading several books on brewing and feel like this site is more up to date than them.


Recipe:
5.5 lbs sparkling amber liquid malt
3 lbs dark liquid malt
2oz mt hood hops (I think its 2 oz, I also got this account to track recipes off of my memory, cuz its not the best)
1.5 oz 60 min
0.5 oz 15 min
3 sticks cinnamon 60 min
A couple dried cloves from an old bottle 60 min
2 dashes cayenne pepper 60 min

(1/2 lb chocolate malt, 1/2 lb crystal malt, 1/2 pound honey malt) steeped from tap water to boiling water, then removed.

Wish I could remember the yeast(the one the owner of hops and berries in fort Collins recommended for their nut brown ale)

Procedure:
The boil then...
Got 5 gal cooled to about 75 in 40 min

Checked gravity and sad situation I lost the notepad I wrote it on, I don't mind its only my 3rd brew and I was only aiming for taste, I got this account so ill never lose parts of recipes again

Pitched yeast and let sit in primary for 3-4 weeks (started on a Sunday, switched from primary to secondary on a Wednesday after the 3rd Sunday) it will have been in the secondary 2 weeks this Wednesday or in 2 days. 5 weeks total yesterday. Temps constant 62-68, I have that temp strip for my fermenter

Area of concern, advice requested please:
It has not cleared at all, still completely cloudy
Light has been incapable of passing through it. I tried a laser pointer can't see it at all on the other side. And a super bright led flashlight and still not even a slight glow

I was hoping to keg this in 2 days but am unsure, should I wait till its clear or is this a kind that will just be cloudy?
I also hear that yeast makes for foamy pouring and I'd prefer a good season beer that pours well. Any help is greatly appreciated, most on here have way more experience than I.

As reference:
Another recipe I did same temps
10lbs pale liquid malt
10lbs sugar
4oz hops (2oz Amarillo and 2oz of one i lost the name of)
Times dont matter for this reference
English ale yeast
Primary 2 weeks already showing signs of sedimentation
secondary 3 weeks, had completely cleared by 2nd week just let it sit till that Wednesday mentioned earlier.
Bottled that
btw it finished at 16%

Why is my less strong/less fermentables taking much longer to clear?

you used very dark extract + 1/2 choc malt + crystal (do you know what color?)

very likely that its not that the yeast aren't clearing but rather you have a very dark beer that you won't be able to see through

you can try cold crashing (lower temp to 32-40deg for a couple days) to drop the yeast out of solution if they are still hanging around

it's also possible that your store gave you a low floculating yeast and they may not drop out much but prob not as likely if they use it for a nut brown

do you see lots of particles/yeast in suspension or are you basing it off of not being able to pass light through?

also are you judging it based on the carboy or a gravity sample? beer will be much darker in a carboy than in your glass

I was judging it off the carboy and the other one I made and how the laser only penetrates about 2-3 mm visably and hits what looks like yeast. Based off I shined a laser through the others while fermenting. I haven't checked gravity cuz I was waiting for it to clear up.

I remember the crystal malt was 3rd darkest out of 5 choices.

I think I might try cold crashing, does it affect final flavor? I hear a lot of talk about waiting for the yeast to finish its final clean up reactions.

I like the laser method, poor man's spectrophotometer. In addition to color, the yeast you use has a lot to do with how clear the beer will get, or flocc out. English yeast tend to drop out better, so if you used a low floccing strain this time, they'll be floating around a bit. I highly doubt at that FG and time in the fermenter it's not done. I say cold crash. It won't affect the flavor, and the yeast should certainly be done, but check the gravity.

Also,

My beers always look darker in the bucket/carboy than they do in the glass. But even dark beers should start to look bright and brilliant by 5 weeks, I fight protein haze, and two full weeks in the fridge is the ONLY thing that helps...cheers

If you are sure fermentation is complete you could fine it with gelatin then cold crash it...should see a difference in about 48 hours if there is anything to see.

What's your gravity now? Is it inline with the recipe? At this long after fermentation, I'd think it would be done. What I'll usually do is pull a sample, check gravity and put said sample in the fridge. I'll let that settle out for a few hours or overnight and... taste it! of course. Best test as far as I'm concerned as to whether its done or not. It will also give me a rough idea of how much sediment/yeast is still in suspension, because it will fall to the bottom of the glass when it cold crashes.

Yea I would +1 to it just being a dark beer. I can't shine a laser pointer or a 10LED Maglite 4D through my lighter brews. That's just a lot of mass and particulates and color to shine through. I would judge clarity better by your hydrometer samples.

Based on your recipe I calculated you had an Original Gravity of 1.068. I'd cold crash it for a couple of days then keg it.

drop your temp to about 35 and crash the yeast, mostly all breweries do this to clarify beer to ease filtration, if that doesent clear it then your PH in the mash created a permenant chill haze from an abundance of protiens, either your beer will finish great!!!

wncbrewer said:

Also,

My beers always look darker in the bucket/carboy than they do in the glass. But even dark beers should start to look bright and brilliant by 5 weeks, I fight protein haze, and two full weeks in the fridge is the ONLY thing that helps...cheers

Click to expand...

I have had the same success doing this. Gets everything to finally rest on the bottom. And be careful pouring, keep the last half inch or so out of the glass and chug it before you drink your glass, you'll be happy you did the next morning!