I just opened my first bottle from my second batch. Even though it had only been bottled for 10 days when I put it in the refrigerator (plus two days in the refrigerator), it tastes great - doesn't have a lot of head yet, but retains what it has well and even leaves nice lacing on the glass. Another couple of weeks, I think it'll be great! But it does have chill haze, and I don't know why - I used a Whirlfloc tablet, added it about 15 minutes before the end of the boil. This was a minimash version of the Sierra Nevada pale ale.
The original recipe had 2 1/2 lbs of 2-row, 10 oz. of Crystal 60L and 4 lbs of LME. My POS floating thermometer was way off so I didn't get very good conversion during the mash - I could tell that from an iodine test, so I threw in 13 ounces of DME that I had lying around. Glad I did, because with the added DME I hit the OG almost exactly - my OG was 1.051 and FG was 1.012. Standard one hour boil (late addition on half the LME and the DME), Perle hops at 60 min., Cascade at 15 min. and flameout. Cooled from boiling to 70 degrees in about 10 minutes with an IC with prechiller. Primary for two weeks, dry hopped in secondary for one week. I thought the fast chill with the IC plus the Whirlfloc would take care of the haze. Could it be due to unconverted starches from the poor mash? The beer appears clear when at room temp. - would starches only appear hazy when cold, or do you think this is normal chill haze due to cold break, or whatever?
The original recipe had 2 1/2 lbs of 2-row, 10 oz. of Crystal 60L and 4 lbs of LME. My POS floating thermometer was way off so I didn't get very good conversion during the mash - I could tell that from an iodine test, so I threw in 13 ounces of DME that I had lying around. Glad I did, because with the added DME I hit the OG almost exactly - my OG was 1.051 and FG was 1.012. Standard one hour boil (late addition on half the LME and the DME), Perle hops at 60 min., Cascade at 15 min. and flameout. Cooled from boiling to 70 degrees in about 10 minutes with an IC with prechiller. Primary for two weeks, dry hopped in secondary for one week. I thought the fast chill with the IC plus the Whirlfloc would take care of the haze. Could it be due to unconverted starches from the poor mash? The beer appears clear when at room temp. - would starches only appear hazy when cold, or do you think this is normal chill haze due to cold break, or whatever?