Clearer beer?

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jongrill

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I'm three batches in on my beer brewing hobby and every day I am learning something new. Today I am trying to research how to have "clearer" beer.

My last batch, a rye ale, sat in the fermenter for three weeks. It didn't seem to be less cloudy than a beer I left in a fermenter for two weeks.
Is there a way to make my beer have a more more clear appearance?
 
Cold break after the boil will help along with fining agents. A week in the fridge after it has carbed will help a lot as well.
 
Varmintman said:
Cold break after the boil will help along with fining agents. A week in the fridge after it has carbed will help a lot as well.

Cold break?
 
Cold break?

What will that do?

A quick chilling will cause a "cold break", basically a coagulation of break proteins from the boil. This will allow them to fall out more freely, and produce a clearer beer.

Also, a week or two in the fridge will clear up most "chill haze", which is also cause by proteins.

And.... irish moss or Whirlfloc at about 10 mins left in the boil will work wonders for protein coagulation.
 
This blog has some helpful information, and pictures of beautiful clear beer. Here is different post on the use of gelatin.

I don't remember if he says it in there, but in my experience, these methods don't substitute for one another, but when used collectively, can produce a crystal clear beer.
 
Cold break refers to cooling the wort quickly after the boil. The faster you cool the wort, the less chill haze you will have in the finished beer. Irish moss/Whirlfloc causes the proteins to clump together, so you get bigger pieces of trub. It will make the trub layer more compact in your fermenter.

You can also "cold crash" your fermenter before bottling/kegging. That means getting the temperature down to near freezing and holding it there for a few days, which causes some of the yeast to fall out and takes some of the other material that is in suspension out as well. If you have a spare fridge, this is a good place to do it. Otherwise, an ice water bath tends to work well.

With all that said, nothing will replace letting the beer sit in the bottle/keg in the refrigerator for a good amount of time before serving. I use Whirlflock, get a very good cold break with my wort chiller, and cold crash my beers for a week prior to kegging. With all of that said, my beer remains cloudy/hazy. It tends to clear up after it has been in the keg in the fridge for about two or so weeks.
 
If you aren't adding Irish Moss or Whirlfloc in during the boil, that is the biggest source of your haze. Irish moss and Whirlfloc are known as kettle fining agents. As rklinck mentioned, they cause proteins to clump together, once the proteins clump together enough, their molecular weight is such that they sink to the bottom of the kettle.

Both irish moss and whirlfloc are dirt cheap. Your LHBS will have them. Add one or the other when there's 10-15 minutes left during the boil. You'll notice much, much clearer wort going into your fermenter.

That will make the biggest difference.
 
Besides whirfloc or Irish moss and cold-crashing as already mentioned, the most simple solution is likely leaving your beer in primary or secondary longer--the difference in clarity between two weeks and one month+ can be quite extreme. Certain yeasts settle out more readily, so that';s something else to consider. Also, being extra careful when you rack the beer to leave the sediment behind takes a little practice.
 
Besides whirfloc or Irish moss and cold-crashing as already mentioned, the most simple solution is likely leaving your beer in primary or secondary longer--the difference in clarity between two weeks and one month+ can be quite extreme. Certain yeasts settle out more readily, so that';s something else to consider. Also, being extra careful when you rack the beer to leave the sediment behind takes a little practice.

I agree with this because the biggest issue is the total amount of time between putting it in the fermenter and cracking the bottle (or pouring from the keg). You could achieve the same thing by bottling at 2 or 3 weeks and letting it sit in the bottles longer, but my experience is that bottles/kegs full of beer are a much bigger temptation than beer sitting in a fermenter.
 
I use whirlfloc during the boil and knox gelatin added to the carboy about 4 days before bottling. Works great, the beer comes out super clear. There's a thread somewhere on this site that tells how to use the gelatin.
 
Thanks for all the info!


So whirlfloc and Irish moss... Is there a certain amount to add depending on the volume? I do one gallon batches right now.
 
Whirlfloc comes in tablets that are intended to treat a 5 gallon batch. You could try chopping them up in quarters. A little extra never hurt anyone, and they are really cheap. A packet of 10 or 12 of them costs about $2.
 
Irish moss might be easier to work with for a 1 gallon batch. Use 1/4tsp. Throw it in the boil with 10min left
 
Whirlfloc comes in tablets that are intended to treat a 5 gallon batch. You could try chopping them up in quarters. A little extra never hurt anyone, and they are really cheap. A packet of 10 or 12 of them costs about $2.

They are actually meant to treat 10 gallons per tablet. So cut them in half for a 5 gallon batch. Add the half-tab with 5 minutes remaining in the boil.
 
Good hot break, good cold break, and I use whirlfloc at flameout, which is sort of like concetrated Irish moss.

Heres my hydrometer sample checking the OG on the German pilsner I brewed Monday. The haze you see in that sample is actually crud on my hydrometer tube, not in the wort.



ForumRunner_20130201_104834.jpg

This combined with longer time in primary and cold conditioning should produce brilliant clarity.



You would not have believed it was the same wort if you saw it during pre-boil or while it was boiling. It was downright murky with protein haze.
 
You use Whirfloc or Iris moss. Irish moss is 1 teaspoon per 5 gallons, so I'm guessing you could use a fraction of a teaspoon. Instructions say to rehydrate the irish moss before adding it to the last 15 minutes of the boil. You wouldn't have to break anything apart. I've had similar results with both in the finished beer, but a thicker coagulated trub at the end of fermentation with irish moss. I'm no brew scientist, but I'm sure the recipe and water all play into this as well.
 
Also try using a hop bag (if you aren't already) rather than dumping them in the boil, and use a secondary.

The clearest beer I've made I believe got clear because I left it in the secondary for longer that I usually would, and also I let it stay in the bottle longer than I usually would. For most beers I do 10 days in the primary and 2 weeks in the secondary. If I'm wanting the beer to be really clear, I might do 3 weeks in the secondary and 3 weeks in the bottle.
 
Irish moss is seaweed, and looks like dried seaweed. Would be very to measure into small batches. Whirlfloc can be broken or crushed into powder, a little bit goes a long way so adding roughly 1/5th of a tab to 1 gal would surely do the trick. That fast chill really helps too, you will see the protein clump and drop, looks like cooked ground beef. I often forget to add any kettle finings and never use gelatin and most always get clear beer aside from the turbo hoppy or regularly hazy styles.
 
After your beer is done fermenting you can cold crash it for 24 or 48 hours. This will cause most of the yeast to drop out of solution.
 
It doesn't matter if you siphon it or dump it into the primary. All the crud sinks to the bottom with the rest of the trub.

I agree. The trub has never settled in my pot by the time it is to pitching temp, so I just pour it all into the fermenter. The trub sinks to the bottom very quickly once it is in the fermenter (there is a thick layer within 24 hours).
 
As stated above there are three basic factors that contribute to clarity: process, fining agents, and time.

1) process: there is no substitute for proper hot and cold breaks. Much of the traditional brewing process has been built around creating these "breaks" and removing the resulting material. it is possible to make good beer without these traditional steps....and many here will call some of the steps "myths"....but removing the material via "process" can reduce the need for products and time. In particular many will suggest pouring everything from your brew pot into the fermenter...but that will slow fermentation, and require more time for everything to settle out of suspension.
2) irish Moss is cheap, easy, and works. Other products mentioned also work. Clarity-Ferm has not been mentioned here, it is a bit more expensive at $2 per batch, but when used properly makes a huge difference.
3)Time and gravity are your friend! Time will allow all those heavy particles to settle out during fermentation, secondary or lagering, and in the bottle. The more "stuff" left from 1 & 2...the more time needed for gravity to do the work.

There are many ways to make good beer...choose the methods that work for you. My personal preference is to focus on a good vigorous boil, irish moss, and a rapid cool to create a cold break....then leaving most of that mess in the pot. Yes...I lose a little wort volume, but I believe it is worth it.

note: not trying to create a debate...many people dump everything into the fermenter and make excellent beer. Time will remove that material...I just prefer to remove much of it up front. I don't stress about it, but leaving what I can in the pot just makes sense....then time will take care of the remainder.
 
As stated above there are three basic factors that contribute to clarity: process, fining agents, and time.

1) process: there is no substitute for proper hot and cold breaks. Much of the traditional brewing process has been built around creating these "breaks" and removing the resulting material. it is possible to make good beer without these traditional steps....and many here will call some of the steps "myths"....but removing the material via "process" can reduce the need for products and time. In particular many will suggest pouring everything from your brew pot into the fermenter...but that will slow fermentation, and require more time for everything to settle out of suspension.
2) irish Moss is cheap, easy, and works. Other products mentioned also work. Clarity-Ferm has not been mentioned here, it is a bit more expensive at $2 per batch, but when used properly makes a huge difference.
3)Time and gravity are your friend! Time will allow all those heavy particles to settle out during fermentation, secondary or lagering, and in the bottle. The more "stuff" left from 1 & 2...the more time needed for gravity to do the work.

There are many ways to make good beer...choose the methods that work for you. My personal preference is to focus on a good vigorous boil, irish moss, and a rapid cool to create a cold break....then leaving most of that mess in the pot. Yes...I lose a little wort volume, but I believe it is worth it.

How are you able to lose only a little wort volume by leaving most of the trub in the pot? By the time I reach pitching temperature, the protein solids have not even dropped halfway out of suspension in my pot -- I can still see them within a few inches of the top of the wort. Are you just waiting until it settles before transferring and pitching?
 
scottland said:
Irish moss might be easier to work with for a 1 gallon batch. Use 1/4tsp. Throw it in the boil with 10min left

Sounds great! Ill try it next time I brew!
 
Totally off subject but this has come up a few times in the post already. I've been siphoning my wort to my fermenter. Most of you actually POUR your entire pot into your fermenter!?
 
Things that have worked really well for me:

* Filtering
* Gelatin finings and then cold crashing

Things that have worked moderately well for me:

* Whirlfloc tablets and then cold-crashing
* Cold crashing by itself

Things that have not worked well for me after numerous tries:

* Irish moss
* Leaving beer sit in primary for a 4 weeks

I haven't tried Whirlfloc tablets by themselves.
 
Totally off subject but this has come up a few times in the post already. I've been siphoning my wort to my fermenter. Most of you actually POUR your entire pot into your fermenter!?

Yep. I pour my wort through a strainer that fits nicely atop my fermenters. This has the added benefit of really aerating the wort to allow the yeast to get a good start.
 
How are you able to lose only a little wort volume by leaving most of the trub in the pot? By the time I reach pitching temperature, the protein solids have not even dropped halfway out of suspension in my pot -- I can still see them within a few inches of the top of the wort. Are you just waiting until it settles before transferring and pitching?

I don't stress about it....some makes it into the fermenter. I usually stir my pot for about a minute at flameout, then use a wort chiller. I don't stir during cooling, and it takes about 15 to get down to pitching temps. I try not to agitate the pot...and I pour through a stainless mesh strainer. For me the first few gallons pour clear...gallon 3 and 4 have more hop particles in suspension that get caught in the screen. Once I hit the thicker junk...I stop pouring for a moment to allow the last gallon or so to settle...then pour slowly until I hit the thick stuff.
Clearly IPA's and heavily hopped beers have more....and I'll let more stuff get through if my volume is really short. The remaining wort is the heaviest (bummer), but my efficiency is good...and I know I'll be leaving a quart or two in the pot with all the gunk...that is offset by the reduction in trub in the fermenter later.
 
My brew in a bag bag fits nicely over the lip of my fermenter and I pour the entire contents of the brew pot through the bag into the fermenter. That filters a ton of the hops and protein out of the wort before it even hits the fermenter. That does not help with the chill haze but makes harvesting the yeast much nicer:D

You could filter the beer but that opens another can of worms. For me I just admit that my beer is going to beer awesome tasting and awesome looking in a black glass. And if it is important to have the very best looking clear beer a couple of weeks in the fridge and careful pouring will give you a beer as clear as any brewery.

But for me after a sixer or so I really do not care what it looks like I am just happy to be drinking a beer I made
 
Since starting to use Whirlfloc, I've noticed an increase in clarity of my beers. And I don't do anything special other than that. I have notice a much better cold break when using it, but I just lift the pot and pour through a stainless steel strainer, into my fermenter. I don't really worry about whirlpooling or catching too much, I just try to keep as much hop gunk out as the strainer will allow. I have had friends comment lately on how clear my beer has been, "I thought homebrew was supposed to be cloudy."

As others have said though, basic cold crash and time will clear the beer. These are just all little additions that will allow it to do it faster.
 
Totally off subject but this has come up a few times in the post already. I've been siphoning my wort to my fermenter. Most of you actually POUR your entire pot into your fermenter!?

I siphon and try to leave most of the break behind in the kettle. But there's no harm in dumping it all into the fermenter, you'll just end up with a lot more trub in the fermenter at all.
 
I'm gonna chime in here again about something I've been noticing in my batches.

I don't always use gelatin to clear. I'll use it depending on the beer I'm making. Now that I have a combination of many batches that have aged for different periods of time in the bottle and many of which have been cold conditioned for periods of weeks and months, I am noticing that the batches that were treated with gelatin have inconsistent carbonation between bottles.

My process for bottling is the same for every batch. I make a corn sugar syrup and add it to the bottling bucket as I'm racking from the fermentor. I'll swirl the beer around and let it rest for a bit so that the priming sugar mixes well throughout the entire batch. The only difference is that some batches were treated with gelatin before bottling and others weren't. The ones with gelatin have inconsistent carbonation while the ones without gelatin are equally carbonated from bottle to bottle. Also, the ones with gelatin leave a loose, gunky sediment in the bottle, while the ones without gelatin have a hard packed sediment. I can pour more beer out without sediment in the bottles that were not treated with gelatin. The ones with gelatin require me to leave more beer behind, if I do not want to get sediment in my glass. However, the ones with gelatin always pour clearer, no matter what.
 
I'm gonna chime in here again about something I've been noticing in my batches.

I don't always use gelatin to clear. I'll use it depending on the beer I'm making. Now that I have a combination of many batches that have aged for different periods of time in the bottle and many of which have been cold conditioned for periods of weeks and months, I am noticing that the batches that were treated with gelatin have inconsistent carbonation between bottles.

My process for bottling is the same for every batch. I make a corn sugar syrup and add it to the bottling bucket as I'm racking from the fermentor. I'll swirl the beer around and let it rest for a bit so that the priming sugar mixes well throughout the entire batch. The only difference is that some batches were treated with gelatin before bottling and others weren't. The ones with gelatin have inconsistent carbonation while the ones without gelatin are equally carbonated from bottle to bottle. Also, the ones with gelatin leave a loose, gunky sediment in the bottle, while the ones without gelatin have a hard packed sediment. I can pour more beer out without sediment in the bottles that were not treated with gelatin. The ones with gelatin require me to leave more beer behind, if I do not want to get sediment in my glass. However, the ones with gelatin always pour clearer, no matter what.

So what's more important, clear beer or more beer?
 
So what's more important, clear beer or more beer?

What's important is good beer.

There are some batches where I just don't want the taste of yeast that has not flocculated and others where I like the yeast flavor to be part of the beer. The aesthetics influences the taste for me, but a flat beer is never as good as a properly carbonated beer. I think chill haze can be easily controlled without gelatin, especially when I use whirfloc or irish moss and properly cool my beer after the boil. In my opinion, serving temp should not be near freezing for most beers. Served at 40F or above and most problems with chill haze disappear for me. The problem with hazy beer for me has been using mostly US-05, which is a poorly flocculating yeast. I'm talking about 1 month in the primary with a cold crash and there is still some haze from the yeast. Lately, I have been playing around with English strains which flocculate much better. I'm enjoying WLP005 right now. WLP002 and WLP007 are nice strains too when they are fermented cooler at around 58-62F and pitched at the proper pitch rate. Above 65F, and I just don't like the esters they kick off, but maybe that's me nitpicking.

I have an English bitter dry hopping right now. I used whirfloc during the boil and cooled quickly but I'm staying away from the gelatin this time. I'm hoping the WLP005 will produce a nice clear beer.
 
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