Best way to clarify beer?

What's the best way to clarify beer? Not necessisarily the fastest, cheepest, easiest or anything, but what gives the best results?

For me:

Rack to a secondary after 2-3 weeks in a primary (depending on the beer.)

Add 1 Tbs of dissolved gelatin to the secondary.

Give the secondary 5-7 days to condition and clear.

Cold crash the beer in a keg for 7-10 days and serve.

For me:

Use whirlfloc in the boil. Chill the wort as quickly as possible. Leave in the fermenter for several weeks, then keg. I never use anything else for finings, and have crystal clear beer.

YooperBrew said:

For me:

Use whirlfloc in the boil. Chill the wort as quickly as possible. Leave in the fermenter for several weeks, then keg. I never use anything else for finings, and have crystal clear beer.

Click to expand...

Oh yeah... I forgot the whirfloc.

Irish moss in the boil, immersion chiller to cool wort, cold crash for 3 or more days in primary or secondary.

When using Whirfloc, do you leave the trub in the bottom of the boil kettle?

I have been pouring the entire contents into my ale pail for mixing, using a nylon grain bag to filter it in the process. I think I need to leave the crud in the bottom of the kettle.

+1 on the whirlfloc...after I started using it I noticed a marked change in clarity.

Cheers

let it sit around for 8-12 months

sirsloop said:

let it sit around for 8-12 months

Click to expand...

Hmmm, you must be doing some beers at least above 8%....

1) Good rolling boil for the hotbreak
2) Whirlfloc
3) Cold Break
4) Gelatin
5) Cool down into the 30's for a week before kegging/bottling
6) Time

All of these will help produce clear beer.

GT

ericd said:

Hmmm, you must be doing some beers at least above 8%....

Click to expand...

I have many low gravity beers (milds, scottish ales, pale ales) that are more then a year old are still very tasty and are crystal clear. Sanitation is key.

GT

To answer the OP, filtration. This is the only single measure that removes biomass (makes it clear now) and chill proofs (keeps it clear for a long time).

A combination of finings for yeast and either the protein or polyphenol side of chill haze would be an alternative

one that hasn't been mentioned, possibly for good reason, is a protein rest. it's basically a step mash in your all grain or partial mash around 130ish for 20-30 minutes that's designed to break down large proteins, especially in beers that have a large proportion of adjuncts or undermodified malts.

it's generally not recommended unless you see a need in a particular recipe, partially because it complicates things and partially because it's said to thin out the body of a beer.

i never do them, and i regularly get crystal clear beer. my method is a single infusion mash with well modified malt (i.e. pretty much any malt available these days). i cool the wort quickly after the boil, ferment in the primary for three weeks and then transfer to the keg. when it's ready to carb i keep it for a week at around 35 degrees.

things like finings and filtration are effective but i've found them to be unnecessary for my purposes. occasionally i do get a somewhat hazy beer but it doesn't seem to affect the flavor so i don't mind. if i were entering a competition things might be different, but i'd still say i can read the newspaper through 90 percent of my beers with just quick chilling and time.

good luck figuring out what works for you!

Over the last few years I have developed some kind of intolerance to live yeast and started cold filtering all of mine with my minijet filter and #3 pads. They remove most of the yeast and chill haze. I force carbonate in kegs. Most of my problems are avoided.

Cheers,
Paul

remilard said:

To answer the OP, filtration. This is the only single measure that removes biomass (makes it clear now) and chill proofs (keeps it clear for a long time).

A combination of finings for yeast and either the protein or polyphenol side of chill haze would be an alternative

Click to expand...

remilard said:

To answer the OP, filtration. This is the only single measure that removes biomass (makes it clear now) and chill proofs (keeps it clear for a long time).

A combination of finings for yeast and either the protein or polyphenol side of chill haze would be an alternative

Click to expand...

Whatever you do, don't tell my beer about this. Because right now it comes out as clear as any BMC at any temp. My beer has never seen a filter. Never will.

IMHO the best ways to get a clear beer is:
1. Boil vigorously - gives a good hot break
2. Cool quickly - gives a good cold break
3. Use a highly flocculant yeast like WLP 002 or Wyeast 1968
4. Don't cool below 55F

Works great for English beers

-a.

ericd said:

Hmmm, you must be doing some beers at least above 8%....

Click to expand...

indeed :rockin:

dontman said:

Whatever you do, don't tell my beer about this. Because right now it comes out as clear as any BMC at any temp. My beer has never seen a filter. Never will.

Click to expand...

How do you know it is as clear as Budweiser? Subjective judgment? Because about half the people here claim to brew beer better than anything commercially available. Oh yeah, they all bench press 250 and their kids are the smartest in their class as well.

john from dc said:

it's generally not recommended unless you see a need in a particular recipe, partially because it complicates things and partially because it's said to thin out the body of a beer.

Click to expand...

A protein rest can actually add body, as it cleaves non-soluble proteins into soluble proteins and peptides that add mouthfeel structure and assist head retention. Those non-soluble proteins do not add body, as they just break and settle out. Go long enough with your rest, and you can thin it out.

As far as clarifying beer? It depends on what you want for "best" and what you are trying to clear.

The Quickest: filtering.

The Cheapest: time at cold temperatures.

The Quicker and Cheaper Alternative to Filtering and Time: fining agents (such as Whirfloc, gelatin, Polyclar, isinglass, etc.)

Personally, I use Whirlfloc in every batch. I used to use Irish moss, and that worked well, but Whirlfloc works better and is easy to measure (i.e., it's a tablet). For lagers, I use nothing else, as a couple months of lagering at 34F will clear just about anything that needs clearing.

For ales, I will use gelatin if I want something clear quickly (i.e., for a party, competition, or something like that). Otherwise, I use nothing but time and temperature.


TL

Who uses isinglass? I've got two packets of it because my LHBS recommended it to me but because it's made from fish guts I'm afraid to use it.

bernerbits said:

Who uses isinglass? I've got two packets of it because my LHBS recommended it to me but because it's made from fish guts I'm afraid to use it.

Click to expand...

And Whirlfloc is algae.

I've used it. Works like a champ.

bernerbrau said:

Who uses isinglass? I've got two packets of it because my LHBS recommended it to me but because it's made from fish guts I'm afraid to use it.

Click to expand...

Then you really don't want to know where gelatin comes from!

stubbornman said:

Then you really don't want to know where gelatin comes from!

Click to expand...

LOL

Serve in an opaque glass!

Had good experience with whirfloc.

could try clarity ferm...as a side benefit apparently it makes the beer almost gluten free without any effect on taste. Stumbled on to it when SWMBO's friend asked me to try and brew something gluten free.
Got mine cheap here

http://www.rebelbrewer.com/shoppingcart/products/White-Labs-Clarity-Ferm.html

Got Trub? said:

1) Good rolling boil for the hotbreak
2) Whirlfloc
3) Cold Break
4) Gelatin
5) Cool down into the 30's for a week before kegging/bottling
6) Time

All of these will help produce clear beer.

GT

Click to expand...

And...

7) Sed Ex Brewing


http://sedexbrewing.com/

I haven't used clarifiers yet but, I did notice a huge improvement in clarity when I added a 20 minute protein rest. I generally get good breaks and I always filter out the trub when transferring to the primary.


Here's a picture of a california common I made using a protein rest. The rest was the only change I made in the brewing process, though it's possible the yeast helped improve clarity as well.
I did transfer to a secondary but, it didn't enhance the clarity any further in this case.

Most of the time, I only use Whirlfloc in the boil, but there were a bunch of beers that I used filtration for, including a wood aged beer that won a bronze medal and got commented on with its clarity, even at 9% and a couple months of age. I'm probably going to do filtration for most of my beers in the future.