Pilsner is cloudy in secondary.

Ok i just put my pilsner into secondary. I know that it will be cloudy for a bit but I am wondering if cold crashing would help to clear it out more.

When should I Cold Crash it? It was in primary for 1 week and just went to secondary last night. I would really like to get it as clear as possible. My dad is giving me a hard way to go because he wanted to filter it when we went to primary I told him we needed everything so it turned out right. Now he is really reaming me about it being cloudy in secondary?

This is my first brew. So far everything has went as planned I just need some advice.

First Off Tell your dad to make his own beer if he wants to do it his way.
Secondly it's okay to filter going into Primary, Wouldn't use a water filter, but a thin mesh pasta strainer just to remove hot/cold break and hop sludge.
To answer your question, Cold Crashing will definitely help clear it. You may notice however, your secondary rouse back up and start bubbling again.
1 week is really too early to move to secondary. Was there a specific reason you did this? Although Fermentation may ahve reach it's FG, the yeast still have a lot of work to do going back and cleaning up after themselves. This can help cloudiness but more importantly they can clean up some off flavors the may have produced.

Cold crash it for a few days to a couple weeks before bottling day.
Next time leave it in the primary for a couple weeks.

Ok thanks I have done alot of reading on this forum and others. I was the 1-2-3 process and it seemed to make sense. I have heard allot of people say to not go to secondary but it seems that its the same ones saying it over and over. There are still yet several people stating that the 1-2-3 will work just fine.

As I stated this is my first brew and pretty much anyone on here probally has more experience than I do. I guess what I'm asking now is did I mess my brew up? I hope I didn't. I plan on putting it in the fridge today and letting it sit there for about 2 weeks. I hit my OG (1.049) and my FG (1.012) right on.

I will definently leave it in primary longer next time. But have I totally screwed up?

mjackson said:

Ok thanks I have done alot of reading on this forum and others. I was the 1-2-3 process and it seemed to make sense. I have heard allot of people say to not go to secondary but it seems that its the same ones saying it over and over. There are still yet several people stating that the 1-2-3 will work just fine.

As I stated this is my first brew and pretty much anyone on here probally has more experience than I do. I guess what I'm asking now is did I mess my brew up? I hope I didn't. I plan on putting it in the fridge today and letting it sit there for about 2 weeks. I hit my OG (1.049) and my FG (1.012) right on.

I will definently leave it in primary longer next time. But have I totally screwed up?

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With a pilsner, or any lager, the 1-2-3 method cannot be used (and I wouldn't really recommend it for any beer, beer is alive and works at it's own pace). Lagers tend to take about twice as long and need twice as much yeast, require specific temperature control and attention to brewing practices. Lagers are definitely not beers I would recommend to the beginner.

From your description, it doesn't sound like it was a lager though, which means it isn't a pilsner, perhaps a blonde ale. Was this fermented cold or room temp? Either way, you need to wait a couple weeks before deciding it's too cloudy, time usually clears beers out.

BarleyWater said:

With a pilsner, or any lager, the 1-2-3 method cannot be used (and I wouldn't really recommend it for any beer, beer is alive and works at it's own pace). Lagers tend to take about twice as long and need twice as much yeast, require specific temperature control and attention to brewing practices. Lagers are definitely not beers I would recommend to the beginner.

From your description, it doesn't sound like it was a lager though, which means it isn't a pilsner, perhaps a blonde ale. Was this fermented cold or room temp? Either way, you need to wait a couple weeks before deciding it's too cloudy, time usually clears beers out.

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Good Catch, *smacks self in forehead for not paying attention*

No, you didn't screw up too much. You're just too eager.

Tell your "dad" the purpose of a secondary (is not fermentation) is for clearing.

It's at this stage the clearing begins...AFTER the fermentation is done in the primary.

Forget the 123 method and use your hydrometer as a guide to make all your racking and bottling decisions.

mjackson said:

I will definently leave it in primary longer next time. But have I totally screwed up?

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Not at all....there is not just one correct way to make beer. The 1-2-3 method is an approach that will yield good ales. The thing with lagers is they can take longer to ferment and age. Main reason being is they are in colder temps, so the yeast are slower. This yields more subtle/crisp flavors over ales.

Since this is a Pilsner, racking it to secondary after a week might be too early....but you can always keep it at optimum fermentation temp (keep it at the recommended temp of your yeast manufacturer) for another week before lagering it. When you lager, it should help clear it. I'm an ale person myself....but I get good results with just using whirlflock tablets, doing a normal conditioning of beer, then cold crashing. Everything turns out pretty clear.

The main adage that gets used a lot is not to rack until you have at least 2 days of the same gravity reading.

But the main concern here is if you are brewing this like an ale instead of a lager....colder temps and slower fermenting/conditioning times are important for getting a clear lager.

Ok I am sorry i wasn't more clear. I pitched Nottingham dry yeast. I was really suprised at how fast and vigarous the fermentation was. It was only about 2 hours and my blow off container was freaking getting with it. bubbles had stopped after 4 days. I mean stopped I watched it for like an hour its almost like watching paint dry, except i wanted to drink this. Then on the 6th and 7th days I took gravity reading and both were at 1.012. Later on the 7th day i decided to rack to secondary because yes i am eager . I went ahead and check gravity a final time this was about 14 hours after the last reading and it was still 1.012.

So I need to let it sit in secondary at room temperature for about another week and then cold crash it. Is this the general consensus?

Also how long should I cold crash it for.

Again I am new to all of this. Hopefully things will get easier.

mjackson said:

I pitched Nottingham dry yeast. I was really suprised at how fast and vigarous the fermentation was.

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OK....then you're not making a Pilsner. Nottingham is an ale yeast....and if fermentation was really quick, I gather your fermentation temp was close to 70 degrees. If you're using lager type ingredients, maybe the closest style you're making is California Common

Since you are a beginner to brewing, I wouldn't be concerned with cold crashing. I find cold crashing helps with kegging.....with bottling, you have 3 stages where sediment settles out (primary, secondary, and in bottles). Next time use Irish Moss or a Whirlfock tablet during your boil, as they help more particles fall into your sediment. Go ahead and condition for 2 weeks, then bottle for 3. You'll find that aging the beer also clears it as well. Get to other methods (cold crashing, gelatin, filtering) after you've tried the 1-2-3 method

ok so let me get this straight. I shouldn't cold crash if i am going to bottle is this correct?

No you can cold crash. Personally I would leave it in the secondary for 2 weeks or so in the hopes that it clears more. Then cold crash and bottle.

Ant

mjackson said:

ok so let me get this straight. I shouldn't cold crash if i am going to bottle is this correct?

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No, I'm not saying you shouldn't....just that it's not necessary. The best way to clear up the beer is let it sit in your secondary.

Ok guys I'm sorry to be such a pain. I guess we all have to learn sometimes. I read and read about leaving it alone but when it comes down to it thats the hardest thing in the world.

Well if you ever want to make a true lager/pils then waiting is the name of the game. I have had lagers that went as long as 6-8 months in the fridge. Not because they needed it, but because I was being lazy.

BTW they were some of the best beers I have ever made.

Ant

mjackson said:

I read and read about leaving it alone but when it comes down to it thats the hardest thing in the world.

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I know....you want to start drinking right now! Well this hobby can get expensive....including the need to buy good microbrews while you're waiting for your beer to finish. So...get some 6 packs to tied you over....also start thinking about making another batch soon

We used a German Pilsner kit from Monster Brew for the first batch. It contained a dry ale yeast and the fermentation temp was around 70. So this was kind of a fake lager - ie an ale made to resemble a pilsner. One week in the bottle at present. My partner in crime sampled one and he said it was surprisingly good. So not all that glitters is lager!