Beer Cloudy and Sediment

So my beer is a Midwest Autumn Ale Kit from Midwest Supply. I have had the beer in the Primary bucket for 2 weeks and 3 days. I have checked the FG and both times it has been 1.013 which is good. So my questions is why is my beer so cloudy and why is there so much sediment. What can I do to clean this beer up. I plan on bottling on this sunday. I have also included pictures.

FYI It is starting to taste good

Pictures of cloudy beer & sediment

http://autumnalebeerpics.shutterfly.com/pictures/12

The longer it sits the clearer it will become. I usually let my beers sit at least 3 weeks in the primary and often longer. If your really in a hurry (and I would encourage you not to be....) you can cold crash the primary. Put the bucket in the fridge a few days before you bottle and the beer will clear. The price you pay for doing this (since your bottling) is it will take longer for the bottles to carb because a lot of the yeast will 'fall out' with the sediment. Sorta a catch 22. Let it be, and it will clear itself.

It looks like yeast in suspension to me. You can either give it another week or two to clear on its own, or you can try cold crashing. If you want really clear beer do both.

Some beers and yeasts just take longer to clear than others. Two weeks isn't all that long. Let it sit another week, then cold crash.

I often give my ale 4 weeks to ferment and clean up after themselves in the primary. This time will help more of the sediment to fall into the trub. You might also try cold crashing your beer in the fermenting bucket for 24-48 hours prior to bottling. This will help give some clarity to your brew. I do this in my attched garage where the temp is in the 40's this time of year.

You can also add plain gelatin to the primary if cold crashing is not an option. I had a Belgian tripel that was cloudy and it cleared up in 24hours. Then I bottle conditioned with no carb problems.

D0ug said:

It looks like yeast in suspension to me. You can either give it another week or two to clear on its own, or you can try cold crashing. If you want really clear beer do both.

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Do you think my yeast is in suspension because my room temp is 59 degrees ?

I think that the 59 degrees might be causing things to progress slightly more slowly than you might expect, which means more time would definitely help. This is not neccesarily a bad thing, although that is getting close to the bottom end of temperatures for most ale yeasts, as I have usually preferred the products of cooler fermentations rather than warmer. This does mean that your beer definitely needs more time though.

You don't need to cold crash or use gelatin, especially if this is your first batch (which I'm assuming it is.) Wait another week and a half and then bottle your beer. It will clear up in the 3 weeks it takes to carbonate.

bluepaddle said:

Do you think my yeast is in suspension because my room temp is 59 degrees ?

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No, this is just par for the course. The yeast propagate through out the beer during the active fermentation, then as they finish up they slowly start to go dormant and fall out of suspension.

cklages is right, the coolish(for an ale) temp just means everything will take a little longer.

BrookDale has a point too, with your first brews it is good to focus on the basics and get those down. Gelatin can be messed up if not done correctly, I don't think you can mess up cold crashing though, unless you freeze the beer inadvertently. Just move the primary to a cold area (~35*F) for 24-48 hours before bottling.

You really want to be patient though, the beer will do good things if you can leave it. The longer you can leave it, the more it will clear on its own. A couple of more weeks in primary before bottling should leave you with very little sediment in your beer after bottle conditioning. It will also take care of any green beer or other potential off flavors.

Yes this is my first batch and so if I keep the beer on the primary longer the sediment on the top and throughout the beer should fall to the bottom of the beer ? And after that I can cold crash the primary to insure a clearer beer once the sediment falls to the bottom. I know this is my first batch I am just trying to ensure no sediment in my beer as possible.

Seriously, I wouldn't worry about trying cold crash just yet unless you have a spare fridge. You can cold crash in the bottle once they're carbonated. It's much easier to put a few bottles in the firdge for a few days than it is to move your entire primary in there.

Just make sure you rack carefully when you transfer to the bottling bucket. Try to keep your siphon just below the surface of your beer and try your best to not suck up any of the trub (but it's not the end of the world if you do.) That will do more to keep your beer clear than cold crashing or gelatin will.