Dasbootjoe
Member
Is the main cause of cloudy beer fermentation temperature and what temp you pitch at? Or are there other things that can cause cloudy beer...
Just curious ...thanks new homebrewer
Just curious ...thanks new homebrewer
Cloudy beer?
- Thread starter Dasbootjoe
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A cloudy beer can be caused by several things, most commonly from the presence of cold break in the beer (i.e., chill haze). Another 'cause' can be from the usage of wheat malt, which is a desired cloudiness. Yeast can also be the cause.
More on chill haze: http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter7-4.html
Another thread on this: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/what-causes-cloudy-beer-99880/
More on chill haze: http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter7-4.html
Another thread on this: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/what-causes-cloudy-beer-99880/
I don't think it has anything to do with fermentation temperature. If you have cloudy beer, there are several possibilities depending on your methods.
1. Yeast is still in the beer. Some yeast strains drop right out - many british strains are like this - and some stay in suspension for a long time - such as many belgian strains. This can be solved by leaving the beer in fermenters for longer, and by letting the beer age properly in the bottle before opening. Finings can also help, though beer tends to benefit from more aging anyways so I would suggest just waiting longer. Take care not to disturb the yeast cake when pouring the beer - pour slowly, and leave the last small amount in the bottle. You can see in the pouring stream when the yeast starts to come out of the bottle.
2. Chill haze. This is caused by proteins in the beer, which precipitate out of solution at cold temperature. If chill haze is the problem, the haze appears when the beer is cold and disappears as it warms up. This is a common 'problem' in homebrews, but doesn't really affect anything other than appearance. Many just accept it as a fact of homebrewing; those determined to get rid of it use long secondaries, finings, protein rests during mash, proteases....lots of things. I've never really bothered with chill haze, so I'll let other repliers deal with this issue if that's your problem. Again, you can see if the cloudiness is chill haze if it's only present at cold temps.
3. Starch. If you're an all-grain brewer, you can get starch in the beer if you don't mash properly. Check temps, and make sure you mash long enough.
4. Some combination of the above. You might need to deal with multiple factors before you get clear beer. So if one thing doesn't solve the problem, don't necessarily stop doing it; try it in conjunction with other approaches.
Misc: some beer styles are meant to be cloudy. Don't try to make them clear. A pretty good way to get clear beer in all cases is to put the bottles in a place where they will be very cold - near freezing, ideally - for a month. Then pour carefully.
1. Yeast is still in the beer. Some yeast strains drop right out - many british strains are like this - and some stay in suspension for a long time - such as many belgian strains. This can be solved by leaving the beer in fermenters for longer, and by letting the beer age properly in the bottle before opening. Finings can also help, though beer tends to benefit from more aging anyways so I would suggest just waiting longer. Take care not to disturb the yeast cake when pouring the beer - pour slowly, and leave the last small amount in the bottle. You can see in the pouring stream when the yeast starts to come out of the bottle.
2. Chill haze. This is caused by proteins in the beer, which precipitate out of solution at cold temperature. If chill haze is the problem, the haze appears when the beer is cold and disappears as it warms up. This is a common 'problem' in homebrews, but doesn't really affect anything other than appearance. Many just accept it as a fact of homebrewing; those determined to get rid of it use long secondaries, finings, protein rests during mash, proteases....lots of things. I've never really bothered with chill haze, so I'll let other repliers deal with this issue if that's your problem. Again, you can see if the cloudiness is chill haze if it's only present at cold temps.
3. Starch. If you're an all-grain brewer, you can get starch in the beer if you don't mash properly. Check temps, and make sure you mash long enough.
4. Some combination of the above. You might need to deal with multiple factors before you get clear beer. So if one thing doesn't solve the problem, don't necessarily stop doing it; try it in conjunction with other approaches.
Misc: some beer styles are meant to be cloudy. Don't try to make them clear. A pretty good way to get clear beer in all cases is to put the bottles in a place where they will be very cold - near freezing, ideally - for a month. Then pour carefully.
Dasbootjoe
Member
Thanks guys! Great info...
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