Clarifying

My beer has been in the secondary for 10 days and is still cloudy. Is there a process to clarify the brew, or is it even necessary? The recipe is a light pale and I used crystal and cracked corn that seems to have made it cloudy with sediment.

Just wait it out another week or so. If possible put it in your garage. If your in the north it will be colder and help sediment drop out of suspension. You could also use some irish moss in your next brew and that will help greatly.

Actually, I am up north, Idaho. It's been getting down in the 40 degree ranges at night, maybe even colder.

Will that hurt the beer?

No, get it as close to freezing as you can. Give it a couple of days at the lower temp and the yeast should drop out quite a bit. If you don't notice much difference after a few days let it sit for a few more. This method is called crash cooling and is common with ales. I did this with my first beer and its pretty darn clear!

realestatecat said:

My beer has been in the secondary for 10 days and is still cloudy. Is there a process to clarify the brew, or is it even necessary? The recipe is a light pale and I used crystal and cracked corn that seems to have made it cloudy with sediment.

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The issue comes almost certanly from impatience. Wait two weeks so that the beer has had truly ample time to clear up. This is why they call it the "Bright" or "Clear" tank. Then, if you can, crash cold the carboy for 48 hours to encourage other stuff to settle immediately prior to bottling. You will have nicely clear beer to serve or you can just serve it in pewter tankards. It will taste the same.

On future batches you can use stuff like seaweed or fish bladders or shredded plastic or jello to clear.

A silly point to bring up so late in the conversation. Is this a wheat beer? If so, then forget about it clearing. Its not suposed to.

It's just a light pale.

I used some crystal and cracked corn and then some other things and added some other stuff.

realestatecat said:

It's just a light pale.

I used some crystal and cracked corn and then some other things and added some other stuff.

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Corn "and other things and other stuff" probably gave you quite a starch haze. That may not clear. Just drink it in ceramic mugs.