What Caused This?

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CTS

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So today is day 16 in the bottle. I got home from work this morning and put one in the fridge for tonight. I went to take it out and looked way more cloudy then when I put it in. So I went and grabbed a warm one and yup....the warm one is more clear.

The beer is a Prairie Wheat. So what causes this?

IMG00244.jpg
 
that is a very clear wheat! I think chill haze may be the culprit in the cold one. Also why are you bottling in plastic?
 
It's called chill-haze. I haven't brewed a wheat beer, but I have the same problem with my all barley pale ales. The good thing is that after a couple of weeks in the fridge, that haze settles out and the beer clears. After three or four weeks in the fridge, my beers are crystal clear again. Lots of info on HBT about this subject; what causes it, how to avoid it or get rid of it, etc. It doesn't bother me - I just leave the beers in the refrigerator long enough for it to clear
 
shamrockdoc said:
that is a very clear wheat! I think chill haze may be the culprit in the cold one. Also why are you bottling in plastic?
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Thanks, Ya I was shocked at how clear it is myself. As for the plastic bottles that is what they sold me at the Brew store.....just bought everything at once. Is there any negatives to plastic? I have to drink more Sam Adams for the bottles I guess...haha.

DeafSmith said:
It's called chill-haze. I haven't brewed a wheat beer, but I have the same problem with my all barley pale ales. The good thing is that after a couple of weeks in the fridge, that haze settles out and the beer clears. After three or four weeks in the fridge, my beers are crystal clear again. Lots of info on HBT about this subject; what causes it, how to avoid it or get rid of it, etc. It doesn't bother me - I just leave the beers in the refrigerator long enough for it to clear
Click to expand...

Thanks, i will definitely search chill haze. The cloudiness does not bother me either....was just more curious. Another week in the bottle and the beer should be good to go.....much better then day 8 that is for sure.
 
CTS said:
I have to drink more Sam Adams for the bottles I guess...haha.
Click to expand...

I am a big fan of Amber Bock. That stuff is like the nectar of the commercial gods.......... but anywho, they are fairly cheap and I like their bottles to reuse.
 
Yup its chill haze. The best way to prevent chill haze is to chill the wort down from a boil to pitching temps as fast as possible (with the use of Imersion coolers or counter flow coolers). By chilling the wort faster the chill haze causing proteins precipitate out of solution. After this it is quite difficult to remove chill haze effectively. One method could be to use fining agents while the chill haze is present to help remove the proteins.

Also chill haze is more of a cosmetic issue and does not really affect taste. In long term storage the chill haze causing proteins could cause stability problems but that is only if you are storing them for a long time.
 
cwaite37 said:
I am a big fan of Amber Bock. That stuff is like the nectar of the commercial gods.......... but anywho, they are fairly cheap and I like their bottles to reuse.
Click to expand...

I have only found the winter ale and the regular lager. But after going to there website......wow I have a lot of beers to try. Hopefully we can get the majority of the different types up here. I love this beer, it has got to be one of my favorites.

Bigjuicy said:
Yup its chill haze. The best way to prevent chill haze is to chill the wort down from a boil to pitching temps as fast as possible (with the use of Imersion coolers or counter flow coolers). By chilling the wort faster the chill haze causing proteins precipitate out of solution. After this it is quite difficult to remove chill haze effectively. One method could be to use fining agents while the chill haze is present to help remove the proteins.

Also chill haze is more of a cosmetic issue and does not really affect taste. In long term storage the chill haze causing proteins could cause stability problems but that is only if you are storing them for a long time.
Click to expand...

This is a brewhouse beer kit....so I'm guessing that is the problem from the factory (for a lack of better terms)
 
Chill haze can also be caused by rushing the beer off the yeast cake too quickly and not allowing the yeast to clean up after itself (and the proteins to fall out of suspension). Give your beers several weeks in primary to help avoid this in the future. With that said, many actually prefer a hazy wheat beer since it is one of the typical hallmarks of that style.
 
Ya I kinda want the hazy appearance due to the fact that it is a wheat beer.

Thanks for the primary tip.....it was only there for 5 days then I moved it to the secondary. Impatient mistake i guess!
 
Cold crashing is used to get rid of haze, isn't it? So I don't understand this phenomena where you get haze in the cold.
 
ed_brews_now said:
Cold crashing is used to get rid of haze, isn't it? So I don't understand this phenomena where you get haze in the cold.
Click to expand...

Cold crashing is used to drop particles that are already solid and in suspension. The haze is caused when proteins that are dissolved in the solution precipitate a little bit and create a haze. Think about the proteins as if they were salt in water. The salt water solution is clear when it is hot but some of the salt may precipitate out when the temperature is dropped
 
Smokeater233 said:
Chill haze can also be caused by rushing the beer off the yeast cake too quickly and not allowing the yeast to clean up after itself (and the proteins to fall out of suspension). Give your beers several weeks in primary to help avoid this in the future. With that said, many actually prefer a hazy wheat beer since it is one of the typical hallmarks of that style.
Click to expand...


unlike children, yeasts will clean up after themselves if given the chance...

my suggestion to all beginning brewers is to always keep two batches rotating (one fermenting and another ready to brew), that way your not going crazy watching the airlock and making mistakes guided by impatience.

...although i still stare at the airlock and even talk to my fermenting wort...
 

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