Chill haze, even after fining?

I brewed a Kölsch and went out of my way to get it as clear as possible (given certain time requirements). I used a teaspoon of Irish moss. It sat in primary for 10 days, then secondary for a week. It then went into a temp. control chamber at 40F for three weeks. About four days before bottling, I used gelatin for fining purposes, following these instructions: http://www.bertusbrewery.com/2012/06/how-to-clear-your-beer-with-gelatin.html

When I bottled it, it was magnificently clear. I occasionally wasn't even sure if a bottle had beer in it or not. But when I chill them before serving, they get that same chill haze. What gives?

Chill haze has to do with dissolved proteins & how fast you chill the hot wort. Fining agents don't take out all the proteins, or you'd get no head. And if you get what looks like chill haze in the fridge, & it doesn't clear up, it's likely protein haze from incomplete conversion in the mash.

Hmm. I get my wort from boiling to 70F in approximately 20 minutes with an immersion chiller. I have no idea if that is good or not.

I've been doing some reading, and it sounds like the proteins that cause chill haze will eventually settle to the bottom of the bottle. Is it possible I waited too long after chilling to add the gelatin in secondary?

I chill my wort down to 75F or so, then strain into the fermenter & top off with cold spring water to 65F or so. This rapid 10 degree drop can also give a cold break. I've never used gelatin, but I assume it's added to the fermenter, then chilled. Giving the beer 5-7 days in the fridge in bottles will give any chill haze a chance to form & settle.

Do you use a kettle fining like whirlfloc or irish moss? These can have a big effect on reducing chill haze.

As for myself, yeah, when I remember to add it. What say you, OP?

At the risk of sounding snarky, I answered that (Irish moss) in my original post.

Calypso said:

At the risk of sounding snarky, I answered that (Irish moss) in my original post.

Click to expand...

Now I feel kind of silly! Sorry!

To get the all of the chill have out you have to chill it until the proteins coagulate, it gets cloudy, then you have to filter it.

I always thought of the protein as extra nutrition!

All the Best,
D. White

From what I hear chilling the beer then adding a fining agent like gelatin can help remove the proteins associated with chill haze. I don't have it as an issue myself so can't say much to it, but I use a CF chiller so any given amount of wort goes from boiling to 60F in the span of maybe 10-20s so I always wind up with tonnes of cold break material. One of these days I'd like to get a pump going to try to move more through it vs gravity and maybe reduce the water usage as I wind up in the range of ~10G to chill 5-6G or wort.

I've noticed that when using Whirlfloc, it not only gives a good cold break when the chilled water is added, but also makes for less chill haze. Even though I still use an ice bath, the Whirlfloc does seem to make for clearer beer after all is said & done.