clarity sucks...

[Big_Chin]

so I finally popped open a bottle from my very first brew immediately noticed it's murky brown. is this normal or did I mess up somewhere along the line? it tastes fine to me, no sediment on the tongue, just looks like a milkshake. it's a bass ale clone btw, tastes pretty similar which was my only real concern.

any advice on how to correct this?

 

[superfluent]

so I finally popped open a bottle from my very first brew immediately noticed it's murky brown. is this normal or did I mess up somewhere along the line? it tastes fine to me, no sediment on the tongue, just looks like a milkshake. it's a bass ale clone btw, tastes pretty similar which was my only real concern.

any advice on how to correct this?

The important thing is that it tastes good!

However, if clarity is important to you, you could try using irish moss (or any of the other flocking agent available out there) in the boil. Cooling rapidly (with say an immersion chiller) helps the cold break and supposedly helps clarity. Use whirlpooling and good siphoning technique to leave as much of the trub out of the FV as possible. Once it is done fermenting and conditioning (primary/secondary fermentation) you can "cold-crash" (cooling the beer as rapidly you can to as close to freezing point you dare) the beer for a day or two to force the suspended yeast and any residual proteins to drop out of suspension and settle on the bottom of the FV.

For me the cold crashing was the key to getting clear looking beer.

If you carbonate using sugar you'll get some trub in each bottle so the last piece of the equation is to poor the beer gently, leaving the trub in the bottle.

H

 

[BlindLemonLars]

So long as your beer tastes good, you didn't "mess up," but there are ways of achieving clearer beer. If you tell us your recipe and brewing procedures/times, we can help you better.

Generally speaking, clarity comes with time. I usually don't even consider drinking my beers until at least three months after the brew date. By then, they are always crystal clear.

 

[blacklab]

did you use irish moss, whirlfloc, or any other fining agent? you add these with 15 minutes left in the boil and they help the protein(the stuff you see in the beer) drop out.

There's many things you can do to achieve clear beer, here's a few;

-Irish moss/whirlfloc
-a fast cold break(the faster you cool the wort after the boil, the more crap will drop out). You need a immersion or counterflow chiller to achieve this. Or lots of ice for an ice bath.
-cold crash the secondary vessel AFTER fermentation is complete(fridge/cold garage)
-gelatin finings if you're kegging

Searching for any of the above on the forums will return many threads with info.

Also, the longer you keep it in the fridge, the more protein will fall out in each bottle. Your last bottle of this batch will likely be the clearest.

Also - you joined June 2007 and this is your first brew? You gotta get some more brew days in, brotha!

 

[Eves]

Condition time in the bottle will make a difference, right?

So how long since you bottled the beer?

 

[sittingturbo]

One thing I noticed in my own beers which no one have mentioned yet it, I used to always rush my beers to the bottle. Now I take much more time before bottling and bulk age for longer. This has helped a huge amount. I also would have to back up the Irish Moss, if you don't use it yet you need to it is cheap and very very affective.

However for this batch, if the taste is good your okay. What you can do it, make sure to refrigerate your bottles for a good 2 weeks before opening, this will compact your sediment layer so you can pour off the beer before your sediment gets into suspension.

I had this problem with a sorghum beer for some reason sorghum creates a massive sediment layer in the fermenter which I didn't get it totally cleared before bottling.

 

[scinerd3000]

leave it in the fridge for a week min and then when you pour it into a glass leave the last 1/4 inch which should leave most of the sediment behind. everyones right...i use and immersion chiller to help the cold break and a tsp or two of irish moss will help clarify when added to the last 15minutes of the boil. good luck

 

[superfluent]

Generally speaking, clarity comes with time. I usually don't even consider drinking my beers until at least three months after the brew date. By then, they are always crystal clear.

Yes, and redicilously better tasting...I'm enjoying an ale (borderline IPA) that I brewed in january, fermented for a month before kegging and kept at cellar temp since then. Drew the first pint today -it's so good it is almost unbeleavable.

H

 

[tdavisii]

If it tastes good who cares how clear it is. However if you are dead set on clarity use some irish moss. I use it when i dont want to filter. It gets your beer almost as clear as if you filtered.

 

[McKBrew]

I've never sweated the clarity issue. If I start entering competitions, then I might care, but right now it doesn't matter.

 

[superfluent]

If it tastes good who cares how clear it is.

Sadly, most of my not-so-into beer friends usually get a wierd look on their faces if you poor a pint of excellent but cloudy beer. Once they taste it they usually agree it's good stuff though most of them wouldn't be able to tell the difference beteen a Westwleteren and a Bud Light.

One could argue I should get new friends but these ones are kind of usefull from time to time since they get me into cool clubs and introduce me to beautiful women so I like to keep them around...

H

 

[tdavisii]

ah i see. I have some friends that are exactly the same. I guess its not illegal to like ****ty beer although it should be. My last three batches of beer have been "light" beers. All my friends that love beer live in other states. My friends that live here like the usual crap beer. So i make light beers for them. I recommend starting out with some sort of finings. Irish moss works great. I also filter on occasion but you have to have a kegging setup. If you dont use a secondary fermenter, start. This will help also. Just keep on brewing. Practice makes perfect.