Cloudy Centennial Blonde - just curious

[Gytaryst]

I just brewed Biermuncher's Centennial Blonde. OG was 1.045, (.005 points higher than I calculated). FG was 1.005, (a little lower than I wanted). It sat in primary for 12 days. I transferred it to a keg and then immediately pushed it to the serving keg thru a 1 micron canister filter. It's been on 30 psi CO2 for right around 30 hours. I've drawn a couple pints just to check it out and it has some serious haze going on.

The beer in the primary was quite a bit clearer and seemed to be a little more amber in color. Coming out of the keg it's cloudy and the color seems lighter and paler.

I know it's too soon to be actually drinking this, (I was excited to try it following the hype). I'm wondering if anyone can give me an explanation for the cloudiness? Is it just the CO2 still trying to absorb into solution? I was gentle with the transfer and didn't jostle the trub from the primary. In fact I threw out 8 cups of beer that was sitting on top of the trub because it didn't fit in the keg and I didn't want the racking cane to get too close. The only thing I wasn't sure about when I filtered it was that I initially had the CO2 set on 8 or 9 psi. But then I worried that maybe that wasn't high enough to push it thru a 1 micron filter, so I jacked it up to about 27 or 28 psi. It pushed the entire keg thru (fast) and even drained the canister. I was wondering if maybe I used too much force to push it thru the filter.

Just curious - it tastes okay (I guess). I followed the recipe exactly and it's a decent beer. I think the abv for mine rang in at 5.1%. It's a little light and a little too malty for my tastes - but it's good. I don't see the keg hanging around too long.

It just concerns me how cloudy it looks after going thru a 1 micron filter???

 

[brew703]

Did you cold crash and use gelatin? When i don't cold crash and use gelatin, it takes a while to clear once it's on gas. I also don't filter but i wouldn't think that had anything to do with the cloudiness.
The only time i don't use gelatin is when i brew a NEIPA.
Just give it some time and it should clear.

 

[Rob2010SS]

It could be chill haze which doesn't always go away. Not well versed on the causes/cures for that though.

The first brew I bottled was a grapefruit IPA and that was hazy just like yours for about 2 weeks. After the 2 week mark, it drastically cleared up. As I was told when I first started, time will clear most beers.

Cold crashing, adding gelatin, or using whirlfloc or irish moss in the last 15 min of the boil will help with cloudiness.

 

[Gytaryst]

Did you cold crash and use gelatin?

No - I used gelatin and cold crashing when I bottled because I had no way to filter. Most beers I don't worry to much about clarity. Because this one's a fairly light beer it just seemed like it should be as clear as I could get it - and like I said it was pretty clear in the carboy after 12 days. I racked it into one keg without jostling it or stirring up the trub and the racking cane never got near the layer of trub, so even though I couldn't see how clear it was in the keg I assumed it was still as clear as it was in the carboy. Once the keg was full I hooked it up to the filter and pushed it into another keg. Then hooked up the CO2 and started chilling it down. I was actually surprised when I drew some off to see it that cloudy. 1 micron should have cleared it up considerably better than that. All I can figure is that it has something to do with the CO2 and the carbonation. It's been at 30psi for a day and a half. I was going to leave it there for 48 hours but I think I'm going to dial it down now.

Just give it some time and it should clear.

Hopefully

 

[STMF]

All I can figure is that it has something to do with the CO2 and the carbonation. It's been at 30psi for a day and a half. I was going to leave it there for 48 hours but I think I'm going to dial it down now.

Hopefully

No, it has nothing to do with CO2. It is basically impossible to know what your haze is from but here is a good link to information what it can be, and what you can do about it.

https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/how-to-brew/beer-haze-cloudy-homebrew/

 

[waldoar15]

First of all, that's still very young beer and 30 hours in the keg isn't much time to clear either.

I'm sure it will be fine given more time.

You can take it down to around 32* and leave it there for a period of time, then return it to serving temps and see if that helps for chill haze. I'm not sure that's your issue though as I think you are just rushing it.

 

[ircbrewing]

If it’s carbed and tastes good then drink it! It ain’t a beauty contest.

In all seriousness I agree with the fella above. It hasn’t had enough time to settle out. Its a combination of chill haze and Co2 absorption which is part of the chill haze. I have brewed this many times and typically after about 5-7 days after the 30 psi pressure it’ll clear up.

 

[MrHopScotch]

Looks and sounds like chill haze to me. I agree with the other posters that it will get clearer with time.

If I’m reading correctly, you filtered the beer before chilling it down to serving temperature. Chill haze is caused by proteins that are dissolved in the beer at room temperature, but precipitate and clump up when chilled, causing the haze. Essentially these protein clumps weren’t there to filter out (or at least weren’t large enough) when you filtered, but formed afterwards. In the future I would chill for a day or two before filtering or fining, allowing the beer to get close to freezing and forming as much chill haze as possible. That way you have something to strip out with the filter.

FWIW I don’t filter and am not familiar with the effectiveness of different pore sizes, but by chilling before using gelatin, the beer comes out sparklingly bright.

 

[Gytaryst]

Well it didn't last very long. My take on it is that it didn't cost much to brew it and it tasted good for what it was. A little too light for my liking - but that's the beauty of having lots of styles. It cleared up a little compared to that picture I posted, but it was never brilliantly clear like some beers I've made, and I have no idea why. It tasted fine - that is, no off flavors. I figured my efficiency at around 62%, (which is where I'm usually at), and I actually came in a little high on this one. I think it finished at 5.0% abv. Still didn't have much flavor for my liking, and what flavor it did have was pretty blah, imho.

At any rate - glad I tried it - onward and upward