Cloudy Hazy Beer

[dionbill]

Bought this beer from a local craft brewery. It’s really cloudy, looks and tastes like a hoppy grapefruit juice. I quite like it. My question is more around how to make a beer hazy or cloudy, like this one or a blue moon style beer. And how would they get such a strong grapefruit taste... add grapefruit juice? Add a lot of grapefruit? Any suggestions? I’ve always wanted to brew a cloudy citrus ipa style beer. Thanks gang!

 

[leonardoreges]

Haziness = large amounts of oat flakes.
Grapefruit taste I don't know, maybe it's a esterly yeast fermented in a specific temperature.

 

[dionbill]

Haziness = large amounts of oat flakes.
Grapefruit taste I don't know, maybe it's a esterly yeast fermented in a specific temperature.

Thanks man. When you say large amount, what percentage of the build is large roughly?

 

[swampbrewcrew]

What style of beer did you buy?

Hazy and fruity is pretty standard for a lot of Neipa’s.

 

[brew703]

Just make a NEIPA.
here's a link. Post 1418
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/northeast-style-ipa.568046/page-36#post-7701386
for yeast use Conan or 1318 from Wyeast.
I recently brewed one (12/26/17) and used S04 (dry yeast) and it's still hazy and juicy today. If you are bottling, you may have issues with oxidation. I quit brewing the style until I started kegging.

 

[cegan09]

Haziness = large amounts of oat flakes.
Grapefruit taste I don't know, maybe it's a esterly yeast fermented in a specific temperature.

Not quite. NEIPA style can be just that hazy even if you use zero flaked grains. And beers with flaked grains can be made nice and clear. The haze is a byproduct of how they're hopped. Huge whirlpools hops and dry hops added while the yeast are at peak activity.

Grapefruit can come from the hops depending on variety used. Similarly you can get big citrus and fruit flavors/aroma.

 

[dionbill]

Thanks again. I will be looking into the NEIPA, which I am not familiar with. So how does Blue Moon achieve its cloudiness? I have cloned that one a few times but can never make it cloudy. I typically add about a 1/4 oz of oj (as opposed to a slice of orange) and it looks identical to blue moon.

 

[Upthewazzu]

Thanks again. I will be looking into the NEIPA, which I am not familiar with. So how does Blue Moon achieve its cloudiness? I have cloned that one a few times but can never make it cloudy. I typically add about a 1/4 oz of oj (as opposed to a slice of orange) and it looks identical to blue moon.

White wheat + oats.

 

[hezagenius]

I get grapefruit flavors in my NEIPA from a combo of Citra and Mosaic.

 

[thehaze]

I made 2 grapefruit IPA bombs last year, with the same grain bill, but different yeast. I used Amarillo, Chinook, Simcoe and Mosaic and it was grapefruit juice with grapefruit rind. What I did is, to add many late additions of hops to the boil. I think I did 6-7 additions besides whirlpool, in the last 25 minutes of the boil.

I also dry hopped.

 

[ChootchMcGooch]

Looks like a hazy ipa. Mikkeller does a great one called windy hill if u can find it locally try it.

Fruit flavor is usually hops if the brewery is by the books. Also the spent yeast will give sweetness. I have one locally that adds juice to the wort, which I think is cheating.

Haze comes from the yeast usually if it's an ipa. They don't filter out the spent yeast so u get more complex flavors and the haziness. A hef like blue moon it's probably oats/wheat. Esp if it's a large name like blue moon as the yeast sediment wreaks havoc on the brewing systems. At a large scale replacing parts on ferm tanks is crazy expensive. Cheaper to add the haze post ferm.

 

[ESBrewer]

As people have shown above, there are many sources of haze. Choosing a yeast that remains in solution can cause a lot of haze. Compounds from certain grains and adjuncts can cause haze, especially wheat and flakes. I think using some rye malts also gives you haze. Tannins (polyphenol) from grain husks and hops can cause haze together with grain protein when the beer is chilled. Small hop and starch particles can cause haziness. Some more uncommon adjuncts such as grape fruit could cause haziness. I don't know if your beer contains fruit or not, grape fruit taste could be some hops. Bacteria can cause biological haze much the same way as nonflocculent yeast. They can end up in beer as a result of unwanted contamination or can be used on purpose in certain sour beer styles such as lambics (but not NE IPAs). Compound called calcium oxalate can precipitate causing haziness if it hasn't dropped completely during the brewing process, but this is usually an unwanted outcome and a rare cause for the haze seen in a commercial product. Water profile could affect. If your beer is a NEIPA, most of the typical haze comes from the dry hopping process. I think the yeast choice may also affect it as some of the dry hop oils may be transformed by the yeast to form compounds that affect the haziness.

In fact most beers naturally contain some sort of haze, but many breweries tend to filter the haze causing particles away (mostly yeast and protein complexes plus hop particles).

 

[cegan09]

I'll say it again, it's not the yeast. Or it shouldn't be. haze is not the goal with these beers, it's just a byproduct of the process of making them. It's a byproduct of when the hops are added, and the quantity of them.

I've used a couple different yeasts with my NEIPAs, all of which have no problems dropping out clear. The conan strain I use drops out crystal clear in a blonde ale with no finings or gelatin if you leave it in primary for the full two weeks to clean up. But the NEIPA I make with it is hazy because of other items.

Yes, a small amount of yeast remains in solution in most beers, but not enough to cloud it. The few of these NEIPAs that I have bottled have had no more yeast drop out after carbing than any other style, and the kegs never have an over abundance at the bottom. The goal is not to make the cloudiest, haziest beer possible, it's to make a beer that's loaded with taste and aroma from your chosen hop variety. The haze just comes with it.


As mentioned other styles are different. Wheat beers are usually cloudy because of the abundance of wheat in the grain bill.

 

[leonardoreges]

Thanks man. When you say large amount, what percentage of the build is large roughly?

15 to 20% in the grain bill.
As said after there’s some other ways to get this, but that’s one of them.

 

[dionbill]

Thanks everyone. You’ve been very helpful indeed.

 

[howamidriving]

Fwiw I just started getting into my first neipa and it's super hazy and I used 0 flaked grains. I think it has as much (or more) to do with the amount and timing of the hop additions and to a lesser extent the yeast used.

Also the may sound super obvious but don't do any of the things you would normally do to clear a beer. I didn't use any fining agents or cold crash at all.

 

[leonardoreges]

I surely agree that neipas are hazy because of a confluence of aspects: large amount of flaked grains, large amounts of late hop additions and low flocculation yeast.
But I don't like hoppy beers, so I'm used to brew about the same grain bill of a neipa but low on hops and with different yeast (usually Nottingham) and that still yields hazy beer

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

I'll say it again, it's not the yeast. Or it shouldn't be. haze is not the goal with these beers, it's just a byproduct of the process of making them. It's a byproduct of when the hops are added, and the quantity of them.

I've used a couple different yeasts with my NEIPAs, all of which have no problems dropping out clear. The conan strain I use drops out crystal clear in a blonde ale with no finings or gelatin if you leave it in primary for the full two weeks to clean up. But the NEIPA I make with it is hazy because of other items.

Yes, a small amount of yeast remains in solution in most beers, but not enough to cloud it. The few of these NEIPAs that I have bottled have had no more yeast drop out after carbing than any other style, and the kegs never have an over abundance at the bottom. The goal is not to make the cloudiest, haziest beer possible, it's to make a beer that's loaded with taste and aroma from your chosen hop variety. The haze just comes with it.


As mentioned other styles are different. Wheat beers are usually cloudy because of the abundance of wheat in the grain bill.

This guy gets it. Don't chase the haze. Go after the flavor and the haze comes along for the ride.

 

[AdamPS1025]

Just to add my 2 cents to this popular subject, here's a recipe that is a friend and family favorite. Grist: 58% 2-row, 12% red wheat, 12% flaked wheat, 9% CaraFoam, & 9% Victory. Hops: 2 pounds in a 5 gallon batch; combination of Mosaic, Azacca, Equinox, and Galaxy. The yeast used was Gigayeast Vermont. Just rebrewed this same recipe and used Imperial Organic A20. I prefer the estery notes provided by the A20 more than the VT. Give the A20 or A38 from Imperial Organic a shot.