Cloudy, yeasty beer

[simonrh]

I have made a Whitehouse Honey Ale with a kit from Northern Brewer. I left it to ferment for about 2 weeks and then put it into a keg for secondary. It's been about 2-3 weeks in the keg at about 12 psi. I tasted it tonight and was very disappointed. The beer is very cloudy and has a yeasty 'home brew' taste that I associate with making beer as a teenager (a long time ago!) Is there anything I can do to salvage the beer?

 

[brewinaround]

Maybe cold crash the beer to try and drop some of the yeast out of suspension?

How much yeast did you pitch? Just the amount from the kit?

 

[Munchkin]

the first couple pints will most defiantly be cloudy and full of yeast and trub. Is this an issue that is still present after a few pints?

You would have dropped quite abit of sediment after 3 weeks in the fridge.

 

[Wolfbrau]

Don't move the keg an inch. Don't even rock it. If it's cold and ready to serve, after sitting a few days you can pull a couple of pints of murky stuff and it will get clearer and clearer as you go. If you move the keg, you have to start all over again. The disadvantage of not filtering.

 

[simonrh]

I'll look up cold crashing-- thanks.
I used one packet of dry yeast that came with the kit.

 

[jekeane]

You can also add some gelatin to help clear things up.

 

[JonM]

Just wait. It will clear up on its own (as long as you don't move the keg around!) Gelatin can help clear in a fermenter or secondary, but if you put it in the keg, you'll wind up with a big clod of gelatin at the bottom of your keg, and it will get sucked up into your glass.

If it's really driving you nuts and not getting better, some people have had good results by taking one of those little pipe cutters and taking about 1/4 inch off the bottom of the dip tube. But I bet it'll get better on its own soon enough.

 

[jekeane]

Just wait. It will clear up on its own (as long as you don't move the keg around!) Gelatin can help clear in a fermenter or secondary, but if you put it in the keg, you'll wind up with a big clod of gelatin at the bottom of your keg, and it will get sucked up into your glass.

If it's really driving you nuts and not getting better, some people have had good results by taking one of those little pipe cutters and taking about 1/4 inch off the bottom of the dip tube. But I bet it'll get better on its own soon enough.

You certainly can wait it out, most things will settle with time.

I would disagree with gelatin being a problem in the keg though. I only use gelatin in the keg and the first pint can be gunky but after that there are no problems or signs of gelatin unless you shake the keg up. I have heard of people who put a whole pack of gelatin in getting problems. 1 tsp gelatin to 6-8oz of water has worked great for me.