Hop haze and racking

[thewall47]

Hi all,

I am at another stage in my first brewing experience where everything I read tells me to do different paths...

For my first brew I decided to do a all grain brew for a wheat beer with some dry hopping during secondary fermentation...

Some of the hops have leeched out of the hops bag and are suspended in the beer... Whats the best method to remove this prior or during racking...

Cold crash, gelatin, close my eyes and drink it anyways, or wait another week or so? (I know wheat bears are supposed to be cloudy but I have never seen one with hop haze in it...)

What do you all think?

Thanks,

Paul

 

[freisste]

Are you worried about haze, or just small flakes floating around? Haze may stay, but if it's flakes, they will eventually settle. Cold crashing speeds it up, IME. If it is actually a tint to the beer, then I've never experienced that. I've also heard of people putting a fine filter on the inlet of their racking cane (sanitized, of course), but I have no experience there.

 

[thewall47]

Here are some pictures, sorry I couldn't figure out how to make them smaller...

 

[AlCophile]

.There is hope: If you look at the carboy, top-to-bottom, you can see more clearing at the top, with the haze getting thicker as you proceed downward. Vegetable matter takes a while to settle, and a cool temp helps, but, don't cool before ferm'n is done. Fining agents aren't out of the ques.
I sometimes use a hop extract(proprietary), and some oils haze-up, but they eventually coat the inside of the container. This is a PITA, but I use a lab cleanser called Alconox. Don't know if A will harm PET, though. Experiment. Alconox will take white off of rice, but the pH is only 9.
I think all of you suffer from impatience; I'm enjoying a Scot Ale pitched Oct. '12.

 

[StinkyVp]

I take two paint strainer bags and put them inside each other then put my racking cane in there and put the whole thing (sanitized of course) in my carboy to rack to bottling bucket. I just dump my hops in the secondary and use this method and it works perfectly. Sometimes I use 3 bags depending on the size of the carboy mouth.

 

[thewall47]

.There is hope: If you look at the carboy, top-to-bottom, you can see more clearing at the top, with the haze getting thicker as you proceed downward. Vegetable matter takes a while to settle, and a cool temp helps, but, don't cool before ferm'n is done. Fining agents aren't out of the ques.
I sometimes use a hop extract(proprietary), and some oils haze-up, but they eventually coat the inside of the container. This is a PITA, but I use a lab cleanser called Alconox. Don't know if A will harm PET, though. Experiment. Alconox will take white off of rice, but the pH is only 9.
I think all of you suffer from impatience; I'm enjoying a Scot Ale pitched Oct. '12.

Sounds like a delicious beer... The settling effect you are referencing I do not consider to be the hop haze I think that is just the nature of the wheat beer and proteins of this brew... Boulevard 80 ACRE clone. I am more concerned with the top inch or so where there is some hop particulate suspended...

I am fine with being patient, your scot ale sounds delicious honestly, I was curious if I would lose that wheat beer cloudiness signature if I cold crashed, because I would prefer not to lose that! I just don't want the green/earth toned hops in the final beer...

 

[thewall47]

I take two paint strainer bags and put them inside each other then put my racking cane in there and put the whole thing (sanitized of course) in my carboy to rack to bottling bucket. I just dump my hops in the secondary and use this method and it works perfectly. Sometimes I use 3 bags depending on the size of the carboy mouth.

Racking cane = siphon?... Am I safe to assume this is acceptable on the inlet as opposed to the outlet into the racking bucket because the paint strainer bags will not aerate the fermented wort?

 

[thewall47]

Are you worried about haze, or just small flakes floating around? Haze may stay, but if it's flakes, they will eventually settle. Cold crashing speeds it up, IME. If it is actually a tint to the beer, then I've never experienced that. I've also heard of people putting a fine filter on the inlet of their racking cane (sanitized, of course), but I have no experience there.

Just the flakes... I feel though I have read a few places that leaving the dry hops in to long can created earthy notes to the beer and actually decrease in aroma.... Sometimes though everything that I have read/watched just kind of meshes together and I am unsure of if it is a universal beer truth or if it is only applicable for a certain style of beer, or a certain traditional processes.

 

[unionrdr]

Wheat beers should be quite hazy,but not cloudy with yeast,imo.

 

[CA_Mouse]

If you can cold crash your carboy before you rack it into your bottling bucket or keg, that will help immensely. Additionally, you can place a nylon stocking (sanitized of course) to the end of your racking tube to catch anything like trub or hop material from being transferred out of your carboy. I have tried both placing the nylon on the end of the racking cane/auto siphon and on the end of the hose coming off the racking cane and prefer the later. Placing it on the racking cane seemed to clog too easily, whereas on the end of the hose allows the beer to flow freely and still catch the material. Just make sure that you have enough of the nylon after the end of the hose, otherwise you may get blockage in your racking cane/hose.

 

[thewall47]

If you can cold crash your carboy before you rack it into your bottling bucket or keg, that will help immensely. Additionally, you can place a nylon stocking (sanitized of course) to the end of your racking tube to catch anything like trub or hop material from being transferred out of your carboy. I have tried both placing the nylon on the end of the racking cane/auto siphon and on the end of the hose coming off the racking cane and prefer the later. Placing it on the racking cane seemed to clog too easily, whereas on the end of the hose allows the beer to flow freely and still catch the material. Just make sure that you have enough of the nylon after the end of the hose, otherwise you may get blockage in your racking cane/hose.

will cold crashing take away anything from the body and general haze of a wheat beer?

 

[CA_Mouse]

will cold crashing take away anything from the body and general haze of a wheat beer?

It shouldn't affect anything other than to drop yeast out of suspension. Granted the yeast could possibly take a bit of the wheat proteins with them, but it shouldn't be enough to make the beer clear.

 

[Calichusetts]

I tried the hop bag on the racking cane Sunday for the first time. Bubbles got introduced for like 30 seconds as it clogged, it was a nightmare. I eventually just took off the hop bag and restarted but its definitely gonna have some oxidation. Oh well, its a hoppy double red so I'll have to drink it young regardless

 

[thewall47]

I tried the hop bag on the racking cane Sunday for the first time. Bubbles got introduced for like 30 seconds as it clogged, it was a nightmare. I eventually just took off the hop bag and restarted but its definitely gonna have some oxidation. Oh well, its a hoppy double red so I'll have to drink it young regardless

That's no good I'm thinking I will use a paint strainer bag and fold it over in a few layers the rubberband it to my racking canes inlet... Sanitize the begeebies out of it and give it a whirl...

I have a few cleaned Corona bottles that I may fill too to monitor the visual appearance of the beer... It is my first home brew so I know I am going to keep popping my head in the conditioning closet...

 

[StinkyVp]

Racking cane = siphon?... Am I safe to assume this is acceptable on the inlet as opposed to the outlet into the racking bucket because the paint strainer bags will not aerate the fermented wort?

Yep you are right. I filter from the "inlet" I guess. No issues with aeration. I never really got much hop trash when I dry hop but this keeps out most everything.

 

[StinkyVp]

I tried the hop bag on the racking cane Sunday for the first time. Bubbles got introduced for like 30 seconds as it clogged, it was a nightmare. I eventually just took off the hop bag and restarted but its definitely gonna have some oxidation. Oh well, its a hoppy double red so I'll have to drink it young regardless

Something doesn't sound right. I'm bottling this weekend. I'll get some pictures or a video of my process. Maybe I'm explaining it wrong. The only time I get any bubbles is when my hose isn't aligned on the racking cane and air gets in there.

 

[thewall47]

Something doesn't sound right. I'm bottling this weekend. I'll get some pictures or a video of my process. Maybe I'm explaining it wrong. The only time I get any bubbles is when my hose isn't aligned on the racking cane and air gets in there.

That would be awesome! Could you post them to this thread?

 

[StinkyVp]

That would be awesome! Could you post them to this thread?

Take a look at these from last weekend. I had 3 bags inside each other. It doesn't seem to cause any problems. I've been doing it for a long time.

https://plus.google.com/photos/1122...s/5941809809438328545?authkey=CKnwiq6Rxa3LmgE