Is "your beer is so clear" really a compliment

[cmoewes]

So I've gone to a few home brew club meetings and brought some beer to share and along with a few comments , suggestions and compliments, the thing I hear the most often is asking about how I get my beer to be do clear. So is it common to not get home brew to be really clear or is it just something that people say when they can't think of anything else.

 

[ram5ey]

I went to home brew club meetings where the only clear beer was if it was warm. We drink with our eyes. Take the compliment.

 

[hunter_le five]

Wow, humblebrag much?

For what it's worth, I've seen/tasted a lot of homebrew that wasn't clear, especially from newer brewers. Hell, mine wasn't clear when I first started, because I hadn't learned good techniques, fermentation practices, etc.

I can see why, to someone who hasn't learned to make clear beer yet, it might seem like a pretty big deal.

For a while I just assumed all homebrew was cloudy because I didn't have to the fancy filtration systems that pro-brewers used. But as I brewed more and read more I learned you can get perfectly clear beer if you know what you're doing.

Some people don't give a $#!t about clear beer, and I can respect that. However, as a point of pride I prefer all my beers to be clear, unless the style dictates otherwise.

 

[haeffnkr]

So I've gone to a few home brew club meetings and brought some beer to share and along with a few comments , suggestions and compliments, the thing I hear the most often is asking about how I get my beer to be do clear. So is it common to not get home brew to be really clear or is it just something that people say when they can't think of anything else.

I hear that comment also and yes some others do not get their beer to clear up.
So I consider it a complement when they notice my beer is clear.

thanks Kevin

 

[NorthwestBrewman2013]

Agreed with the above post. There are only a few styles that actually call for a "hazy" eye appeal. Hefs, wits and Belgian Wheats being three. An IPA, Pale, Red and Lager, in my mind, have to be clear. What you have is a product of good fermentation, careful bottling/kegging and attention to detail. Bear in mind, it doesn't make the beer taste any better to have it crystal clear...usually.

 

[NickTheGreat]

With a few exceptions, I get upset if my beer isn't clear. Sounds like a compliment to me

 

[WayFrae]

I am jealous of your clear beer, so yes, it is a compliment.

 

[jro238]

Clear beers look more like commercial beers to most people. The natural assumption from there is that they must taste better (my hypothesis at least).

I tend to brew a lot of cloudy/hazy styles so I don't think about it too much but I still toss some gelatin in to my other beers because they really do look better that way

 

[cmoewes]

So that totally wasn't meant as a humble brag.

I don't do anything that is particularity extraordinary from what I have read about getting your beer to be clear and I didn't realize that it was a particular achievement to do it.

I kind of assumed it fell into the "if you cant say anything nice" sort of category.

 

[govner1]

So I've gone to a few home brew club meetings and brought some beer to share and along with a few comments , suggestions and compliments, the thing I hear the most often is asking about how I get my beer to be do clear. So is it common to not get home brew to be really clear or is it just something that people say when they can't think of anything else.

Hopefully, it's not. But many lack the patience to get clear beer. They tend to be more focused on how quickly they can go from grain to glass. Good practices are hard to beat. Congrats on your clear beer!


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[Yesfan]

My first beer was an American Wheat. When done, it looked more like a cloudy amber.


A friend of mine at work commented on how clear one of my IPAs were when I gave him a few to sample. He loves craft beer, especially IPAs, and was just floored on how clear and tasty it was to him.

I do not consider myself even remotely close to the level of brewing as some of you guys here, but needless to say I was feeling pretty proud that day. He's wanting to get into home brewing too.

So yes, hell of a compliment imo.

 

[FatDragon]

Clear beer is a goal many homebrewers strive for. If "your beer is so clear" is the only comment they gave, it might mean that the clarity was the only thing they appreciated about the beer, but of itself it's a positive thing.

If you feel like the feedback you're receiving is either too nice or focused on minutiae, feel free to ask specific questions to get more-helpful feedback.

 

[TheCanisDirus]

^^^This. It's pretty easy to get clear beer. (most styles) A lot of new brewers just bottle/keg right after 1.5-2 weeks. Letting it sit will clear it up 9 times out of 10. Clear beer is always pretty... props!

 

[Yooper]

I don't want to drink a murky beer. Oh, sure, some IPAs have hops haze, and wheat beers may have a haze- but a murky beer just doesn't appeal to me at all.

Just like when I eat a nice meal, I don't want food just glopped onto my plate, I want my beer to be appetizing and appealing. We do eat with our eyes, after all. Even if something tastes great, I want to enjoy the whole process- enjoying the color, the carbonation, the lacing on the glass, and yes, the clarity.

This is a young APA, but I enjoyed it so much I took photos!





So, if you have someone who gives compliments on the clarity- smile and say thanks and pat yourself on the back! A clear beer is a well made beer.

 

[grathan]

Cloudy and homebrew go hand in hand. It's just the nature of bottles with yeast sediment getting stirred up whenever transported. If your beers are clear after driving them to club meetings then you're either lucky, skilled, or patient.

 

[BEE-52]

It may be a stock compliment, but a compliment nonetheless. I've met a few brewers who can't get anything clear looking if their lives depended on it, not to say that their brews were bad at all. It may be a point of pride that they one day hope to emulate and feel compelled to remark upon.

 

[BigFloyd]

Cloudy and homebrew go hand in hand.

Why should they? I've poured many decently clear bottle-conditioned home brews prepared by different folks. To me, unless it's a murky style, cloudy brew or excess yeast trub often implies sloppy brew practices and/or a rushed batch.

Rarely do you hear, "this beer is really nice and clear, but it tastes like a** (unless, of course, you're talking about Corona).

 

[opiate82]

There is a reason chefs put a lot of effort into plating their food. Does it make it taste any better, technically no, but perception is important.

 

[Calichusetts]

I used to care, and I used to be very please when my buddies would note how clear the beer is, especially since I don't use any finings, I wasn't even cold crashing at the time.

Now, I could care less. As several posters have pointed out, if thats the only compliment, we are missing the point of brewing in the first place. My only goal is to make the best beer I can and one that I prefer. If its clear, great! If not, who cares its delicious.

On the other hand, my last 3 beers were mud. Amazing beers, but so cloudy. I've been messing around with pH, hop stands, bottling times after FG and some of that is to blame. Its really because I am dry hopping an insane amount and bottling within a week. The beer is crystal before the dry hop and a mess after.

Slightly detracting, but when I open a bottle and can smell the hops from across the room, I am happy. Plus, I know my non-dry hop beers will come out clear and be more to style.

Look at heady, super hazy but delicious. No one seems to mind when the beer is amazing.

 

[kombat]

An IPA, Pale, Red and Lager, in my mind, have to be clear.

English IPA
Appearance: Should be clear, although unfiltered dry-hopped versions may be a bit hazy.

The identical statement also appears in the American IPA and Imperial IPA descriptions.

The American Pale Ale description says they are "generally quite clear, although dry-hopped versions may be slightly hazy." Ditto for American Amber Ale (i.e., Reds).

Lagers, on the other hand, I'll give you.

 

[kombat]

To answer the OP's question, I think it depends on the audience. If I presented my beers to fellow homebrewers, and they ooed-and-awed about the clarity, I'd take that as a compliment, because I know they will appreciate the effort, patience, and care it takes to attain that kind of clarity. I assume if there were anything wrong with the flavour, they'd tell me, so the absence of any comments on the taste mean it's fine.

On the other hand, if I were presenting my beers to some non-brewers and all they commented on was the clarity, then I'd be a little concerned, because they probably don't even know that beer can be cloudy. I would expect that they would assume that ALL beer is clear, so if all they comment on is that mine is too, I'd think maybe they were just trying to be polite.

 

[Genuine]

Wow, humblebrag much?

For what it's worth, I've seen/tasted a lot of homebrew that wasn't clear, especially from newer brewers. Hell, mine wasn't clear when I first started, because I hadn't learned good techniques, fermentation practices, etc.

I can see why, to someone who hasn't learned to make clear beer yet, it might seem like a pretty big deal.

For a while I just assumed all homebrew was cloudy because I didn't have to the fancy filtration systems that pro-brewers used. But as I brewed more and read more I learned you can get perfectly clear beer if you know what you're doing.

Some people don't give a $#!t about clear beer, and I can respect that. However, as a point of pride I prefer all my beers to be clear, unless the style dictates otherwise.

This. I always strive for clear beer, it looks better and impressive when people think of the commercial beers they've had


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[gbx]

Cloudy and homebrew go hand in hand. It's just the nature of bottles with yeast sediment getting stirred up whenever transported. If your beers are clear after driving them to club meetings then you're either lucky, skilled, or patient.

Firstly, you shouldn't drive to your club meetings.

Secondly, if you are bottle conditioning, decant a few off the sediment and into a growler before travelling anywhere with them (especially if serving to non-brewers as visible sediment scares them). With exception of a very very limited number of styles, beer tastes much better without the yeast stirred in.

 

[drainbamage]

Cloudy and homebrew go hand in hand.

Not necessarily. A reasonable amount of care when brewing, bottling, and transporting can produce clear homebrew most of the time.

Does it affect the flavor? No, but I like my beers to look good as well as smell/taste good if possible, so stuff like clarity, color, and head retention matter to me (again, most of the time). I won't get upset if a batch wins on everything but clarity, but it's a nice bonus. Plus, it makes it easier to offer samples to the un-initiated when the beer isn't murky. Like has been mentioned already, a lot of people associate commercial beer with clarity.

 

[globe]

This is one of the best commercial beers I have had. King sue from Toppling Goliath. It was really cloudy, almost like orange juice, but was still very delicious. People did not seem to mind at all. I do enjoy when my beer clears up but I try not to let it bother me too much, long as its good. Also sorry for crappy pic.

 

[Callacave]

I don't think I've seen one clear brew from Hill Farmstead, and to me some of the best brews I've ever had.

 

[Callacave]

I don't think I've seen one clear brew from Hill Farmstead, and to me some of the best brews I've ever had.

Although it's nice when one of my beers clears out. Usually it just takes time at cold temps.

 

[Whattawort]

Here's the way I think in regards to clear beer. If the beer tastes as good as I intended and the brew day was successful (i.e. uneventful), then clear beer is simply an added bonus. HOWEVER, if the beer doesn't taste like I wanted it to and/or the brew day and fermentation weren't ideal, then I can at least take pride in having a clear beer. It really has no effect on the taste, and is just for aesthetics. I've been brewing for a while now, and there are a lot of variables in the process itself not to mention separate variable attributed to individual beers. It's hard to get everything right and taste will always beat out clarity in my book.
A quick example: My latest beer is a PtE clone and tastes AMAZING only 2 weeks in. I added 2 whirflock tablets at 5min and the beer will not be anywhere near crystal clear. I'm definitely ok with that because I nailed every aspect of brewing that beer.

 

[kombat]

My latest beer is a PtE clone and tastes AMAZING only 2 weeks in. I added 2 whirflock tablets at 5min and the beer will not be anywhere near crystal clear.

This is a tough recipe to get clear, if only because of all the dry hopping. I've made it twice now, and both times followed the same protocol I use with all my beers (and they always end up crystal clear), but my PtE clones finish a little hazy. It's from the dry hopping.

 

[Whattawort]

This is a tough recipe to get clear, if only because of all the dry hopping. I've made it twice now, and both times followed the same protocol I use with all my beers (and they always end up crystal clear), but my PtE clones finish a little hazy. It's from the dry hopping.

I did 1 tab on my last dry hopped beer and it was mostly clear, so I wanted to see if 2 would bring out similar results with the PtE. I didn't have high hopes and it really doesn't matter to me. I've still got another dry hop addition to go anyway. It was more of an experiment. My fellow club members know me as the mad scientist.

 

[LandoLincoln]

So I've gone to a few home brew club meetings and brought some beer to share and along with a few comments , suggestions and compliments, the thing I hear the most often is asking about how I get my beer to be do clear. So is it common to not get home brew to be really clear or is it just something that people say when they can't think of anything else.

If you keep bringing pale ales or IPAs, then you may need to mix it up a bit.

 

[ArkotRamathorn]

If your beer is Zima clear, then you may have a problem.

 

[grathan]

To the people who say that cloudy makes no difference, If your drinking suspended yeast and say it has no flavor... try pouring the gook in the bottom of the bottle into a separate glass and drink that and then say it has no flavor.

Had Two-hearted Ale the other day. the first one was crystal clear because it was stored at the temperature of the store's cooler. The second one out of my home fridge was massively cloudy and tasted much different, it was much colder. This flavor difference wasn't even due to suspended yeast, it was something else entirely. Possibly just the suppression of certain flavors from the cold temperature, but still much different.

 

[Calichusetts]

To the people who say that cloudy makes no difference, If your drinking suspended yeast and say it has no flavor... try pouring the gook in the bottom of the bottle into a separate glass and drink that and then say it has no flavor.

Had Two-hearted Ale the other day. the first one was crystal clear because it was stored at the temperature of the store's cooler. The second one out of my home fridge was massively cloudy and tasted much different, it was much colder. This flavor difference wasn't even due to suspended yeast, it was something else entirely. Possibly just the suppression of certain flavors from the cold temperature, but still much different.

I absolutely agree with this. I remember brewing my wee heavy with Scottish yeast. For some idiotic reason I decided to cold crash a virtually black beer. 3 days later I opened my fridge to a layer of yeast thicker than I have ever seen. Bottled anyway and cracked the first one two months later...no carb. Three months, nothing, still nothing at 4. It wasn't until 5 months that I got anything and six months that I got a carb I would call low for the style. Even with a week in the fridge and a careful pour, the yeast profile was amazing!

On the other hand, I think we need to be cautious with saying that haze is attributed to yeast. It can be, but there are 4 causes. The first is our brewing process. Rushing our beer before the yeast settle naturally or with assistance is a classic example. One that I think we are doing a good job of explaining here.

Certain malts create haze. The classic example is wheat but even chill haze is a common issue.

Hops are another major source. My example for earlier and my muddy beer falls in this category. My beer was crystal clear before I dry hopped. I just happened to add an absurd amount that created a ridiculous haze. Yet the whole purpose of the brew was a super aggressive hopped IIPA. I gave it the proper time to ferment and clear then dry hopped. Could I have transfer and cold crashed? Used finings? Of course. But this runs counter-intuitive to my brew's purpose. Almost all hops were late hop additions and half were in the whirlpool. Waiting a few more weeks to clear or using agent can clear but might be detrimental to the hop profile and run against the purpose of the beer. In this instance, I knew the beer was not going into a competition so I bottled knowing I would have a nose explosion when I opened the bottle. Fresh, young hops against a boozy super light malt profile.

Finally, there is of course the yeast. Many yeast strains add a tremendous layer of flavor to a beer. Yet some are rather clean, and even how we use them can create a virtually undetectable flavor profile. Nottingham at 57 and then ramped to 59 after krausen is a great example. Super clean, virtually no addition to flavor, and at the expense of maybe 1 point in terms of FG. Any professional brewer can produce a clean beer given the right yeast, most have it contribute something but as a background layer to add complexity or enhance the purpose of the beer

EDIT- I forgot to add another source of haze. This would be the additions of fruit and other "miscellaneous" additions to beer. Things like fruit create a haze that can only be removed by adding enzymes to the beer. The most common would be pectin haze from the cell walls of fruit. This can be cured with the addition of pectic enzyme. Google it or search the site to see how.