Muddy Belgian Strong

[Beerfarts79]

2 weeks ago I made my first attempt at a Belgian strong. I had my first ever stuck sparge as one of the fittings on my manifold came loose and it filled with grain. I transferred everything out of the mash tun, cleaned it out and put the grain back in. I let it sit for an extra 20 minutes to settle then sparged as usual. I got it down to 72f in 23 minutes. All seemed well, gravity was .002 low but I figured this was a result of all my bungling around. My sample settled out and the color was spot on. I transferred to secondary 3 days ago and it looks like runny, muddy baby ****. It is not settling out or clearing up. Should I try gelatin? It just seems too cloudy for that to help enough. What could have caused this?

 

[Zeal]

I have no clue what to do but I was just wondering how does it taste?

 

[mlg5039]

How long did you let it in primary?

You could have racked it to secondary too soon.

Also, what's the grain bill?

I don't think fumbling with the mash will effect it at all.

 

[android]

that yeast is notorious for slow flocculation, just wait it out.

 

[mlg5039]

Sorry I just reread your post. It looks like you only let it sit on primary for 11 days. That's not enough time for the yeast to settle out.


I would let it sit at least 4 weeks in secondary, and it will clear up.

 

[ChillWill]

Could try gelatin or any finings, or even cold crash.

It could be dust and grain, hops etc still moving around as CO2 leaves solution even if fermentation is done.

At two weeks, it really is too early. Wait until it's had a couple of weeks secondary at least before taking further action.

 

[Beerfarts79]

I have no clue what to do but I was just wondering how does it taste?

It was still a little sweet, I bumped up the temp on the fermenter and it has kicked the yeast back into action. Btw.. Wyeast 1388

 

[jfr1111]

Next time take a gravity reading if you want to secondary your beer: there won't be any extra clearing going on in the secondary if the yeast is still in suspension plus you risk stressing the yeast and getting off flavours. Don't brew by the calendar but by the hydrometer.

 

[Beerfarts79]

Next time take a gravity reading if you want to secondary your beer: there won't be any extra clearing going on in the secondary if the yeast is still in suspension plus you risk stressing the yeast and getting off flavours. Don't brew by the calendar but by the hydrometer.

Thanks for the advice! The calendar has worked so far but I like your reasoning. I'm a chef and people often ask " how long does it take to cook _____" I always answer "until it's done!" I guess the same applies here!

 

[GuldTuborg]

I'm a chef and people often ask " how long does it take to cook _____" I always answer "until it's done!" I guess the same applies here!

That's a good analogy, and exactly right. And if, for example, you're cooking a roast, all things equal, a bigger roast takes longer to cook than a smaller one. In a similar fashion, bigger beers, all things equal, take longer to ferment.