Unusually cloudy

[Bandit-brewer]

To start I have been brewing all grain for 3 years now always doing 3 vessel. I picked up a BIAB setup from wilser and have done 2 brews with it now. All has gone well except that the finished beer is unusually cloudy and doesn't seem to clear even with cold crashing. I'm wondering if i'm doing something wrong?

Thanks
Ryan

 

[Ungoliant]

Are you getting a good hot break leading in to the boil?
Are you getting a good cold break cooling down the wort post-boil? How long does it take you to get down to pitching temp?
What did you brew with your first two BIAB batches?

 

[RM-MN]

Are you sure you had complete conversion? Starch left in the wort will leave you with cloudy beer.

 

[Ungoliant]

If that's the case, throw in some amylase during the mash, 1/2 tsp/gallon

 

[Bandit-brewer]

Great hot and cold break. I brew in keggles and have lots of room and my water is freezing this far north. It takes 4.5 min from 212 to 60 with a 1/2" 50ft IM chiller. 7 min in the middle of July. It may be conversion but i've never had a problem before but I do have some amylase coming and will try that. The first brew way my house pale that i've done 30 or so times the second is a koyt so it's supposed to be a little cloudy. I had broke my hydrometer (first time for that) the new one just showed up in the mail. Ill try finings and some amylase to see if that helps. Any other suggestions and i'm all ears. I like the ease of BIAB but so far not the finished product and want to change that back to the quality I had before.

Thanks
Ryan

 

[Ungoliant]

Yeah sounds good. Hope we can get it figured out. I've made a couple BIAB batches so far and haven't had any clarity issues. What mash temps did you run for those BIAB batch?

 

[Bandit-brewer]

Both were at 152. They droped to 144 by the end of the hour. I was wondering and have read that I should do a 90min mash to help with conversion. I'm using the same grind as before which was already very tight. I end up with about 1/3 in flour. I'll go longer next time and if the amylase shows up this week i'll try that aswell. Anything else anybody can think off i'm all ears.

Thanks
Ryan

 

[Ungoliant]

Yeah that is a bit low, but high temps is what's gonna kill the action of amylase. I'd watch that temp like a hawk next time, and try to keep it as close to 152 as possible.

I have a DIY made insulator I use to hold my temps, which works really well in the summer but I brewed one this last weekend and it dropped from 151 down to 146 within the first half hour. I took it out and kept it on the burner to hold it at 151 for the rest of the hour and gave it an extra 15 minutes. Just don't let your bag rest on the bottom and it should be fine.

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1449594327.354201.jpg

 

[doug293cz]

I get very cloudy wort with BIAB (I grind to 0.016"), but I cold crash followed by gelatin in the primary, and get crystal clear finished beer. It's less clear if I don't use the gelatin.

Brew on

 

[doug293cz]

Yeah that is a bit low, but high temps is what's gonna kill the action of amylase. I'd watch that temp like a hawk next time, and try to keep it as close to 152 as possible.

I have a DIY made insulator I use to hold my temps, which works really well in the summer but I brewed one this last weekend and it dropped from 151 down to 146 within the first half hour. I took it out and kept it on the burner to hold it at 151 for the rest of the hour and gave it an extra 15 minutes. Just don't let your bag rest on the bottom and it should be fine.

View attachment 321383

Does that pic show how you keep the bag off the bottom of the kettle while heating? If so, you are hindering your conversion efficiency by having the grain all bunched into a tight ball, instead of having it dispersed better throughout the wort.

Brew on

 

[Bandit-brewer]

The drop in temp was completely uninsulated. I need to come up with a way of insulating that doesn't anger the wife. I brew out in my unheated shed in deep northern bc canada. (so it gets cold). I have some gelatin and different clearing agents at home for wine so I will give that a try. Next brew this weekend I will insulate to hold temp better, mash longer with some amylase and use irish moss (that I usually forget). I'll report back after that to see if it helps. If anybody else has something i'm listening. I appreciate the help.

Thanks
Ryan

 

[Ungoliant]

Does that pic show how you keep the bag off the bottom of the kettle while heating? If so, you are hindering your conversion efficiency by having the grain all bunched into a tight ball, instead of having it dispersed better throughout the wort.



Brew on

Thanks for the tip, I didn't really consider that.

I swirled it around pretty much the entire second half of the mash, so it wasn't really a tight ball the whole time, or really ever. I did hit my target OG, though.