Cloudy Partial Mash (Pics)

Hey guys,

Now, something I learned after reading on here for the last two years is NOT to panic or jump to any conclusions.

So I'm patiently waiting for the beer to finish and will give it some time in bottle before making and conclusions.

However, I'm still curious if this is normal.

I have only done ONE partial mash prior to this, and about 4-5 batches of beer so far.

Question: What I'm curious about, is that all my previous beers have always been clear during or after the boil. Normally, during the boil I'll see all the proteins (or whatever) clumping up into little bits and start floating around in the clear wort. Then, when I chill it, that all drops to the bottom (as cold break right?) and what is left in the boiling pot is clear wort with trub at the bottom. This has been true of all previous beers I have made, even an oatmeal stout partial mash I did that came out amazing.

Yesterday, I did an IPA partial mash using the following recipe: http://hopville.com/recipe/1203782/american-ipa-recipes/bonaventure-ipa

This wort was milky-cloudy throughout the whole process. Never did I see any of those bits clumping up. Even in the fermeter it looks like brown milk.

Here are some pics. What do you think? (Last two pics are from my Pale Ale and represent how all my other worts have looked.)

Bonaventure IPA:




St. Henri pale ale:




Only difference I can think of is that I have switched to Briess LME instead of Black Rock LME. It almost looks like I never got any kind of hot break. Is this possible?

Thanks for taking the time to check the thread!

 

So I guess my question is, is it going to clear up with time in the secondary?

 

Oh no ... It's probably exactly that (starch). It looked that way after the mash. I don't know WTH I did, but the mash temp was all over the place at the beginning.

Oh well. Thanks!

 

i'll bet your beer will turn out clear.

 

Really? You have seen a beer go from that milky haze to clear? Does it ferment out or drop to the bottom?

Either way, this is my first IPA and the smell comic from the primary is intoxicating. I'm getting giddy. It smells so insane.

Thanks for your input guys!

 

you should be fine. Just let the beer sit untouched for a week or two and I am sure you will be very pleasantly surprised.

Are you going to dry hop? Many dry hopped beers are very cloudy due to the hops so if you are going to dry hop dont worry about the clarity.

 

Yep, will be dry hopping with 1oz Cascade and 1oz Centennial.

I walked into the apartment after work today and my GF had that look on her face. I wasn't sure what it was about when I got hit in the face with a strong resiny hops aroma. The fermenter actually filled the apartment with the awesome smell! I can't wait to taste it!

I'm glad there's hope for the clarity. I mean, I don't care so much if it's a little hazy, but I don't want it to be opaque.

Thanks for the input!

 

Great! I love that smell, make sure you don't ferment too hot though! I don't know the details of the recipe and yeast but if it's an IPA you don't want to be higher than 70 degrees.

 

It's been at 68 for the past two days but today for some reason it's at 72° ... I don't have temperature control here, but usually the spot I use is a steady 68°.

Hope it doesn't create any off flavors ... This is also my first time using a starter. Made a 2.5L starter for the Wyeast 1056.

Will post an update once I transfer it to the secondary.

 

Hey guys,

Just thought I'd update the thread.

I racked to the secondary last weekend and I was amazed how much it has cleared already. So once again, it was a question of "stop worrying and be patient".

It's pretty damn clear for a 2 week old beer! I'll post pics when it's in a glass in a few weeks.

Thanks everyone!

 

Just thought I'd update the thread.

In the bottle, the beer is super clear. But when I chill it, it goes a bit hazy. It's hazy once poured, but it is an IPA and it still looks good to me, so I won't worry about it too much now. I may try Whirlfloc the next time, since I am using a fair amount of grain (literature seems to indicate that Whirlfloc can affect head / retention in extract beers ...