Beer doesn’t clarify in conical?

[30_Ounce]

I have done 8 lagers last year with my SsBrewtech Unitanks and glycol system. I have lagered each batch in the unitanks for 6-8 weeks and then carbonated and transferred to kegs. Each time the beer has been hazy initially then after a week in the keg it’s crystal clear.

SWMBO has insisted that I don’t use gelatin and let the beer clear naturally which it does. I am just surprised that after 6 weeks at 33 degrees f in the unitank that it is not more clear. Is there something about the shape of the unitank that prevents beer from naturally clearing? Bright tanks have a shallow dished bottom, does it really make that much of a difference?

 

[madscientist451]

Any chance there's a temperature difference between your kegs (in a kegerator?) and the Unitank beer temperature?

 

[Nate R]

Any chance there's a temperature difference between your kegs (in a kegerator?) and the Unitank beer temperature?

Yeah... +1 to madscientist comment.

I have found it is very hard to get a true chill in my conical, even with glycol. It crashes good enough for a transfer, but my super cold keezer drops 'em the best.

May i suggest... after 3 weeks in your unittank, rack to kegs and then lager in your serving applicance if you have room. It will open up your unitanks for more beer!!!

Side note... in your photo- the blurry black boxes (2) on the floor with green lights... are thoose some bad azz amplifiers? I think i see speakers. Maybe subs?
Either way... swmbo lets you have thoose babies out... no worries on the gelatin!!

 

[danimal92sport]

Yes I see monoblocks...

 

[30_Ounce]

I keep my kegerator at 37. Unitanks are crashed/lagered at 33.5. I have to step it down slowly after it gets below 40 or things will freeze up but once it get down to 33.5 it has no problem staying there.

Yea, those are Audio Research CL120 mono blocks. Just re tubed them. 20 tubes!

 

[Vale71]

My guess is you're picking up residual yeast from the cone during transfer. Unfortunately you cannot actually "see" beer inside a unitank, you can only look at it after it has gone through the racking port. If the beer has cleared perfectly but picks up yeast/trub during transfer you'll be none the wiser.

 

[30_Ounce]

My guess is you're picking up residual yeast from the cone during transfer. Unfortunately you cannot actually "see" beer inside a unitank, you can only look at it after it has gone through the racking port. If the beer has cleared perfectly but picks up yeast/trub during transfer you'll be none the wiser.

I have considered that but my sampling port is about 8” above the cone and even samples are never clear. I’m sure there is some stratification happening as on occasion I noticed that my last keg I filled is more clear than the first. I can see that in the transfer tubing...

 

[Vale71]

Don't know what brand of unitank you have but in my SSBrewtek Unitank the sample port is so full of settled yeast that I have to disassemble the valve and clean the port manually with a brush after every batch, so that I wouldn't expect the samples I pull from it during lagering to be representative of how clear the beer in the tank actually is.

The "stratification" that you see can easily be explained by the transfer port being "cleaned" by the first beer transferred so that subsequent transfers don't pick up as much trub as the previous ones.

 

[Birrofilo]

Not all yeast strains are born equal. Some flocculate more, some less. What yeast were you using? I would not rule out that, while with certain yeast strains cold is clarifying enough, with others a fining agent is useful (at those temperatures it would probably be gelatine and it would work very well).

As a personal pedantic note, I see no reason why one should not use gelatin by default, regardless of yeast strain, if he has the possibility to cold crash. It just works since many years (centuries?). There is no medal awarded for not using gelatine

 

[danimal92sport]

Not all yeast strains are born equal. Some flocculate more, some less. What yeast were you using? I would not rule out that, while with certain yeast strains cold is clarifying enough, with others a fining agent is useful (at those temperatures it would probably be gelatine and it would work very well).

As a personal pedantic note, I see no reason why one should not use gelatin by default, regardless of yeast strain, if he has the possibility to cold crash. It just works since many years (centuries?). There is no medal awarded for not using gelatine

Unless you’re vegan or vegetarian. Or have friends who are those things and like your beer

 

[30_Ounce]

To be clear, I have no problem getting perfectly clear/bright beer with simply cold crashing and kegging without gelatin. I’m just a little surprised that I can leave it in the fermenter for 6 weeks and it doesn’t clear but if I transfer to a keg it will be clear in a week, sometimes 3 days. I have used gelatin with excellent results but my wife, who obviously has a better palette than me, insists that it takes away a bit of character from the beer. I can’t argue with her as I insist tubes sound better than transistors. She agrees of course!

 

[Noob_Brewer]

To be clear, I have no problem getting perfectly clear/bright beer with simply cold crashing and kegging without gelatin. I’m just a little surprised that I can leave it in the fermenter for 6 weeks and it doesn’t clear but if I transfer to a keg it will be clear in a week, sometimes 3 days. I have used gelatin with excellent results but my wife, who obviously has a better palette than me, insists that it takes away a bit of character from the beer. I can’t argue with her as I insist tubes sound better than transistors. She agrees of course!

IMO, if your wife is a supporter of your hobby, don't screw that up! No gelatin it is!

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

you haven't said what kind of yeast you use, some like to stick around and cloud up the place

 

[30_Ounce]

This particular batch was 34/70. I did a run of 7 lagers in a row with it, 15 gallon batches each time.

 

[Birrofilo]

Unless you’re vegan or vegetarian. Or have friends who are those things and like your beer

If you are vegan, maybe you can try carrageenan. It should more or less work as gelatin. I don't know about how it works at very low temperatures, though.

 

[Bobby_M]

Biofine or Silfloc is a vegan fining agent that works well.

 

[eric19312]

maybe that bright tank is your next upgrade

 

[SanJuanWorm]

Maybe we should all eat a sustainably farmed grass-fed cow...they’re vegans, after all..

 

[30_Ounce]

Not Vegan...definitely meat eaters here...

 

[Staticsouls]

Screw the racking arm. Throw a liquid ball lock on a tc fitting with a floating dip tube on it.

Are you pressure fermenting at all or doing the whole ferment at normal pressures? Does this make a difference in beer clarification

Could it be a difference in vessel shape that aids in yeast floc? Skinnier taller keg vs fat and squatty fermenter.

 

[Vale71]

Could it be a difference in vessel shape that aids in yeast floc? Skinnier taller keg vs fat and squatty fermenter.

Yes except that taller vessels actually take longer to clarify.