Brilliant clarity without cold crashing

[gelatin]

http://www.cityofchicago.org/conten...ndreports/comprehensive_chemicalanalysis.html

I was going off 2011 report, looks like the 2012 is out now. Not much has changed.

 

[Pelican521]

Here's a pic of my first brew, an ESB clone brew after 8 days in the primary. Not sure what I did right vs wrong but fwiw I used bottled spring water. Also when I boiled it for 60 minutes I couldn't get it to a hard boil on my electric stove and by the time it got a decent boil it probably added an extra 20 or so minutes.

 

[NanoMan]

The beer looks fairly clear from here. Cold crashing and time should get you the rest of the way. Would still recommend BrewBrite in the boil.

Cheers!

 

[unionrdr]

I just saw that brewbrite at the lhbs yesterday. Clarifying agent I take it?

 

[Pelican521]

Thanks Nano, it was extremely clear. I was very surprised myself.

I know it's way too soon after bottling (6 days), but I'm going to check out a bottle tomorrow and see how it tastes compared to last week.

 

[gelatin]

That actually looks pretty similar to mine, which I consider cloudy. For example you can't see the countertop pattern through it except a little at the very bottom where the liquid is thin.

 

[eric19312]

Just a thought...some beers are not expected to be all that clear. Couldn't find a mention of the recipes you are having problems with.

Do you have any wheat or rye or malts that should probably be mashed?

 

[BrewingPrepper]

One thing I think I did was aerate at a to high of a temp which causes oxidation and I think caused my first brew to be pretty cloudy...

 

[spokehead]

BrewBrite is a polyclar product, synthetic. Not sure of the shelf life. Rep recommended to me it be kept sealed in the freezer.

Yeast flocculation is time and sugar (actually lack of) dependent, plus strain character.

Cheers!

Good and interesting points you make about the yeast. I recently brewed a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale clone, my first all-grain, and after two weeks in primary, still very cloudy, and gravity down to about 1.010 - 1.012 from an OG of 1.053. I had used yeast harvested from Sierra Nevada bottles, which I thought had done surprisingly well. I had the harvested yeast growing in extract wort for about a week and it appeared to be a very robust sample. After 24 hours, fermenter had a great staccato rhythm going. Perhaps it was just too much yeast? I've racked to secondary yesterday but may have to try the gelatin for the first time.

 

[NanoMan]

Color and clarity are only 3 points on the BJCP exam, and for good reason. There are bad things which can cause clarity problems, but not all clarity problems are from bad things. Aroma and taste ultimately trump the day. However, I, too, am disappointed when I cannot get my beers crystal clear. But what is the metric? Almost all commercial beers are filtered, they use post kettle finings (Sierra Nevada uses Polyclar Plus, for example), and frankly, I haven't found that customers are all that concerned about clarity if the product tastes good. Having said that, if you don't filter, you need to run down your checklist, beginning with grain, crush, Ca++ levels, hot break, cold break, kettle finings, yeast strain, yeast health, need I go on? At the end of the day, it is Tincture of Time!

Cheers!

NanoMan

 

[gelatin]

Since this thread started, I've learned that time = clarity. A couple of extra weeks in bottles produces very clear beer other than a slight chill haze, and two weeks in the fridge gives absolutely brilliant clarity.

My new enemy is carbonation. A beer that was perfect after 2-3 weeks in bottles seems to end up over-carbonated after 2 months. The solution is obvious - cut down on the priming sugar and deal with the wait.

 

[sweetcell]

My new enemy is carbonation. A beer that was perfect after 2-3 weeks in bottles seems to end up over-carbonated after 2 months. The solution is obvious - cut down on the priming sugar and deal with the wait.

something weird is going on there. sounds like you might have an infection or your fermentation isn't complete when you bottle. carbonation shouldn't change after a month.

 

[Jlaw3000]

+1 to cold temps. After carbonation refrigerating your bottles for 1-2 weeks will clarify just about anything. Just did a berlinerweisse with 1007 (notoriously low floc) and it is crystal after a few weeks in the fridge. Pour gently and you are good to go. Ill post some photos of 1 day vs 1 week in fridge at some point.

 

[Ridire]

I just brewed my first "light" beer, a blonde. I put the first bottle in the fridge last night, after 3 weeks of conditioning. Even through the bottle it is obvious that it is crystal clear. I did not cold crash, but I did add whirlfloc for 15 minutes of the boil.