By golly, I want clear beer!

[stooby]

I know its not supposed to affect the taste, but dammit I want to produce a clear beer, not something that looks like it has orange juice pulp in it. I've read about various ways to help but I don't want to mess up the taste as this is the most important thing. Does gelatin affect taste? Whirlfoc? Irish moss? Does filtering remove taste? What would you recommend first. I primary in a bucket & up until now I havent had room to cold crash, but I scored a bigger kegerator off craigslist so I'll be able to do that now. I just keg & have never bottled but I feel I could do alot better in the "clear beer" dept.

 

[Golddiggie]

Post up your brewing/fermenting processes...

Personally, I get really clear brews time and again. I do use Irish Moss (tried Whirlfloc for a time, same effect) during the boil (last ~10 minutes of it). I also use a hop spider to contain the hop pellets during the boil. I get hot break pretty fast (getting up to a boil) and then cold break even faster (solid plate chiller). I'm also kegging my brews, letting them carbonate over 2 weeks in the brew fridge (at serving pressure) before putting the keg onto an available tap (once one becomes available). I do not cold crash or use any post boil fining agents (never have, doubt I ever will). I do let my brews normally go 4+ weeks in primary, with no secondary for almost all of my batches. I will rack onto oak cubes for aging, but that's for an extended period (months). I'm also using either high, or very high, flocculation rating yeast (Wyeast UK strains). I've also changed from dry hopping in fermenter to adding hops directly to the keg (whole hops in a nylon bag). I use 1oz/3 gallon keg with stellar results.

IMO/IME, you don't need to use gelatin or cold crash your brew to get it to be clear in the glass.

 

[Yooper]

I never use gelatin (I have vegetarian friends, plus it grosses me out anyway) but I do use Whirlfloc in the boil (it's like a SuperCharged Irish Moss) and that's about it.

Filtering can strip some taste, but it can work out ok. The thing is, you only filter pretty clear beer anyway so you don't clog your filter pads.

Can you give a typical recipe along with the technique, and we can help you figure out how to fix this?

A couple of pointers- one, get a really good "hot break" and a really good "cold break", and use whirlfloc in the kettle. That will cause a ton of protein coagulation, and only clear wort will remain along with trub. Getting a good cold break really helps with beer clarity, so getting the wort chilled FAST helps a lot. Some yeast strains are non-flocculant and don't clear the beer well. Try using S04 ale yeast at 62 degrees, and that shouldn't be an issue at all. Wheat as an ingredient tends to cloud the beer, as it has a higher protein content, and if you're brewing AG and not getting complete starch conversion, you could have a starch haze.

Your beer should never look like orange juice pulp- we can help you fix it!

 

[stooby]

I brew with BIAB method, hop in strainer bag, brew alot of kolsch. I like lighter colored beers better than darker ones. The only really clear beer I've brewed was a hopped can extract no boil kit that came with my starter kit. Seems as if both of u guys use something in kettle, maybe that is where I should start.

 

[MrManifesto]

i used to have this problem but i've had a few recent successes! i use whirfloc and do everything i can to get a good hot/cold break. i also use a muslin bag over the tube when i'm racking to the fermenter. i use a wine chiller to ferment and cold crash in. #1 thing i do, though is use a highly flocculating yeast (wlp007 is my personal choice). good luck.

 

[shoreman]

Do you keg or bottle?

 

[Golddiggie]

How are you chilling the wort??

I use a keggle (of course, I did the entire conversion) for my boil. I also use a keg mash tun. Blichmann burners help me to get a fast hot break, and 40 plate chiller helps to get a fast cold break (of course, with a March pump)...

Keggle:

One of my recent brews, in poor lighting:

 

[stooby]

Dam, that keggle looks like some sort of space gadget! I have a immersion wort chiller, & I always get a good hot break, I guess if you judge it by a good head of foam at first boil. Do you skim it off? I don't. I'm wondering if I'm getting too much trub in keg. Yes, I only keg

 

[alestateyall]

The only times I have gotten orange juice pulp is when I make too small a batch and then suck in a lot of yeast when racking to the keg. When I have done that I have gotten lots of yeast in the first 5-10 pints as opposed to 1-2 pints if I brew an extra 0.3-0.5 gallons and leave a little in the bottom of the fermenter when racking.

 

[Golddiggie]

Dam, that keggle looks like some sort of space gadget! I have a immersion wort chiller, & I always get a good hot break, I guess if you judge it by a good head of foam at first boil. Do you skim it off? I don't. I'm wondering if I'm getting too much trub in keg. Yes, I only keg

LMAO! Just wait until you see the next one... :rockin: I have a fresh keg that will be easier to polish and have an even better finish on it. It won't have a dial thermometer since I'll be using a thermowell with shielding on it (to a digital thermometer as needed). I really like my sight glass that I've installed too. Of course, I designed/made it.

If you have foaming 'issues' try using some fermcap-s. I don't skim the wort during the boil (or at any point actually). Having enough headroom in the kettle means you don't need to worry at all. Of course, fermcap-s also means you don't need to worry about getting foam/boil-overs.

I leave about a pint behind in the kettle/keggle, which has most of the excess trub. I'm working my way through my different diptube options in the keggle, so I haven't found the final one yet.

I do tend to brew more beers with color to them, so nothing that's light enough to easily read through. Still, I don't have anything funky floating in the glass, nor any real haze to them (even chill haze is minimal).

What temp do you have your kegged beer at? I keep mine in the 38-40F range while in the fridge.

 

[stooby]

I've been pretty much sucking up most of the liquid out of fermenter. If I start leaving, say a half gallon to avoid yeast trub, how do I adjust recipes to account for the extra half gallon. Don't want to water down the brew. Golddiggie, that pint looks good

 

[brew2enjoy]

Whirlfloc during the boil and gelatin in the keg. I get professional results. The gelatin makes the biggest difference.

 

[Golddiggie]

Thanks... It's my MO SMaSH batch (first 3 gallon keg kicked so fast. Got the second one carbonating)... I'm brewing 10 gallons of it next weekend, planning on getting 9 gallons out, into three 3 gallon kegs. Going a little lighter in color for the second batch, and a bit lower in ABV (first was 6.7%, aiming for about 5.5% for the second run).

 

[stooby]

I keep my kegs the same as yours about 38-40. I don't really get chunks in my brews, just super cloudy beer. I have a 11 gal kettle, so although I get alot of foamy hot break, I don't have boilover problems.

 

[alestateyall]

I've been pretty much sucking up most of the liquid out of fermenter. If I start leaving, say a half gallon to avoid yeast trub, how do I adjust recipes to account for the extra half gallon. Don't want to water down the brew. Golddiggie, that pint looks good

Just use an online recipe calculator and keep the same grain percentages and aim for the same OG and IBU with a larger batch size.

A lot of calculators will scale the recipe for you if you change the batch size. I know brewpal on iPhone will. Maybe some other folks can suggest a tool online.

 

[stooby]

Brew2enjoy, that's what I'm shooting for. What recipe is that?

 

[stooby]

The only problem with adjusting batch sizes & therefore grain bills is I use kits because I don't have a grain mill yet. Notice how I said yet? Man this hobby grows quick. First a bigger kettle, then a bigger kettle. Then a ball valve & temp gauge for kettle. HYdrometers, thermometers, kegs & more kegs, bigger kegerator, etc.......

 

[alestateyall]

The only problem with adjusting batch sizes & therefore grain bills is I use kits because I don't have a grain mill yet. Notice how I said yet? Man this hobby grows quick. First a bigger kettle, then a bigger kettle. Then a ball valve & temp gauge for kettle. HYdrometers, thermometers, kegs & more kegs, bigger kegerator, etc.......

I don't have a mill. I use brewmasterswarehouse.com. With the brewbuilder you can dial in grain bills down to the ounce. Grains come crushed in a labeled sealed bag. Good crush too. I get 75-80% efficiency every time.

 

[brew2enjoy]

Brew2enjoy, that's what I'm shooting for. What recipe is that?

Centennial Blonde
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/centennial-blonde-simple-4-all-grain-5-10-gall-42841/

I get that type of clarity with all of my beers. If you keg, it is a simple as buying a cheap package of knox gelatin at the supermarket, mixing a half a pack into about a 1/2 cup of cold water, heating in the microwave to about 170 and adding directly into the keg (already cold). After a few days, pull the first pint and discard. The remainder of the keg will be crystal clear.

 

[kman6234]

I've found that whirfloc helps a good amount when it comes to clear beer. But the thing that helps the most is letting the beer sit in the frig for a while. I've pulled beers out of my frig after two months that were crystal clear. When they were younger they weren't nearly as clear.

 

[jma99]

Whrilflock rocks!
I use 1 tab for my 11 gal batches, and all is clear!

 

[Yooper]

I brew with BIAB method, hop in strainer bag, brew alot of kolsch. I like lighter colored beers better than darker ones. The only really clear beer I've brewed was a hopped can extract no boil kit that came with my starter kit. Seems as if both of u guys use something in kettle, maybe that is where I should start.

When you brew, do you check conversion with iodine? If you're not getting full conversion, you could have a starch haze and it will NOT clear.

After you get full conversion, I know BIABers squeeze the bag, but you might want to try not squeezing the bag (cloudy stuff comes out) and just let it drip. Then make sure you get a HARD boil- a nice rolling boil with a great hot break- and then use whirlfloc at 15 minutes. After the flame goes out, get a good cold break by chilling fast. Then you should have clear wort, which should equal clear beer.

 

[Golddiggie]

Squeezing the bag... I suppose some people pay to have that done.

Whirlfloc, Irish Moss or the super-charged Irish Moss products all help with the cold break (as already pointed out)... If you're not already using it, I would. I would also focus on one change at a time. Brew a few batches that way and see what your results are. So, use Irish moss, or the equal, for a couple/few batches and see how those come out. If not to where you're happy, add another process on top of that.

 

[stooby]

Yeah, I'm gonna start with the irish moss or equivalent, then go from there. One thing, I just do a gravity drain from the brew kettle into the fermenting bucket. Should I use a syphon instead? Thanks for the help

 

[Golddiggie]

I always use the ball valve in my kettle/keggle to drain. That's a large part of why you have one in the kettle (also turns a pot into a kettle)...

One other thing you can try is give your brews longer in primary. For a modest OG batch (under 1.065) I'd go 3-4 weeks in primary then rack to keg. Over 1.070, give it another week (or more)... Most of my batches go 3-6 weeks in primary with the BIG brews (~9%+) going 8 weeks in primary.

 

[stooby]

That's probably a good thought, I guess it lets everything settle out better. I usually transfer after about 10 days since fermentation is complete by then.

 

[Yooper]

That's probably a good thought, I guess it lets everything settle out better. I usually transfer after about 10 days since fermentation is complete by then.

Instead of transferring, why not try letting it sit for 21 days, and then packaging? I don't see any advantage for transferring, and if you start with clear wort, and use a yeast like so4, you should have a tightly compacted yeast cake and totally clear beer by day 21.

 

[Golddiggie]

I'd go with a longer primary, no secondary, model for the next batch. Just because it's done fermenting doesn't mean it's ready to go to glass yet.

My coming batch has an expected OG of about 1.057. I'm planning on 3 weeks for that one before it goes to keg. Not to say it won't go a full month, but I'll check it at 3 weeks (and not a day sooner). If it's where I expect it to be, and tastes right, I'll rack it to keg. Otherwise, I'll leave it the hell alone and let it go another week before checking it again. I'm a firm believer in NOT rushing a batch to keg/bottle just because it's been X days and the recipe someone else came up with says that's how long it takes. IME, a recipe is really only accurate (or mostly accurate) in the time tables for the original brewer. Unless you can match those conditions, the time tables are pretty much worthless (at least for fermentation times). Dry hopping time frames are also subject to your own personal taste.

 

[BuddyWeiser]

I use irish moss in the boil during the last 10-15 min, and then knox gelatin like brew2enjoy said. Thank you gelatin, for your wonderful contribution to gummy worms, marshmellows, and clear beer!

 

[stooby]

And you don't notice any different flavor or mouthfeel with the gelatin? I guess its a psychological hurdle to get over to think it wouldn't