Chill Hazing - Does it Matter?

[ultravista]

I've been reading alot about post-secondary fermenting and cold crashing, things that help reduce haze in the final product.

Beyond visual appeal, is there a point to having a clear beer? Do any bad flavors impart or is there another sensible reason to spend the extra time to make your beer clear?

Personally the clarity does not matter to me. It is all about the taste and feel.

 

[Calder]

Personally the clarity does not matter to me.

It will.

Chill haze seems to make absolutely no difference in the final produce. Some people may say it does, and if it does, it is minor.

But ..... when you get to brewing a really good product, that haze is just going to bug you. It's going to be a challenge that you just can't back away from.

 

[smizak]

I used to feel the same way, but as I started sharing my beer more, I wanted to give people a clear pint. It really does affect the perception of the beer.

As for other tangible effects, I find that the carbonation in my beers after they're nice and clear is noticeably different. A still-hazy beer seems to have a faster dissipating head and much less retention. When my beer drops clear, I notice that there is always a nice layer of foam in the glass that leaves some lacing on the way down. The bubbles also seem finer. I assume it has to do with nucleation sites, the haze proteins may cause the CO2 to come out of solution more quickly.

That's my opinion anyway

 

[Revvy]

If you enter contests, yes, if just enjoying your beer, no. But chill haze is really easy to get rid of, just fridge your beer as long as possible, like 1 week or more. That's really it. Just leave you beer in the fridge longer than most of us do.

Another thing where we benefit from patience.

 

[sgillespie]

I've also heard that clear beer can be an indicator of good brewing practices...

 

[jfr1111]

I've also heard that clear beer can be an indicator of good brewing practices...

Maybe, but I made every mistake in the book during my first AG batch (it took upwards of 2 hours to chill the wort to pitching temps, for example) and the beer came out crystal clear with gelatin. You can always cheat a bit.

 

[jkreuze]

You can do a lot of things to clear a beer that have no bearing on whether you did a good job brewing it.