Clarity

[TySmith40]

The brews that I have made so far have tasted good, had good notes, and maintained a good head. I would obviously like to improve a lot of things but one major thing I would like to improve is the clarity of my beer. Any good tips or ideas for doing so?

 

[johngaltsmotor]

Simplest is adding Irish Moss (or whirfloc, etc) to the boil to help the proteins bond together and fall out faster. (I use it in every batch).
Second is adding gelatin after primary fermentation is mostly complete (similar effect to Irish Moss).
Third would be cold crashing if you can get the fermenter into a refrigerator for several days before kegging/bottling.
Also, getting a good full rolling boil should help with getting a good hot break and get the proteins to settle out during cooling.

 

[kblankenship11]

People use all kinds of different things, but I've found that the most effective tool is refrigeration and patience. Almost every beer that I keg that sits in my kegerator for 4 weeks or more; whether I used irish moss, whirlfloc or nothing, ends up being clear. Those who bottle generally don't keep the beer in refrigerators for that long, so its a bit harder for the beer to clear up.

The only beers that haven't cleared up that quickly for me are Belgians. I have a Belgian wit that's been kegged for more than 5 weeks and it's still not clear, which is fine because that's accurate to style.

 

[LandoLincoln]

Irish moss has never done jack for my beers. Whirlfloc has. Whirlfloc and cold crashing will give you a super clear beer.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Question on Irish Moss / Whirlfloc:

I've recently started doing a hot hop whirlpools on some of my hoppier beers where I'm looking for that nice strong aroma. To do this I recirculate hot (195-212 degree) wort at full flow for ~20 minutes before starting the hose water in the CFC. Kettle temp then drops very quickly from there.

With these batches, I've continued to add my Whirlfloc 10 minutes from the end of the boil. Should I change this and add it during the whirlpool instead?

I found this: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/whirlfloc-hot-whirlpool-242082/

It's inconclusive, but it would suggest moving it to a whirlpool addition would be best...

 

[Doed]

Cold crashing seems to work best for me. 2 or 3 days at around 33° - 34°.

 

[TySmith40]

Ok thanks for all the tips and suggestions I will definitely be using some of these

 

[daksin]

If you don't need your beer to be vegan/vegetarian, fining the beer post fermentation with gelatin or isinglass can help. Dissolve it well, add to beer, and crash cool as usual. I usually gelatin in the keg and then jump the sparkling clear beer over into a fresh keg if I'm going to transport it. Otherwise, I just let the junk stay at the bottom of the keg- it stays very compacted and the area around the dip tube clears with the first pour or two.

 

[BrewinHooligan]

Question on Irish Moss / Whirlfloc:

I've recently started doing a hot hop whirlpools on some of my hoppier beers where I'm looking for that nice strong aroma. To do this I recirculate hot (195-212 degree) wort at full flow for ~20 minutes before starting the hose water in the CFC. Kettle temp then drops very quickly from there.

With these batches, I've continued to add my Whirlfloc 10 minutes from the end of the boil. Should I change this and add it during the whirlpool instead?

I found this: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/whirlfloc-hot-whirlpool-242082/

It's inconclusive, but it would suggest moving it to a whirlpool addition would be best...

That makes sense. The manufacturer actually suggests to add with 5 minutes left in the boil, a half a tablet for a 5 gallon batch. The properties that cause the proteins to bind together and fall out of suspension are driven off by boiling.

I don't think it has been mentioned, but the faster you can chill the wort the less chill haze you get in the beer. I don't have a wort chiller so using the ice bath I typically have a bit of chill haze in my beer. They are usually crystal clear after 2 weeks in the fridge though.