Clearer beer?

[jongrill]

I'm three batches in on my beer brewing hobby and every day I am learning something new. Today I am trying to research how to have "clearer" beer.

My last batch, a rye ale, sat in the fermenter for three weeks. It didn't seem to be less cloudy than a beer I left in a fermenter for two weeks.
Is there a way to make my beer have a more more clear appearance?

 

[Pontiac_Guy]

Try Irish moss at the end of your boil

 

[Varmintman]

Cold break after the boil will help along with fining agents. A week in the fridge after it has carbed will help a lot as well.

 

[jongrill]

Cold break after the boil will help along with fining agents. A week in the fridge after it has carbed will help a lot as well.

Cold break?

 

[jongrill]

Try Irish moss at the end of your boil

What will that do?

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Cold break?

What will that do?

A quick chilling will cause a "cold break", basically a coagulation of break proteins from the boil. This will allow them to fall out more freely, and produce a clearer beer.

Also, a week or two in the fridge will clear up most "chill haze", which is also cause by proteins.

And.... irish moss or Whirlfloc at about 10 mins left in the boil will work wonders for protein coagulation.

 

[julioardz]

This blog has some helpful information, and pictures of beautiful clear beer. Here is different post on the use of gelatin.

I don't remember if he says it in there, but in my experience, these methods don't substitute for one another, but when used collectively, can produce a crystal clear beer.

 

[rklinck]

Cold break refers to cooling the wort quickly after the boil. The faster you cool the wort, the less chill haze you will have in the finished beer. Irish moss/Whirlfloc causes the proteins to clump together, so you get bigger pieces of trub. It will make the trub layer more compact in your fermenter.

You can also "cold crash" your fermenter before bottling/kegging. That means getting the temperature down to near freezing and holding it there for a few days, which causes some of the yeast to fall out and takes some of the other material that is in suspension out as well. If you have a spare fridge, this is a good place to do it. Otherwise, an ice water bath tends to work well.

With all that said, nothing will replace letting the beer sit in the bottle/keg in the refrigerator for a good amount of time before serving. I use Whirlflock, get a very good cold break with my wort chiller, and cold crash my beers for a week prior to kegging. With all of that said, my beer remains cloudy/hazy. It tends to clear up after it has been in the keg in the fridge for about two or so weeks.

 

[scottland]

If you aren't adding Irish Moss or Whirlfloc in during the boil, that is the biggest source of your haze. Irish moss and Whirlfloc are known as kettle fining agents. As rklinck mentioned, they cause proteins to clump together, once the proteins clump together enough, their molecular weight is such that they sink to the bottom of the kettle.

Both irish moss and whirlfloc are dirt cheap. Your LHBS will have them. Add one or the other when there's 10-15 minutes left during the boil. You'll notice much, much clearer wort going into your fermenter.

That will make the biggest difference.

 

[cram]

Besides whirfloc or Irish moss and cold-crashing as already mentioned, the most simple solution is likely leaving your beer in primary or secondary longer--the difference in clarity between two weeks and one month+ can be quite extreme. Certain yeasts settle out more readily, so that';s something else to consider. Also, being extra careful when you rack the beer to leave the sediment behind takes a little practice.

 

[rklinck]

Besides whirfloc or Irish moss and cold-crashing as already mentioned, the most simple solution is likely leaving your beer in primary or secondary longer--the difference in clarity between two weeks and one month+ can be quite extreme. Certain yeasts settle out more readily, so that';s something else to consider. Also, being extra careful when you rack the beer to leave the sediment behind takes a little practice.

I agree with this because the biggest issue is the total amount of time between putting it in the fermenter and cracking the bottle (or pouring from the keg). You could achieve the same thing by bottling at 2 or 3 weeks and letting it sit in the bottles longer, but my experience is that bottles/kegs full of beer are a much bigger temptation than beer sitting in a fermenter.

 

[BrewPilot74]

I use whirlfloc during the boil and knox gelatin added to the carboy about 4 days before bottling. Works great, the beer comes out super clear. There's a thread somewhere on this site that tells how to use the gelatin.

 

[jongrill]

Thanks for all the info!


So whirlfloc and Irish moss... Is there a certain amount to add depending on the volume? I do one gallon batches right now.

 

[rklinck]

Whirlfloc comes in tablets that are intended to treat a 5 gallon batch. You could try chopping them up in quarters. A little extra never hurt anyone, and they are really cheap. A packet of 10 or 12 of them costs about $2.

 

[scottland]

Irish moss might be easier to work with for a 1 gallon batch. Use 1/4tsp. Throw it in the boil with 10min left

 

[Upthewazzu]

Whirlfloc comes in tablets that are intended to treat a 5 gallon batch. You could try chopping them up in quarters. A little extra never hurt anyone, and they are really cheap. A packet of 10 or 12 of them costs about $2.

They are actually meant to treat 10 gallons per tablet. So cut them in half for a 5 gallon batch. Add the half-tab with 5 minutes remaining in the boil.

 

[weirdboy]

Good hot break, good cold break, and I use whirlfloc at flameout, which is sort of like concetrated Irish moss.

Heres my hydrometer sample checking the OG on the German pilsner I brewed Monday. The haze you see in that sample is actually crud on my hydrometer tube, not in the wort.





This combined with longer time in primary and cold conditioning should produce brilliant clarity.



You would not have believed it was the same wort if you saw it during pre-boil or while it was boiling. It was downright murky with protein haze.

 

[julioardz]

You use Whirfloc or Iris moss. Irish moss is 1 teaspoon per 5 gallons, so I'm guessing you could use a fraction of a teaspoon. Instructions say to rehydrate the irish moss before adding it to the last 15 minutes of the boil. You wouldn't have to break anything apart. I've had similar results with both in the finished beer, but a thicker coagulated trub at the end of fermentation with irish moss. I'm no brew scientist, but I'm sure the recipe and water all play into this as well.

 

[mttfrog13]

Also try using a hop bag (if you aren't already) rather than dumping them in the boil, and use a secondary.

The clearest beer I've made I believe got clear because I left it in the secondary for longer that I usually would, and also I let it stay in the bottle longer than I usually would. For most beers I do 10 days in the primary and 2 weeks in the secondary. If I'm wanting the beer to be really clear, I might do 3 weeks in the secondary and 3 weeks in the bottle.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Irish moss is seaweed, and looks like dried seaweed. Would be very to measure into small batches. Whirlfloc can be broken or crushed into powder, a little bit goes a long way so adding roughly 1/5th of a tab to 1 gal would surely do the trick. That fast chill really helps too, you will see the protein clump and drop, looks like cooked ground beef. I often forget to add any kettle finings and never use gelatin and most always get clear beer aside from the turbo hoppy or regularly hazy styles.

 

[Hopper5000]

After your beer is done fermenting you can cold crash it for 24 or 48 hours. This will cause most of the yeast to drop out of solution.

 

[BansheeRider]

After using Irish moss do you siphone the wort into primary?

 

[weirdboy]

After using Irish moss do you siphone the wort into primary?

It doesn't matter if you siphon it or dump it into the primary. All the crud sinks to the bottom with the rest of the trub.

 

[rklinck]

It doesn't matter if you siphon it or dump it into the primary. All the crud sinks to the bottom with the rest of the trub.

I agree. The trub has never settled in my pot by the time it is to pitching temp, so I just pour it all into the fermenter. The trub sinks to the bottom very quickly once it is in the fermenter (there is a thick layer within 24 hours).

 

[pwkblue]

As stated above there are three basic factors that contribute to clarity: process, fining agents, and time.

1) process: there is no substitute for proper hot and cold breaks. Much of the traditional brewing process has been built around creating these "breaks" and removing the resulting material. it is possible to make good beer without these traditional steps....and many here will call some of the steps "myths"....but removing the material via "process" can reduce the need for products and time. In particular many will suggest pouring everything from your brew pot into the fermenter...but that will slow fermentation, and require more time for everything to settle out of suspension.
2) irish Moss is cheap, easy, and works. Other products mentioned also work. Clarity-Ferm has not been mentioned here, it is a bit more expensive at $2 per batch, but when used properly makes a huge difference.
3)Time and gravity are your friend! Time will allow all those heavy particles to settle out during fermentation, secondary or lagering, and in the bottle. The more "stuff" left from 1 & 2...the more time needed for gravity to do the work.

There are many ways to make good beer...choose the methods that work for you. My personal preference is to focus on a good vigorous boil, irish moss, and a rapid cool to create a cold break....then leaving most of that mess in the pot. Yes...I lose a little wort volume, but I believe it is worth it.

note: not trying to create a debate...many people dump everything into the fermenter and make excellent beer. Time will remove that material...I just prefer to remove much of it up front. I don't stress about it, but leaving what I can in the pot just makes sense....then time will take care of the remainder.

 

[rklinck]

As stated above there are three basic factors that contribute to clarity: process, fining agents, and time.

1) process: there is no substitute for proper hot and cold breaks. Much of the traditional brewing process has been built around creating these "breaks" and removing the resulting material. it is possible to make good beer without these traditional steps....and many here will call some of the steps "myths"....but removing the material via "process" can reduce the need for products and time. In particular many will suggest pouring everything from your brew pot into the fermenter...but that will slow fermentation, and require more time for everything to settle out of suspension.
2) irish Moss is cheap, easy, and works. Other products mentioned also work. Clarity-Ferm has not been mentioned here, it is a bit more expensive at $2 per batch, but when used properly makes a huge difference.
3)Time and gravity are your friend! Time will allow all those heavy particles to settle out during fermentation, secondary or lagering, and in the bottle. The more "stuff" left from 1 & 2...the more time needed for gravity to do the work.

There are many ways to make good beer...choose the methods that work for you. My personal preference is to focus on a good vigorous boil, irish moss, and a rapid cool to create a cold break....then leaving most of that mess in the pot. Yes...I lose a little wort volume, but I believe it is worth it.

How are you able to lose only a little wort volume by leaving most of the trub in the pot? By the time I reach pitching temperature, the protein solids have not even dropped halfway out of suspension in my pot -- I can still see them within a few inches of the top of the wort. Are you just waiting until it settles before transferring and pitching?

 

[jongrill]

Irish moss might be easier to work with for a 1 gallon batch. Use 1/4tsp. Throw it in the boil with 10min left

Sounds great! Ill try it next time I brew!

 

[jongrill]

Totally off subject but this has come up a few times in the post already. I've been siphoning my wort to my fermenter. Most of you actually POUR your entire pot into your fermenter!?

 

[LandoLincoln]

Things that have worked really well for me:

* Filtering
* Gelatin finings and then cold crashing

Things that have worked moderately well for me:

* Whirlfloc tablets and then cold-crashing
* Cold crashing by itself

Things that have not worked well for me after numerous tries:

* Irish moss
* Leaving beer sit in primary for a 4 weeks

I haven't tried Whirlfloc tablets by themselves.

 

[rklinck]

Totally off subject but this has come up a few times in the post already. I've been siphoning my wort to my fermenter. Most of you actually POUR your entire pot into your fermenter!?

Yep. I pour my wort through a strainer that fits nicely atop my fermenters. This has the added benefit of really aerating the wort to allow the yeast to get a good start.