Clearing cloudy beer post fermentation for bottling?

[ignition]

Hello all,

I have just made my first home brew and it is very cloudy.

Overall it has a nice aroma, pretty nice taste, ABV = ~ 4.6% (as targeted), but the cloudiness* is horrible.

* looks like cultured yeast from the lab.

In short it was an extract brew (D-LME & D- Wheat ME + Morgan Lager can), + Cascade (10 min) & Citra (5 min) hops, used US-05 yeast, and its been in the primary fermentation vessel for ~ 2 weeks. I believe my problem was that it took a little while for the wort to cool.

I have seen online that I can do two things to clear it up. The first is cool it in the fridge and the second is add gelatin.

As I intend to carbonate it by bottling (750 ml) with sugar (not use a keg and CO2 canister) I'm curious if either the gelatin or cooling will effect the beers ability to carbonate or should residual yeast remain in the solution (beer)?

Has anyone here ever added gelatin and cooled their beer after fermentation and have you bottled and carbonated that product in glass bottles?

Thank you and cheers!

Troy

 

[cjbalough]

I'd suggest giving it another week or TWO. Then, if it isn't as clear as you'd like, either cold crash, or cold crash and add the gelatin. For me, that yeast takes a bit of time to fall out. And will take some time to carb up and drop back out in the bottle. Neither crashing or adding gelatin will have a big effect on bottle conditioning - other than making your beer clearer and with less sediment in the bottles.

 

[CUrchin]

How much wheat DME did you use? The wheat probably isn't helping anything as wheat can cloud up a beer. The previous poster's advice is good. Give it some time, cold crash and use gelatin if necessary. Or live with it.

 

[ignition]

Thank you.

I used 1 can of Morgans Blue Mountain Lager, 1 kg (2.2 lb) of D-LME, and 0.5 kg (1.1 lb) of D-Wheat ME in 23 L (~ 6 gal) total.

Was trying to clone the Mountain Goat Steam Ale (recipe from Dino on YouTube), which is naturally a little cloudy but mine is just absurd.

I'll upload a photo when I get a chance, but literally can't see through the hydrometer measuring cylinder.

 

[snow16]

The wheat probably isn't helping, but if it's so bad that you can't even see through your hydrometer sample - it sounds like you have a whole lot of yeast in suspension. US-05 is a great yeast, but it does take longer than some to flocculate. It could also have a lot to do with your hot break/cold break. Did you use any kettle finings like irish moss or whirlfloc?

At the end of the day, if your first brew smells and tastes pretty good - you should be pretty damn proud of that. We all want perfectly clear beer (assuming it's appropriate for the style...), but there are a lot of factors that contribute to that and it's not always easy to achieve. It's your first brew. Gelatin isn't complicated, but if I were you I wouldn't mess with in on my first brew. Keep it in the fermentor and let it clear up a little more on its own. It'll clear up further once you bottle it and chill it. Read up on what causes haziness in beer and work on it while brewing future batches.

Cut yourself some slack and enjoy your first brew!

 

[dlaramie08]

As much as it is going to pain you, time is your friend here. Cold crash the beer before bottling and then wait as long as you can after bottling. I have had beers drop crystal clear after a couple of months in the bottle with no kettle finings at all, even when I was using an ice bath to cool.

 

[Shade]

If you already have a fridge for your first brew then you are better prepared than I was!

I tried gelatin first and to be honest I don't think it did much if you couldn't cool it too. So if you do have a fridge then yes, definitely use it.

I would use gelatin as well if you have it because it's pretty easy and plenty of info around.

 

[bendog15]

Ive had great success with cold crashing and adding gelatin. After your beer has finished fermentation, cold crash for 48 hours, add gelatin, let sit for another 48 hours, then bottle. Beer came out wonderfully clear.

 

[TravelingLight]

FWIW...I used gelatin on my last beer. I didn't even add it until about half the keg was gone. Mainly because I didn't know I could use it at that point. It worked phenomenally. Looks like a completely different beer. And this was an IPA with wheat DME (and light LME).

 

[RM-MN]

Hello all,

I have just made my first home brew and it is very cloudy.

Overall it has a nice aroma, pretty nice taste, ABV = ~ 4.6% (as targeted), but the cloudiness* is horrible.

* looks like cultured yeast from the lab.

In short it was an extract brew (D-LME & D- Wheat ME + Morgan Lager can), + Cascade (10 min) & Citra (5 min) hops, used US-05 yeast, and its been in the primary fermentation vessel for ~ 2 weeks. I believe my problem was that it took a little while for the wort to cool.

I have seen online that I can do two things to clear it up. The first is cool it in the fridge and the second is add gelatin.

As I intend to carbonate it by bottling (750 ml) with sugar (not use a keg and CO2 canister) I'm curious if either the gelatin or cooling will effect the beers ability to carbonate or should residual yeast remain in the solution (beer)?

Has anyone here ever added gelatin and cooled their beer after fermentation and have you bottled and carbonated that product in glass bottles?

Thank you and cheers!

Troy

I've done no-chill batches where it took a long time to get to pitching temp, one of which took about 36 hours and it still gave me clear beer so I doubt that your slow chilling was the cause.

 

[Bobb25]

Two years ago I had the same worries over my first batch. I even took a drive to the nearest home brew shop , 1 hour away thinking I would need to buy some chemical. Their advise was after the first couple of weeks, carefully siphon to a secondary fermentor and store in a cool dark corner of the cellar.
It eventually turned out good. Time and patience seems to be the key.
Bob

 

[ignition]

Thank you all for the advice. Three days ago I placed it in the fridge and cold crashed it followed by 1 tsp of dissolved gelatin in sterile water. After three days it began to clear buetifully and I didn't notice any real difference in flavour or aroma. Last night I bottled it with sugar and it's incubating at room temperature (~ 20 degrees celcius). I'll post a photo of it when it's cracked for the first time along with the cloudy hydrometer sample.

Cheers!

 

[RM-MN]

Two years ago I had the same worries over my first batch. I even took a drive to the nearest home brew shop , 1 hour away thinking I would need to buy some chemical. Their advise was after the first couple of weeks, carefully siphon to a secondary fermentor and store in a cool dark corner of the cellar.
It eventually turned out good. Time and patience seems to be the key.
Bob

The store in a cool dark corner of your cellar would have done it without going into a secondary fermenter. Time and cool both help.