Cloudy after fermentation

[BCMike22]

Okay, so I'm sure I know what I did was wrong (used a low gravity yeast in a double IPA) but I admit I got lazy and just tried two packets of the stuff. I know it started fermenting and there was some trub in the bucket after I transferred to secondary carboy, but it's cloudy and fugly currently.

Should I just dump it or is it worth heating up (space heater in closed room) wort to try to reinvigorate the yeast or introduce high gravity yeast?

I know this was a rookie move and frankly it was over a year since I had last brewed so I wasn't nearly as prepared as I used to be / should have been, but now with a baby around I don't get as much time (or any) to brew so I just jumped right in when I had a moment.

Any help (outside of "you should have used a higher gravity yeast") would be sincerely appreciated. Thanks, Gents.

 

[kev211]

You should have used a higher gravity yeast...


Hahaha, I kid I kid.

What was your OG, and have you checked your gravity since?

I dont know how much you could heat it up without risking off flavors, and Ive never added yeast into a secondary to try to fire up a stalled fermentation, but I would do a gravity reading first just to see where you sit

 

[BCMike22]

You should have used a higher gravity yeast...


Hahaha, I kid I kid.

What was your OG, and have you checked your gravity since?

I dont know how much you could heat it up without risking off flavors, and Ive never added yeast into a secondary to try to fire up a stalled fermentation, but I would do a gravity reading first just to see where you sit

Haha--I know I asked for that one

I've honestly never, ever taken OG and FG's because I just don't care about the booze content percentage. You can typically tell when you drink it

Although I certainly understand how it could be useful in diagnosing this issue here... :smack:

I know it was fermenting, I saw it bubbling lightly for a couple days and then stop.

 

[kev211]

If it were me, I would still take a gravity reading to know where you sit in relation to a "typical" FG of a double.

 

[agrazela]

Is this an extract brew, partial mash, or all-grain? If extract, we could calculate an almost exact OG, if PM or AG we might be able to come kinda close to estimating an OG.

What was your recipe and procedures? And do you have a means of measuring (current) gravity?

 

[ong]

Cloudy really shouldn't be any kind of dealbreaker. Most sediment will settle out when the beer is cold, and a bit of haze won't affect anything but appearance. Have you tasted the beer? How long since you started fermentation?

 

[solbes]

Cloudy could just mean you haven't given it enough time to drop. Usually 3-4 weeks if left at room temp on its own. Or you can cold crash in a fridge for 48 hours after 2 weeks of fermentation. Or you can rack it over to secondary.

If it is clear in the bottle at room temp, but cloudy after some fridge time you have chill haze. To cure that in the future, start using Irish Moss or Whirlfloc as a late boil addition. You can still drop it in the bottle by leaving in a cold fridge for 1-2 weeks.

In the end I would never dump a batch just because its cloudy. Beer can be drank with some yeast in suspension IMO. But I have a hard time doing so with wine/wine yeast.

 

[BCMike22]

Is this an extract brew, partial mash, or all-grain? If extract, we could calculate an almost exact OG, if PM or AG we might be able to come kinda close to estimating an OG.

What was your recipe and procedures? And do you have a means of measuring (current) gravity?

It was extract with some reconstituted cranberries I had broken down and reduced. So there was loads of fermentable maltose and fructose. That's my main reason for worry is that the yeast just simply wasn't strong enough.

One other characteristic is that there's this weird layer of foam/film on top, about 1/3" thick. I've already seen some of the sediment drop in the secondary carboy, so some of you may be right that I have jumped the gun on not waiting out the process.

Is it too late to introduce another yeast? I've never done that but I still think there's plenty of unfermented sugars in there.

 

[solbes]

When you say you "reduced" the cranberries, does that mean you boiled them in water? If so, you have pectin haze which will happen every time fruit is boiled. Not sure you can get rid of this.

To avoid it in the future, you want to stop short of boiling and rather "heat pastuerize" at 160-170F for 20 minutes.

 

[ong]

When you say you "reduced" the cranberries, do you mean you cooked them down? If you didn't add pectic enzyme, you will likely have quite a bit of pectin in the beer (the substance that makes jelly "gel"). It won't be the end of the world, but it's unlikely to ever drop totally clear.

Again, I'd encourage you to taste the beer, and give it some time to clear up. You mostly care if it tastes great, right?

EDIT: haha, solbes beat me to it!

 

[kev211]

When you say you "reduced" the cranberries, do you mean you cooked them down? If you didn't add pectic enzyme, you will likely have quite a bit of pectin in the beer (the substance that makes jelly "gel"). It won't be the end of the world, but it's unlikely to ever drop totally clear.

Again, I'd encourage you to taste the beer, and give it some time to clear up. You mostly care if it tastes great, right?

EDIT: haha, solbes beat me to it!

Wouldnt the pectin (acting as a jelly-jeller) kind of take the place of a gelatin in that case and act as a fining agent?

It was extract with some reconstituted cranberries I had broken down and reduced. So there was loads of fermentable maltose and fructose. That's my main reason for worry is that the yeast just simply wasn't strong enough.

One other characteristic is that there's this weird layer of foam/film on top, about 1/3" thick. I've already seen some of the sediment drop in the secondary carboy, so some of you may be right that I have jumped the gun on not waiting out the process.

Is it too late to introduce another yeast? I've never done that but I still think there's plenty of unfermented sugars in there.

Photo? Sounds like krausen to me, which is a good thing in this case. Means the yeast is doing its work

 

[BCMike22]

When you say you "reduced" the cranberries, does that mean you boiled them in water? If so, you have pectin haze which will happen every time fruit is boiled. Not sure you can get rid of this.

To avoid it in the future, you want to stop short of boiling and rather "heat pastuerize" at 160-170F for 20 minutes.

Gah. I bet that's it.

Although...I actually made a watermelon ale without issue doing basically the same thing. Stick blender and then slow simmer reduction.

 

[BCMike22]

Photo? Sounds like krausen to me, which is a good thing in this case. Means the yeast is doing its work[/QUOTE]

Good idea. I'll snap one and post it when I get home.

Thanks for all the help, everyone. :rockin:

 

[agrazela]

Gah. I bet that's it.

Although...I actually made a watermelon ale without issue doing basically the same thing. Stick blender and then slow simmer reduction.

Watermelon and cranberry are pretty much at opposite ends of the spectrum as far as pectin content. With cranberry being the highest-pectin fruit in the known universe (aside from maybe quince).

I'm no expert on fruit beers, but I bet with enough time--especially cold-crash time, if you can swing it--that haze will fall out.