cloudy pilsner

[artbrewer]

started a batch of pilsner 2 wks ago, true brew kit,tested with hydro yesterday at 1.01..racked to glass carboy,nice yellow golden color...but
super super cloudy, tastes great...is this normal??

 

[Choguy03]

I would think that some time in the secondary should help clear that up for you. Give it time.

 

[Evan!]

started a batch of pilsner 2 wks ago, true brew kit,tested with hydro yesterday at 1.01..racked to glass carboy,nice yellow golden color...but
super super cloudy, tastes great...is this normal??

Recipe? Yeast strain?

Are you lagering it? Pils, to get that typical pilsner clarity, needs to be lagered or at least cold-crashed. 2 weeks out, it's gonna be cloudy. But if you want a super-clear brew, you can do a couple things to make it happen. First off, the old-fashioned no-brainer method is cold-crashing, which is just dropping the temps of the beer drastically...as close to freezing as you can get it. The longer you leave it like this, the clearer it will get, and the better the beer will taste as well.

In addition to that, you can add finings. The cheapest method is gelatin, which creates a collagen "net" with positively charged ions which grab particulate as it settles and clears the beer. However, shellfish finings are much more effective, though it's still the same principle. I have had excellent results to KC Superkleer. Just be careful---since it's a shellfish derivative, you shouldn't use it if you or anyone else who drinks your beer is allergic to shellfish.

 

[malkore]

normal for 2 week old beer that just went into secondary. remember, Secondary is a clearing tank. NO fermentation occurs in secondary, just clearing and some aging.

 

[BenT1]

That pilsner trubrew kit is my favorite so far in my short brewing career. Tastes awesome, but mine are also cloudy (chill haze only), along with a more amber color.

Artbrewer, could you describe your boiling technique? That beer always comes out in a more amber color that a golden yellow for me. I stovetop, partial wort boil, following instructions in kit.

 

[artbrewer]

i simply followed the instructions that came with the kit,
i can now see a definite dark section at the top of the carboy as it seems to be settling out after just 2 days.
maybe this is gonna get darker like bens

 

[EvilTOJ]

Beer always looks darker in the carboy than it does in the glass.

 

[Evan!]

i simply followed the instructions that came with the kit,
i can now see a definite dark section at the top of the carboy as it seems to be settling out after just 2 days.
maybe this is gonna get darker like bens

The reason it gets darker in the carboy after fermentation is because, during fermentation, all the particulate is in suspension from the yeast activity, and thus reflects light. Once that activity subsides, the particulate drops, and light is absorbed. This by no means is a measure of how dark the beer will be.

 

[homebrewer_99]

+1 what Evan said.