Hazy Beer

[mtbndive]

I've read the Hazy beer threads, and still not clear (pardon the pun).

I've brewed 5 batches (extract). The enclosed pic shows 3, 4, and 5.
3 was a hoppy red (amber DME and weyermann's red malt)
4 was brewed immediately after, is a Nelson clone, with Rye malt, Nelson and Southern cross hops. Approach was similar, including 90 min boil, 1 Whirfloc tab at 10 min remaining, immersion chiller and ice bath (about 15-20 min to get it down from 210F to 76F), then transfered to 6 gal carboy and yeast pitched.

Red is crystal clear (batch #3), whereas Nelson clone is Hazy (#4).

My holiday IPA (#5 with blow hose attached) is also hazy.

Currently fermenting in 70-72F.

Not understanding what could be causing this?

Thanks - Marc

 

[flabyboy]

How long have they been fermenting. Patience is key

 

[bottlebomber]

So your judging its clarity while it's so young it's still in the fermenters?

 

[mtbndive]

#3 - Red IPA and #4 - Nelson Clone (both on left)
were brewed on 12/10, racked to secondary on 12/17, and bottled on 12/24.

pic is 12/24, when #5 was brewed and put on a blow off hose.

Replaced blow off hose with regular 3-piece airlock today (12/26) as majority of gas / active ferm has dissipated.

#5 is looking a lot like #4 (hazy). Could put in garage, but thought best to keep inside at 70-72F for fermentation week.

 

[RM-MN]

The reason that they are hazy is that the yeast is still active, stirring up the wort. The beer should be pretty clear before you bottle it with certain exceptions.

Fermentation is cleanest (least off flavors) when the wort is nearer the low temperature range of the yeast. Now that the fermentation is this far along it is too late for the lower temperature to help what you have fermenting and the cooler temperature would likely end up with the yeast quitting and you having a stuck fermentation. For your next batch, chill it nearer 60 degrees and keep it in the low 60's for a week before bringing it into the 72 degree area. The difference in flavor is quite noticeable.

 

[badbrew]

If you want more clear beer:

When done fermenting, rack to secondary for a week, then place the fermentor up a couple of feet in a covered thick trash can with a salted ice bath for 2 days. A bunch of ice bottles work too. Get it down to 40 if you can.

I have the 20 gallon version of this ($20) and it works great. It can fit 16.9 oz plastic bottles alongside no problem.

Brute 32-Gallon Gray Trash Can-FG8632-92GRA at The Home Depot

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

The reason that they are hazy is that the yeast is still active, stirring up the wort. The beer should be pretty clear before you bottle it with certain exceptions.

Fermentation is cleanest (least off flavors) when the wort is nearer the low temperature range of the yeast. Now that the fermentation is this far along it is too late for the lower temperature to help what you have fermenting and the cooler temperature would likely end up with the yeast quitting and you having a stuck fermentation. For your next batch, chill it nearer 60 degrees and keep it in the low 60's for a week before bringing it into the 72 degree area. The difference in flavor is quite noticeable.

good advice.

If you want more clear beer:

When done fermenting, rack to secondary for a week, then place the fermentor up a couple of feet in a covered thick trash can with a salted ice bath for 2 days. A bunch of ice bottles work too. Get it down to 40 if you can.

I have the 20 gallon version of this ($20) and it works great. It can fit 16.9 oz plastic bottles alongside no problem.

Brute 32-Gallon Gray Trash Can-FG8632-92GRA at The Home Depot

this, but no need to rack to secondary... just cold crash when FG is reached and stable over a few days. OR, you could primary for 3-4, and with very few exceptions, your beer will be clear going into a bottling bucket.

your beers seem awfully young to judge clarity at this point, notice your clearest beer is the one that's been fermenting for more appropriate times (longer).

 

[jonmohno]

What size blowoff hose is that? How do you transfer your wort since you use whirfloc.

 

[mtbndive]

Not sure what cold crashing is. I add a Whirfloc tab with 10 min remaining in the boil. The immersion chiller goes in 5 min prior (so it has 15 min in the boil to sanitize).

I cool the wort from 210 to 120 or so so with the immersion chiller, then lift the kettle into an ice bath to get it down to 70F. From the posts above, I should be lowering it closer to 60F. Then I attach a tube from my ball valve into the 6 gal carboy (primary fermenter) to transfer cooled wort. I add the WLP001 when the carboy is about have full of wort, finish transferring, then give it a good shake to mix things up. The blow off hose is maybe 5/16 I think. It fits perfectly over the center tube of a three piece airlock. I leave it on for 3-4 days, until bubbles slow down, then go back to a regular 3-piece for the remainder of the week/7days. Then I rack to a secondary 5 gal so I can dry hop. It stays in there for about 2 weeks, then I bottle, and allow it a month to carbonate.

5 batches brewed to date, but haven't gotten to taste one yet. First will be ready in a week or so.

Thanks for any suggestions/advice.

 

[bottlebomber]

Cold crashing is a technique where you bring the beer as close as you can to freezing, and lots of suspended yeast and protein "crash" out and settle to the bottom of the fermenter. You could do it in an extra fridge, in a cooler full of ice water, or even in a cold tool shed if it is cold this time of year where you live.

 

[TipsyDragon]

cold crashing is just sticking your brew in very cold temps to cause the yeast to settle out of your brew. Typically done for a weeks or so before bottling.

Never rack your beer anywhere till you are 100% sure fermentation is over. Use your hydrometer to determine when fermentation is actually over. Waiting an extra week before racking may help too. I noticed you only let it sit for 14 days before racking.

i do not agree with the suggestion of chilling to and fermenting at 60F but i do agree that you should be fermenting lower. Typically most recipes recommend a temp of 68F. The closer you can keep it to that temp the better.

 

[flabyboy]

Let's not forget that the wort inside your fermenter is warner than the ambient air. If you have a good active fermentation going on, the wort may actually be 75 when the room is 68. Best to put your fermenter in a room in the lows 60s for most ale yeast strains

 

[Jwood]

your beer will most likely clear up after it has conditioned, carbed and been cooled for a while. I have yet to see perfectly clear beer in the primary or secondary, especially when dry hopping with large amounts of hops (hop haze), but always get clear beer from the keg after 2 weeks cold. I also use Whirlfloc, and it has helped tremendously.

 

[jonmohno]

So when you use whirfloc do you need to rack your wort or can you still add it all to primary?Im not getting using that, is it the procedure to cool your wort then rack and leave the trube? Because i always strain but often get all of it in primary except pellot hop sludge that clogges the strainer. I never rack it either,just pour it and strain it.

 

[bottlebomber]

So when you use whirfloc do you need to rack your wort or can you still add it all to primary?Im not getting using that, is it the procedure to cool your wort then rack and leave the trube? Because i always strain but often get all of it in primary except pellot hop sludge that clogges the strainer. I never rack it either,just pour it and strain it.

Whirlfloc tablets are used in the boil. I have never heard of anyone putting them into cool wort. Use gelatin or any other finings in the fermenter as per the directions.

 

[jonmohno]

No i meant since you want the protein sediment, using whirfloc in the boil, do people usually rack off of the hot break trub to the fermenter once it cools? It seems to defeat the purpose of using it if your going to put it back in the fermenter, even though i probably know it will settle at the bottem of the fermenter anyway,which in my experinece always does naturally anyway. Like when people whirlpool the wort it settles, so what would be the point of putting it all back in the primary fermenter? Know what im sayin? Its like do you rack it or pour/ Ive always poured mine through a strainer into my vessle,Mostly leaving out the hop sluge but probably putting the cold break back into my fermenter. Know what im sayin's?

 

[Jwood]

i have used whirlfloc and poured everything into my primary. Still clear beer. Without it, not clear beer. Know what im sayin's?

 

[jonmohno]

Knowing is half the battle's. GI Joe's! Thanks's Jwood, I learn something new all the time.

 

[flabyboy]

I use whirlfloc and just pour everything but the hops into the fermenter. I usually pour through a strainer to get the hops out. My beer is crystal clear. Save yourself the time and effort and just pour.

 

[bottlebomber]

Ahh I gotcha. Well the purpose of the whirlfloc is that the irish moss and whatever the hell else they put in the stuff bonds with the proteins in the wort and causes them to drop out. Whether it goes in the fermenter or into the yard waste bin makes no difference, as long as its been pulled out of the beer. Lately I've been coping with the reality that the last 2-3 inches in the boil kettle isn't worth keeping, since its at least 70% crap. I used to think I was getting more beer by dumping it all in, until I realized what a hassle it was when my auto syphon got buried up to the cap when I was racking and sucking up mud into what was supposed to be clear beer. I say shoot for a higher post-volume and leave all that junk behind.

 

[RM-MN]

I get my autosiphon down into the yeast cake when I'm racking to the bottling bucket and suck up some yeast in the last bit of beer as I tilt the bucket to get the last cupful. By the time I have the bottles sanitized it has all settled. When I did a pale ale I put some into clear bottles so I could monitor how long it took to clear again but I missed it because by the second day it was crystal clear. I didn't use any clarifiers like Irish moss or gelatin and I had done the batch with "brew in a bag" and squeezed out the wort until it was really cloudy too.

 

[unionrdr]

I dry hop in primary myself. But only after a stable FG is reached,& it's had 3-7 days to clean up & settle out more. I get better flavors that way. And clearer beer.