How important is clear beer to you?

[ShizuokaBrad]

I've recently lost the urge to spend any time whatsoever trying to clear my beer. I just don't care any more. Anyone else out there like me? :rockin:

 

[bobeer]

I really couldn't care less about clear beer. If you leave it in the keg for a week or two it clears up pretty well anyway. Same with bottles. I'd rather spend the time, and money on clearing agents, on better things.

 

[SPR-GRN]

I don't care about how clear my beer is, granted since I started kegging it's very clear; but when I bottle there will be sediment, just the facts of life - make a wheat, then nobody cares

 

[drainbamage]

I care in that I like the look of clear beer (at least if it's part of the style...hefes and big dry-hopped DIPAs are a different story), but I don't go to any great lengths to achieve it. Mine clear up pretty well just sitting in the bottle, without any finings, filtration, or cold-crashing.

 

[Malty_Dog]

Never really spent much time or effort on it. Whirlifloc tablets at best. It does seem to be important to certain beer drinkers, but overall I think that's diminishing as cloudy DIPAs and such continue to pervade the marketplace.

That said, I do enjoy the satisfaction of looking right through an APA I may have recently made. They always clear up eventually.

So yeah, I'm with you OP

 

[joshesmusica]

I like it. Obviously where it's inappropriate for the style, I don't mind it. But for me it takes hardly any time, and little monetary investment. I mean we are talking pennies per batch. I don't always get it super clear, but I do give a little effort.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

Now that I BiaB I use Whirlifloc (lot more loose material than when I batch or fly sparge) but for 19 years never used a thing. 90% of the time the beer was perfectly clear and if it wasn't, so what.

 

[lolcats]

I actually like having a hope haze in my beer, it tends to add extra flavor

 

[GHBWNY]

I bottle and serve and give away a lot of my beer to family and guests. Personally, I think one's first impression of a homebrew includes as nice a visual presentation as possible. Especially with someone unfamiliar with the concept of foreign residue in the bottle, it saves explaining how and why they "shouldn't drink it straight from the bottle but instead pour it just a certain way as to avoid sludge ending up in their glass". I think this creates a certain 'put-off-ish-ness' that is otherwise avoidable by striving for clear beer in the first place. Since there is no reason NOT to have crystal clear beer (except for a little more time invested), I strive for and usually achieve it. And although WE know there is no difference between a beer with yeast in the bottle and one without, the visual difference might make it more impressionable and enjoyable. And keep everyone looking forward to the next one.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

And keep everyone looking forward to the next one.

Yeah, but then they will want all my precious, precious elixir of life so I will have to make even more of it. That sounds like since I spending more time and effort insuring clear beer I have to spend more time and effort to make more beer to spend more time and effort on it to make it clear. Where will the cycle end!

 

[TropicAl]

Don't acre as long as it tastes good

 

[Rev2010]

I much prefer hazy beer actually and I for some reason feel it actually lends to better flavor, though that could be all in my head. Even commercial beers though I seem to note a difference, like the difference between a filtered crystal clear pumpkin ale and a cloudy/hazy one. And for IPA's as well I 100% prefer them hazy and feel the flavor is better.

The only beer style I shoot for being clear is something like a very light "regular beer", like when I brew the Cream of Three Crops I like it crystal clear. Or if I were to brew a lager I'd want it crystal clear. But I think in those types of beers you want that super clean, slightly dry, "crispness" to it.


Rev.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Don't acre as long as it tastes good

I agree, Hectare.

I usually drink the yeast anyway.

 

[Rev2010]

And although WE know there is no difference between a beer with yeast in the bottle and one without, the visual difference might make it more impressionable and enjoyable.

There are other factors involved than just yeast in what makes a beer cloudy/hazy or clear. And personally I don't see how a beer is any less enjoyable depending on whether or not one can see through it. I can't see through my Snapple Peach Iced Tea but enjoy it no less than if it were clear. This is just my opinion however.


Rev.

 

[m00ps]

In terms of the various properties of a beer im about to drink, the clarity of it is at the bottom of that list for me. Hell, ive done 3 beers where I intentionally did things to create a permanent haze and never let it clear. So maybe the clarity really is important to me....

 

[brrman]

When my beer comes out really clear - which is most of the time - I am happy and say "look at how clear it is! Tastes great!".

But it when the result is not clear i am happy and say "whatever, tastes great!"

 

[TasunkaWitko]

As a couple of people said above, my experience is that the beer will get pretty darn clear on its own sitting in the bottles during conditioning. Some of them have gotten amazingly clear, in fact, with no special effort on my part. My "clearest" beers have been the ones that for whatever reason have been bottled several weeks after I intended to bottle them.

I've noticed the same with ciders, apfelwein etc, as well. After 6 or 8 weeks in primary, one morning they are crystal clear to the point that a person could read a newspaper through them.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

I've noticed the same with ciders, apfelwein etc, as well. After 6 or 8 weeks in primary, one morning they are crystal clear to the point that a person could read a newspaper through them.

I have a small batch of cider that is extremely cloudy even after an attempt at cold crashing... I'm just going to name it "Crisp Mist" if it eventually clears it will still be crisp.

As for beer, there is a small sense of pride I feel when a beer that's supposed to be clear turns out that way.

 

[Dixon9717]

I consider clear beer a small bonus when I get it because it looks cool and I don't put any effort into it other then whirlfloc and cold crashing. Cloudy beer doesn't taste any worse then clear beer IMO

 

[Gavin C]

I've recently lost the urge to spend any time whatsoever trying to clear my beer. I just don't care any more. Anyone else out there like me? :rockin:

Placing styles where clarity is not appropriate to one side.

Clear beer is extremely important to me for a variety of reasons one of which is entirely related to flavor. In most cases clarity is the byproduct of good process, not the end in itself.

Water
Before you ever get to the mash there are water related factors that can promote yeast health and behaviour, (promote flocculation). Again the cost is pennies in minerals and there are lots of potential flavor related benefits to nailing water chemistry as part of your process. Time spent on brewday is perhaps 1 minute to weaigh out minerals.

Mash
A badly executed mash can leave residual starches with flavor and clarity issues resulting. Probably not a common error but something to look at as a possible cause of hazy beer.

Boil
I don't see where there is a lot of time or effort needed to achieve it.
Most of the steps required to achieve clear beer occur during the boil.
Finings in the boil costs pennies and takes seconds

Clear beer or lack thereof can point to areas where one's process could do with some refinement. Here is a great article by @yooper covering this topic.

Fermentation
After the boiling and cooling comes fermentation. Healthy yeast with quality wort will behave the way the brewer wants and flocculate as normal falling out of suspension.

Patience
Gravity and time will do their thing but the process can be accelerated by chilling the beer and fining before packaging. Any shortcomings in your creation of cold-break can be overcome with chilling and gelatin. Roughly a 10 minute task at a cost of ~$0.10 for gelatin

Gelatin

Racking
Careful racking process during packaging will be the final nail in the coffin for clear beer if you keg.

If you bottle, patience is now the key allowing comple carbonation and time for the yeast to flocculate to the bottom of the bottle and not entering your glass. Again optimal carbonation giving the beer the desired mouthfeel, head and body.

The result is clear beer. To each their own of course. We all brew in different ways but I don't aggree that clear beer is simply for esthetics only. It can be the canary in the mineshaft warning us that not all is as it could be (if indeed one cares about that).

 

[NathPowe]

I'm happy to do some simple water additions to boost calcium (I've noticed this helps US-05 drop out in my beers), throw a chunk of whirlfloc in the boil, and cold crash my fermenter for a couple days before kegging. This clears my beers up quite nicely, and certainly good enough for me.

That's about as much effort/cash as I'm willing to put out just for the sake of clarity though. Gelatin is sort of intriguing but I don't see myself trying it because SWMBO is veggie and likes to pour a pint now and then. Plus it'd just be another thing to add to my process, which I'm satisfied with at this point.

Just my $0.02. Cheers and enjoy the brew.

 

[Rev2010]

In most cases clarity is the byproduct of good process, not the end in itself.

Actually, in most cases clarity is the result of technology. Commercial breweries typically filter their beer. We now have small systems for the homebrewer so we can do this as well if we choose. Other things such as gelatin and whirlfloc are not normal beer making ingredients and are formulated by technology (often using natural ingredients). I'm not disagreeing with you that process indeed has an affect on clarity, of course it does, and just as you said cold crashing and careful racking make a big difference. Just pointing out that producing crystal clear beer is often done using relatively modern items or techniques.


Rev.

 

[TexasDroughtBrewery]

Personally, I like when my beer is clear it makes me feel more accomplished in my brew and friends who don't home brew don't look at it funny.

 

[indymedic]

I like my beer to be clear but as long as it tastes good I don't really care to much

 

[BigMack]

I think I'm on the same page with most people. I certainly don't mind a slight haze to my beer, but I definitely feel great when I pour a pint and it is crystal clear.

 

[Spartan1979]

I care. I brew a lot of lagers and nothing is as beautiful as a crystal clear lager. OTOH, all I usually do is Whirlfloc in the boil and cold crash and they clear fine.

 

[QuadConPana]

We eat first with our eyes.

My favorite part of homebrewing is sharing my beer with friends and coworkers. So, it would seem that kegging would be a secondary interest to me, since I need to bottle it to spread it around. However, it's no fun to have to give people instructions on how to serve the beer. So, the ability to cold crash and carbonate without bottle conditioning made me spend the $ on a chest freezer to ferment, cold crash and keg in, even though most of the beer will probably end up in a bottle. (Mainly because I'll need to get the keg out of the freezer to ferment the next batch.)

Of course, flavor is most important. Everyone would rather a tasty ugly beer than a nasty pretty one.

 

[MaxStout]

It's one of those things where I won't go out of my way to achieve it, but it's nice when it happens. Most of my beers end up with some chill haze, but they taste fine. But once in a while, I'll see one clear up nicely.

 

[Rhumbline]

I like my beer chunky. Never felt the need to try to clarify it but if I was brewing for others I probably would.

I usually get some raised eyebrows from people who don't typically drink homebrew.

 

[Gavin C]

Actually, in most cases clarity is the result of technology. Commercial breweries typically filter their beer. We now have small systems for the homebrewer so we can do this as well if we choose. Other things such as gelatin and whirlfloc are not normal beer making ingredients and are formulated by technology (often using natural ingredients). I'm not disagreeing with you that process indeed has an affect on clarity, of course it does, and just as you said cold crashing and careful racking make a big difference. Just pointing out that producing crystal clear beer is often done using relatively modern items or techniques.


Rev.

This is a fair point. I probably should have specified homebrewing process in my earlier post. Centrifuges and filtering are not something that is justified on the homebrewing scale IMO but entirely normal on a commercial level.

However I don't view gelatin or Irish moss as being ingredients in beer outside the norm, but that is an entirely different topic for a different thread.

 

[iijakii]

Not too important to me. Even on light beers a cold crash and week or two in the keg and they're pretty damn clear to me. Some chill haze maybe, but with glasses fogging up naturally it's hard to even tell. I've never understood why some people go through so much trouble and using gelatin etc.

 

[SeraW]

All about style. Protein hazes in wheats and ryes are good, so is hop haze in IPAs, but my lagers ought to be brilliantly clear.

Usually just Whirlfloc though.

 

[Beerbeque]

I definitely care about my homebrew clarity. Clear beer looks better and tastes better to me. Good looks is as important in beverages as it is in food. When I have properly lagered my ales they taste cleaner with less esters and are a joy to look at in the glass and to drink. That being said I have drank lots of homebrew before it has been well aged and enjoyed it almost as much.

 

[ShizuokaBrad]

I had a feeling that there'd be wide ranging opinion on this topic. For what it's worth, I don't think it takes too much extra effort to get beer looking clear... but you guys have a huge advantage over us homebrewers in Japan... there are no local homebrew shops here. None! We have to order everything online and pay quite a bit extra for it as well. Of course gelatin is easy to get but none of the other clearing agents are readily available.

 

[kh54s10]

Late to this argument... But, I like a nice clear beer. If I get one I am very happy, when I don't I don't lose any sleep over it. Some of my best tasting beers were not as clear as I would have liked......

 

[ChelisHubby]

Yeah, but then they will want all my precious, precious elixir of life so I will have to make even more of it. That sounds like since I spending more time and effort insuring clear beer I have to spend more time and effort to make more beer to spend more time and effort on it to make it clear. Where will the cycle end!

Increase your batch size or add a glass filling fee!

 

[CJ-3]

There is something nice about having a beer with nice clarity. Is it necessary to me? No - it isn't. But I sure do like to brag to my buddies when it happens. :rockin:

 

[unionrdr]

I have to reiterate some comments here. A wheat ale, kottbusser, & the like are a bit cloudy to a little hazy, per the style. Others, I like clear & use half a Whirlfloc tablet near the end of the boil. Well chilled top off water also gives a little cold break. I agree that many ales/lagers taste better when well-cleared, getting the yeast/trub flavors out of the equation to allow lighter flavor complexities to shine through. Besides aesthetics.

 

[kombat]

It's pretty important to me, although easily accomplished now. I do all the steps Gavin outlined, with the exception of water chemistry, and with the addition of a whirlpool in the boil kettle. But the biggest payoff comes with gelatin. After kegging the (relatively clear) beer and giving it a day to chill down, I pop the lid and pour in the gelatin solution. 2 days later, I get a pint of sludge, then amazingly clear beer for the rest of the keg (as long as I don't move it).

 

[ScrewyBrewer]

I like taking the time to clear the beer each time I transfer it from kettle, to fermentor, to keg. I found that cold crashing the fermentors a few days prior to kegging really lessens the chance of getting trub into the keg.

I force carbonate my beer cold and if I'm in a rush I will add gelatin to the keg after a few days to speed up the clearing. As far as getting a glass or two of hop jello from the first two pours, that is easily resolved by shortening the beer pickup tube length by a half inch.