How important is clear beer to you?

[BrewingTravisty]

But if you don't need it then why use it? It's like an athlete winning a race while using steriods and then claiming he doesn't need steriods to win a race.

That's a terrible analogy. I can get clear beer without fining agents, the fining agents do 2 things though, 1) it clears my beer quicker and 2) it gives me assurance. Sure, it's not absolutely necessary but at the same time, it's a tool that helps me achieve a goal and it costs next to nothing per brew.

There a plenty of very good, very experienced and even professional brewers that use fining agents, are you insinuating that their process is lacking?

 

[ShizuokaBrad]

Do I cold crash? I used to, when I cared about clear beer.

As I said before, I stopped caring about taking extra steps to get clear beer. It's not important to me... Does that mean the beer I make isn't clear? Not at all, basically nothing has changed since I stopped taking the extra steps to get clear beer.

 

[slym2none]

Good on you! So, is there any real reason to try to brow-beat others that do use these fining agents?

 

[Gavin C]

I've recently lost the urge to spend any time trying to clear my beer.

Your original post states that you did try to clear your beer in the past. Trying implies an effort was needed to clear your beers. I read from this that you no longer see merit in this effort and accept less clear beer.

nothing has changed since I stopped taking the extra steps to get clear beer.

This implies the beer is the same clarity as always. Your efforts to add clarity/remove haze were not needed or were unsuccessful. You no longer see merit to those efforts/steps/materials.


There is a bit of a disconnect in these two statements. I don't follow your train of thought.

It seems you were trying to say.

I see no difference in the excellent clarity of my beer regardless of what steps I take and/or finings I use. I no longer use finings or cold crash as I see no benefit to their use. Does anyone else feel the same.



That is not how most responders, myself included seem to have interpreted your OP. I'm sure you can understand the confusion. I don't see the point of your thread.

 

[joshesmusica]

Your original post states that you did try to clear your beer in the past. Trying implies an effort was needed to clear your beers. I read from this that you no longer see merit in this effort and accept less clear beer.



This implies the beer is the same clarity as always. Your efforts to add clarity/remove haze were not needed or were unsuccessful. You no longer see merit to those efforts/steps/materials.


There is a bit of a disconnect in these two statements. I don't follow your train of thought.

It seems you were trying to say.

I see no difference in the excellent clarity of my beer regardless of what steps I take and/or finings I use. I no longer use finings or cold crash as I see no benefit to their use. Does anyone else feel the same.



That is not how most responders, myself included seem to have interpreted your OP. I'm sure you can understand the confusion. I don't see the point of your thread.

OOOhhhhh, I didn't even realize this was the thread creator.

Now it reminds me of another very eerily similar thread in which the thread creator posed a question, but in reality only wanted to prove how much better of a brewer he/she was than everybody else.

Now it all makes sense. I retract all of my former comments.

 

[ShizuokaBrad]

OOOhhhhh, I didn't even realize this was the thread creator.

Now it reminds me of another very eerily similar thread in which the thread creator posed a question, but in reality only wanted to prove how much better of a brewer he/she was than everybody else.

Now it all makes sense. I retract all of my former comments.

And this reminds me of pretty much every thread on every forum where someone doesn't agree with an opinion but has nothing to contribute so they go after the poster instead.

 

[schematix]

I am completely the opposite. Crystal clear beer is the sign of a solid process in most styles and is how I like it. In fact I can't make a cloudy beer for the life of me anymore.

But if you like it, then whenever.

 

[unionrdr]

Well, to put it another way, once you get used to the parts of your process that give clear beers, the effort seems minimal. One of the joys of home brewing...

 

[kombat]

Can you make clear beer without using either of those products?

Yes, of course.

If the answer is yes, then why use them?

Because the "other ways" of getting clear beer are things like:

• Choosing a highly-flocculant yeast strain - This obviously changes the recipe, and will alter the flavour of the resulting beer.
• Filtering - This requires additional equipment, and risks oxidizing or contaminating the beer. It can be more expensive as it requires CO2 (at least the usual home setup does).
• Time - Given enough time, most sediment will drop out on its own. But maybe you don't want to wait 8 months to enjoy your beer. Also doesn't resolve chill haze.
• Cold-crashing - Usually works quite well. But requires a dedicated chilling space large enough to hold the fermenter. Again, it comes down to cost.

 

[kombat]

The thing is, I used to care about getting clear beer too. I'd add Irish moss and even occasionally gelatin too... and my beer was clear. Then I stopped caring so much about it and stopped using any fining agents at all... and my beer is still clear.

What's your point? That Irish moss/Whirlfloc and gelatin don't actually do anything, and incredibly, nobody noticed until you came in and enlightened us? We've all been hoodwinked by Big Gelatin?

 

[Rev2010]

The thing is, I used to care about getting clear beer too. I'd add Irish moss and even occasionally gelatin too... and my beer was clear. Then I stopped caring so much about it and stopped using any fining agents at all... and my beer is still clear.

Sorry, but I call total BS. Your first post was exactly, "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?"

You said "trying" which means you were making attempts to clear beer that is not clear by default. Then you turn around and say the above. Well if your beers came out clear before bothering to "try" using fining agents or processes to clear them why would you have tried them at all, since it wasn't even necessary in the first place according to you?

You should've just left it alone. OK fine, you can't get your beers clear and have given up bothering to try cause you don't really think it's worth the effort anymore.


Rev.

 

[MaddBaggins]

Just pulled this from the tap. Home brewed ESB. Irish Moss at the end of boil. No filtering. It wasn't this clear to start, took a couple weeks on tap before it got this way.
This is how most of my beers look most of the time.

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1449873190.196642.jpg

 

[joshesmusica]

Just pulled this from the tap. Home brewed ESB. Irish Moss at the end of boil. No filtering. It wasn't this clear to start, took a couple weeks on tap before it got this way.
This is how most of my beers look most of the time.

View attachment 321945

If that's not condensation on the glass, you should've used gelatin too! Takes 5 minutes, and it's sparkling clear!

 

[budbo]

Depends on style, some are not meant to be clear!

 

[MaddBaggins]

If that's not condensation on the glass, you should've used gelatin too! Takes 5 minutes, and it's sparkling clear!

Thats a little bit of condensate on the glass, but if my beers look like that, I'm all good. I don't need any better than that. Plus, I would rather avoid any further additions and keep the gelatin out of it.
My first post in this thread mentioned a dirty @ss peach/brett beer. I should pour a glass and snap a pic of that one. Tastes delicious, looks like dishwater. It's the worst looking beer I've ever done, 6 months in the keg and it isn't any better.

 

[podz]

I couldn't care less.

 

[MaddBaggins]

I couldn't care less.

I'm not sure what you mean

 

[podz]

I'm not sure what you mean

It was the answer to the question in the topic: How important is clear beer to you?

 

[MaddBaggins]

It was the answer to the question in the topic: How important is clear beer to you?

You may have missed my sarcasm...or I missed yours.

 

[schematix]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1449892124.620117.jpg

^^^ no filtering, cold crashing, fining or other adulteration. Just solid process.

 

[permo]

I surely care about how clear my beers are because the perception of how it is going to taste is half of the battle....just like a chef making sure his plate of food is as visually appealing as possible while still maintaining and communicating the flavor of the dish. I find that every stage of the brewing process is an opportunity to improve your beer however you can and clarity is one of aspects I like to make a priority. I brew mostly pale ales, IPA's, Kolsch style beer and pale lagers and I can tell you without question that my beers are more well recieved by myself and my friends when they are clear. Is this reality or perception I dont know.

In the kolsch pictured below, that I am drinking right now, as the beer clears the beer becomes less "muddled" and the hops, malt and carbonation all seem more focused and distinguishable.


Yummy three week old kolsch


View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1449892843.556061.jpg

 

[Zepth]

This was basically my brothers reaction when he first tried one of my homebrews. He looked a little worried before he took a sip, and then his face lit up with surprise and said "wow, this is actually good! I thought homebrew was always crap alcoholics make to get drunk cheap!"

I think we've all had that friend. I know I've got more than one of that mindset and before trying my beer they gave me the whole "social obligation look" before actually going back for seconds.

There's a massive difference between clear beer, unclear (hazy), and beer with trub/crap floating in it. When I posted my question I was referring to clear beer vs. hazy beer.

Problem is - especially for those who share with non-craft drinkers is that they see "haze = yeast = weird sh!t I don't like." We all get tired of explaining what chill haze is. And since many people fall victim to the visual tasting first, they opinions may be skewed.

I don't mind beer that has some chill / wheat haze. Hefeweizen of course should have yeast floating around in it. Even if I get lazy or rush a batch and end up with some yeast in suspension, I don't care a whole lot. I had one batch in my earlier days that an underpitch came close to wrecking - that was horrid until perfectly clear. Then it was tolerable. Aside from that, I don't care too much personally.

 

[BrewingTravisty]

I think we've all had that friend. I know I've got more than one of that mindset and before trying my beer they gave me the whole "social obligation look" before actually going back for seconds.


Problem is - especially for those who share with non-craft drinkers is that they see "haze = yeast = weird sh!t I don't like." We all get tired of explaining what chill haze is. And since many people fall victim to the visual tasting first, they opinions may be skewed.

I don't mind beer that has some chill / wheat haze. Hefeweizen of course should have yeast floating around in it. Even if I get lazy or rush a batch and end up with some yeast in suspension, I don't care a whole lot. I had one batch in my earlier days that an underpitch came close to wrecking - that was horrid until perfectly clear. Then it was tolerable. Aside from that, I don't care too much personally.

Most of my friends thought I was turning into an alcoholic when I started brewing lol most of them realize now that I just found something that I really enjoy and can be passionate about.


And as far as beer being clear, I usually know when to expect my beer to come out a little hazy. It's when I take shortcuts brewing and am being lazy lol but I know when I'm doing that that I'm not going to get a perfectly clear beer. Or of course in styles that call for hazy or cloudy like my hefeweizen I'm brewing right now. I only care if my beer is clear if I'm putting the extra effort into making it clear and it's hazy lol then I'm a bit disappointed.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

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?

I wonder if any of use stated this in the thread?

 

[drainbamage]

I wonder if any of use stated this in the thread?

They're spam posts. They copy a post from elsewhere in the thread and attach some broken links.

 

[The_Bishop]

I started cold-crashing and gelatin fining every batch I made as soon as I have the capability to control temperatures.

In most beer styles, having yeast in suspension is a flaw and introduces flavors that aren't supposed to be there. Now, I could wait longer and eventually the yeast will drop on it's own, but nuts to that as I have technology. Also, that won't do a damn thing to help chill haze. Cold crashing and fining lets me get a batch on draft a lot quicker and clearer than otherwise possible. I also don't like putting a bunch of sediment in my keg either, so if I have to swap a keg out or move it around I don't get a few glasses of mud.

The other angle is presentation. When I pour a pint from my kegerator for a guest, they get to see a commercially clear beer that looks appealing, not a muddy glass full of what looks like water from a nearby lake that they're hesitant to drink.

At the end of the day, it only takes a few more minutes and a negligible expense to produce a product that rivals what the 'pro' brewers are doing, and it lets me get a beer on draft that's fresher and will store better.

 

[wyccad915]

Ive only made a couple of beers but my way of thinking is I don't care. Beer is beer. Taste is all i care about.

 

[MaddBaggins]

Here's the peach Brett beer I made with WLP648. This has been in the fridge in a keg since May. I didn't do any thing different in my process than any other beer. It just refuses to clear up.
It's delicious though and after looking back at 648 it is a low flocc yeast.
Kegs almost empty so it is what it is.

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1450043988.818355.jpg

 

[BrewingTravisty]

Here's the peach Brett beer I made with WLP648. This has been in the fridge in a keg since May. I didn't do any thing different in my process than any other beer. It just refuses to clear up.
It's delicious though and after looking back at 648 it is a low flocc yeast.
Kegs almost empty so it is what it is.

View attachment 322464

Wow that is cloudy lol I've got a red ale that's really hazy, but i think it has something to do with the fact that I ran out of propane mid boil haha

 

[BigMack]

I think everyone who doesn't make beer so clear that you can take a vision test from 20 feet away and pass easily should just go ahead and commit seppuku. I mean, if you can't do that is there really any point in even brewing....?