Make IPA Clear Again

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Nagorg said:
Slight thread deviation but: Gelatin works wonders... But you might check this out too if you havent seen it already.
http://www.clearbeerdraughtsystem.com/
MAKE IPA CLEAR AGAIN! (With good bitterness too... :) )
-This is Nagorg and I approve of this message!
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Fun story Nagorg, I went to a nearby brewpub yesterday to get some grub and have a few beers. I ordered two IPAs, an NEIPA and a West Coast one. The latter was MUCH better, a little darker than you commonly see with a tad more malt but lots of bitter punch and while not lager-clear it was see through and quite a pretty beer I must say, delicious too, well balanced. The NEIPA was a flop though, it looked like dishwater in the glass...it had nice aroma, but the taste was muddled and just a hot mess IMO.
It got me thinking on this some more, I think part of the problem is that like many of you have said, they have become SO prevalent that there are a lot of bad ones being made with the good. I also find it gives more free rein to be sloppy in the making of the beer since you don't care about the clarity at all.

So make IPA clearER again? I might be onboard with that -lol Anyway, in honor of your thread I'm going to see how clear I can get my Rye IPA that is currently fermenting. It's not going to have the 10 oz of dry hops added so that might help but it will be dry hopped a good amount. When do you typically do your gelatin addition for best results?
cheers
 
I don't assume anything, I was merely stating my opinion. Yes, I do know that without consumers out there, be they whoever, any product or service will not succeed. I just don't care for the pretentiousness of 80% of the hipsters I've met. A few years ago all they would drink was PBR, because it was "the" thing to do.
 
snarf7 said:
When do you typically do your gelatin addition for best results?
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I do it at near the end of a cold crash after the beer is below 40-35 degrees and 2-3 days before packaging. I dont always do this but love the results when I do.

MAKE IPA CLEAR AGAIN! :mug:
 
Nagorg said:
I do it at near the end of a cold crash after the beer is below 40-35 degrees and 2-3 days before packaging. I dont always do this but love the results when I do.

MAKE IPA CLEAR AGAIN! :mug:
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So you do it while still in the fermentor after you've cold crashed? What if you've dry hopped, doesn't pouring gelatin over top of it just stick in the hops instead of clarifying the beer?
 
snarf7 said:
So you do it while still in the fermentor after you've cold crashed? What if you've dry hopped, doesn't pouring gelatin over top of it just stick in the hops instead of clarifying the beer?
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Yes, in the fermenter after the cold crash. The gelatin is completely liquid and it sinks to the bottom; doesn't really stick to stuff. If concerned about the dry hops, you can also add gelatin to the keg post transfer. I've done this in the keg before too if I wasnt happy with clarity. The main point is the temp being below 40 degrees and the cold crash is optimum for this. Nothing but beautiful clear beer goes into the keg!
 
I’m somewhere in the middle here.

I definitely don’t like the idea of making beers hazy for the sake of their appearance. Suspended particulates in beer are an absolute no-no, and adding adjunct to beers to adulterate its appearance is, to put it gently, a bit silly. Haze is okay, mud is not.

But at the same time, I think it’s equally irrational to spend an inordinate amount of effort to produce clear beer. It takes a lot of careful effort to successfully introduce dry hops to a beer. To then fine or centrifuge the beer afterwards is a bit backwards. Invariably there will be some losses in flavor and aroma from that clarifying process.

Don’t get me wrong, I make quite a few lagers and enjoy getting them nice and bright. But I don’t use post-boil finings and I would rather manage my water chemistry and fermentation process to achieve that aim.
 
A big part of the reason I’ve burned out on commercial WCIPAs is that they all seem to be drowning in crystal malt. Even the ones that are supposed to be insanely bitter taste like sticky, caramel-y messes. I ordered a Sculpin on a plane recently and it was so sticky sweet I could barely finish it. When I brew this style it’s all base malt, with maybe a touch of sugar to dry it out, and it’s got plenty of residual sweetness for me.
 
ong said:
I ordered a Sculpin on a plane recently and it was so sticky sweet I could barely finish it.
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I'm guessing it was old. Age will bring out the malt over the hops. Most will agree that too much crystal malt brings a cloying flavor. Even so, these beers are still CLEAR! :)
 
Nagorg said:
I'm guessing it was old. Age will bring out the malt over the hops. Most will agree that too much crystal malt brings a cloying flavor. Even so, these beers are still CLEAR! :)
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Nah, most commercial IPAs just taste like sickly sweet soda pop to me. Maybe it’s to make up for the bittering hops, but I never found it necessary when brewing this style (why did people stop talking about bu:gu ratios?).

Haha. I’ve never understood why people get so hung up on the clarity thing! Whooooo cares? I just want it to taste like a freshly opened packet of hops.
 
I don't know how to make memes but I picture Clint Eastwood. He walks into the bar, music stops whatever and says what?
Screenshot_20190331-200005_Google.jpeg
 
Nagorg said:
Not sure what IPA's your tasting... Sounds like the wrong ones or maybe you don't like IPA.

On clarity.... MAKE IPA CLEAR AGAIN!
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I like IPAs a lot. I just want commercial ones to suck less. The 90s are over! Cool it with the crystal malt!
 
I was thinking the meme has to have real beer, clear beer, clear ipa in it.

He walks in, flings shutter doors open and says in a snarl, give me an ipa, and it better be clear.
 
So now which would you prefer to drink at the bar? An Orange Juice NEIPA or a High Gravity Glitter Beer?
 
ba-brewer said:
Think he drinks beers with artisans in them.
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I think it was actually beer with mythical "artesians" in it, wasn't it?. I believe Miller brought about the extiction of the artesians when they bought out the brewery and moved operations to California which proved to be too harsh an environment for them.
 
Last edited:
How about Kingfisher Instant Beer. It's made in India and it's a pale ale so technically you could call it an IPA, at least as much as you can call any IPA brewed in America an IPA. And it's clear.
 
Gravitysucks said:
How about Kingfisher Instant Beer. It's made in India and it's a pale ale so technically you could call it an IPA, at least as much as you can call any IPA brewed in America an IPA. And it's clear.
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ROFLMAO!! Kingfisher Instant Beer; how to get your "Huge Gang of Friends" to never come back... LOL
 
Good April Fools prank. My kids and I have been trying all day to get one another. Have the wife good, the prank, there is none. But I am declaring there is.
 
And with April Fools Day behind us, can we please be done with the juice beers that pretend to be IPA?

Seriously... Take a look at the thing I had yesterday. Its a Tupps Brewery "Double Dry Hop IPA" series. All of their "Double Dry Hop" series are buckets of murk like you see below.

And while I'll admit that it tasted and smelled pretty good, I just cant get past the murkiness...

And why should anyone think that double dry hopping an IPA will do this to a beer? I dry hop every IPA and my worst clarity example was nowhere near what you see below.

upload_2019-4-2_6-23-46.png


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Stop with the madness and MAKE IPA CLEAR AGAIN!
 

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Nagorg said:
And with April Fools Day behind us, can we please be done with the juice beers that pretend to be IPA?

Seriously... Take a look at the thing I had yesterday. Its a Tupps Brewery "Double Dry Hop IPA" series. All of their "Double Dry Hop" series are buckets of murk like you see below.

And while I'll admit that it tasted and smelled pretty good, I just cant get past the murkiness...

And why should anyone think that double dry hopping an IPA will do this to a beer? I dry hop every IPA and my worst clarity example was nowhere near what you see below.

View attachment 620260

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Stop with the madness and MAKE IPA CLEAR AGAIN!
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Is that "low pulp"?
 
Do you dry hop with 10 oz? Mine that I have made did that after 10 oz dry hops! What, they didn't have any real beer (tm).
 
CascadesBrewer said:
I have to agree. Clear? Cloudy? Hazy? That is all fine with me. I will pass on Murky.
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It seems beyond silly to me to refuse to drink a beer that “tastes and smells good” because it’s “murky,” but I guess each to their own. I’m going to do whatever it takes to make my beer taste and smell wonderful, and continue not caring at all what it looks like. They do make opaque cups.
 
ong said:
I’m going to do whatever it takes to make my beer taste and smell wonderful, and continue not caring at all what it looks like. They do make opaque cups.
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Thats part of what I'm talking about... A devolution of brewing aspirations and general acceptance of what should be a flaw.

Its kind of like that baking show "Nailed It". If you dont know what I'm talking about, the participants are given an example of a decorated cake and they are supposed to re-create it.

Most fail, pretty badly actually... But I'm sure that the failed cake smells and tastes good though. Even so, should that be enough?

upload_2019-4-3_21-6-19.png
 
ong said:
It seems beyond silly to me to refuse to drink a beer that “tastes and smells good” because it’s “murky,” but I guess each to their own. I’m going to do whatever it takes to make my beer taste and smell wonderful, and continue not caring at all what it looks like. They do make opaque cups.
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I have brewed many hoppy beers and a few hazy beers and one NEIPA. A brewer has to go out of the way to specifically make a murky beer. I am not aware of any steps that increase flavor and ads murk to a beer. It really is silly that hazy is not enough.
 

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