Need to speed up conditioning

[mcbethenstein]

Ok, so normally I would never post a question like this, since I know it just needs time, but I don't have time. I brewed a wit for a festival our club is putting on. It was brewed 5/3/12 and will be served this Saturday 6/2/12. My issue is that it has not come together yet. It's really rough around the edges and needs conditioning time... That I don't have. It's certainly drinkable, just not as great as I know it can be. What are my options? It's currently carbing in the keezer.., just about done. Should I pull it out and put it in the warmest spot I can find. I also have a filter set-up... I'm told filtering it may speed conditioning. Help! I need to take action by tonight.

 

[phoenixs4r]

Filter a bottle and see if that helps. If it doesn't, bring to room temp or warmer and hope for the best

 

[mcbethenstein]

I called northern brewer and they recommended gelatin or isinglass. Anyone have experience with this? The guy said I could continue to carbonate and it would pull out the tannins and yeast that are causing the harsh flavors.

 

[phoenixs4r]

I thought gelatin was chill haze eliminator only?

 

[mcbethenstein]

On NB's website they mention it "smoothing out flavors", but in the end I added the gelatin and then talked with a brewing friend who advised me that I would need to rack off the gelatin anyway, so I ended up running it through the filter anyway. I'm sure I lost a lot of carbonation, but I attached the gas to the beverage post and let it bubble til it stopped. I'll rock and top it up for the next few days. In the end I would rather serve a slightly stripped beer that is pretty clear than one that hasn't come together yet and is too yeasty. I expect the whole keg to be gone saturday, so no point in worrying about it how it will age.

 

[daksin]

It was my understanding that wits should be cloudy with yeast...

from BJCP:

"The beer will be very cloudy from starch haze and/or yeast, which gives it a milky, whitish-yellow appearance." Emphasis mine. Why would you want to clear a wit?

 

[mcbethenstein]

Normally I don't, but in the past my wits have taken 3 months to really meld. I needed to make it happen in 1 month. It had a very harsh taste from the spices, and having had a short primary still had a lot of heavy proteins in suspension. I'll pull a sample tonight. I might rehydrate some extra Munich yeast I have lying around and dose it with just enough to restore the desired level of cloudiness. Like I said I'd rather it be a little too clear and taste good than be harsh and too milky.

 

[mcbethenstein]

Here are a few photos. The first is the filter after I finished. It's really gunky! The second photo is a sample I just drew. It's 1000 times better. Still cloudy. (I do use 3 lbs flaked wheat and 1 lb flaked oats... It will never be clear!) flavor is more balanced and delicate... Definitely more restrained tasting than I'm used to, but it will be a home run with the crowd. My boyfriend wants to keep drinking it... I told him he's not allowed, since I promised a full keg for Saturday.

 

[phoenixs4r]

Interesting filter.

 

[mcbethenstein]

It goes into a whole house filter that is placed between the beverage out posts from the two kegs. Pressurize the first and the beer flows through the filter and into the second. For most beers I'm using a 1 micron filter.