opaque beer? help

[eternalfrost]

i just finished kegging my first beer the other day. just took the first few glasses and it is very "thick" looking. its not just the dark color. it lacks that sparkly glassy characteristic.

looks more like chocolate milk then coke.

i have good experience mashing corn but this is my first beer.

the recipe was:
9 lb 2 row
2oz 60L
2oz black patent
2oz chocolate

i did not rack to a secondary but it was left in the primary about a week after fermentation stopped in a cool basement. was a plastic ale pail so dont know how much settling went on. left the last 2 inches in the fermenter.

tastes pretty good (but that could just be father's prejudice) dont see any obvious floaters in there. is this just how real dark beer looks like? or is there something i need to be doing?

something to do with the "breaks" and proteins??

not quite that extreme but you get the idea...

 

[eternalfrost]

not quite this extreme but you get the idea...

 

[Runyanka]

Looks like any beer with chocolate malt and black patent in it.

 

[hopsoda]

It will clear over time , whats your process? how long did you ferment , temps exc?

 

[eternalfrost]

steam mashing. all grains added to 160F water, bumped temp to 154F held there for an hour, occasional stirring. sparged with false bottom and hot water from the tap. 1/2 oz hops for 6 min 1/2 oz for 15 min. CFC into ale pail. pitched starter. fermented strong for 2-3 days, left sit about a week in total. racked into keg. pressurized to ~10psi

OG 60 FG 22 gives ~5% abv yes?

anything else to know?

again this might be totally normal, ive just never seen a beer like this. but then again i cant say i ever get beer anywhere but the local grocery store so what do i know

was a "newcastle clone" recipe BTW

 

[davesrose]

was a "newcastle clone" recipe BTW

That grain bill doesn't look like a typical brown ale. It does look like a weak stout. Here is a HBT recipe for a Newcastle brown....Newcastle is a brown ale, and not a dark porter or stout (both of those styles are "dark"...going from shades of deep blackish amber to jet black). If you want a brown ale, just halve everything for a 5 gallon. The main thing, roasted barley is just a drop, and there's a bigger ratio of crystal and pale malts to black malts. With your pic (assume it's the second one right), the "milkiness" might be a lack of clarifier. Looks like a lot of yeast is still in suspension to me.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f67/aberdeen-brown-ale-newcastle-clone-ag-36912/

 

[hopsoda]

I may be in over my head here , i have never steam mashed and I haven't used much of the really dark grain, but a week total seems to soon to be in the keg and on tap. maybe I'm missing something , all my beer has cleared over time. (2-3 weeks)

 

[eternalfrost]

With your pic (assume it's the second one right), the "milkiness" might be a lack of clarifier. Looks like a lot of yeast is still in suspension to me.

those arent my pictures. they are from GIS "stout" and "chocolate milk"
just for illustrative purposes.

but in reality, my beer is the color of the stout with the opacity of the chocolate milk.

i dont care at all if it is close to newcastle, not what i was aiming for, just like the darker beers and seemed like a fine place to start off...

the yeast was for sure done fermenting, but may still be in suspension possibly, didnt use any clairfiers etc. plan on getting a glass carboy secondary eventually to see it settle out more.

next batch should i let it sit in the primary longer? will it settle out while its in the keg or will it keep sucking crud up off the bottom if it is actually present?

thanks for all the lightning fast replies!

 

[hopsoda]

I would just let it sit in the keg for a few more weeks at ferm temps , it should finish up on its own , might be over carbed a little , you could drop some gelatin in and bend the dip tube up but purge with gas again.

 

[davesrose]

i dont care at all if it is close to newcastle, not what i was aiming for, just like the darker beers and seemed like a fine place to start off...

First of all, I'd suggest going by a tried recipe. If you want a dark beer, a porter or a stout is the best to try:


Recipe Database - Home Brew Forums

As for when to rack to secondary, it's best to go by your gravity readings. I'm always hesitant to say anything with people just starting beer....as chances are they don't have the methods down yet for getting full attenuation in a quick manner. A week is adequate if you've fully oxygenated your wort and have made a starter. If you aren't doing that, waiting another week to secondary is better insurance.

*edit*....I just noticed your FG: that is way high....yep, I'm certain this batch of beer wasn't fully fermented and isn't settled.

 

[hopsoda]

QUOTE - [davesrose]
First of all, I'd suggest going by a tried recipe.


+1 start with the tried and true. your beer should be fine though , i don't think its done yet.

 

[eternalfrost]

sounds good thanks guys.

how should you check gravitys while it is going then? the whole beer world seems so obsessed with complete sterility... is just opening the fermenter and taking a reading ok?


BTW here is where the recipe is from. i didnt just pull it out of my nethers

Newcastle Brown Recipe::: Brew365 - Homebrewing Recipes and Articles

 

[hopsoda]

yes sanitize everything that comes in contact with the beer and try to minimize oxygen contact , get in and get out.
ale pales with spigots are nice for pulling samples because you don't have to remove the lid when you pull a sample. otherwise use a baster or wine thief , or check it when you rack to another vessel

 

[davesrose]

how should you check gravitys while it is going then? the whole beer world seems so obsessed with complete sterility... is just opening the fermenter and taking a reading ok?

Yes, it definitely doesn't hurt to take gravity samples and even taste those samples. Especially by the time it has been fermenting, the chances of contamination go to almost zero. Sterility is also impossible with brewing (no one is brewing in a "safe room" with everything sterilized). The best we can do is mantain some sanitation when we're brewing: once those yeasties have set forth and really multiplied in your wort, it's very hard to muck up the beer after that.

So that recipe doesn't look like the best brown ale recipe IMO....but it does seem like it would yield an ale color that's more like a brown ale over a porter. It says the estimated final gravity should be 1.014. When deciding attenuation, I look at my carboy: the beer does get darker when the yeast has settled. I'll then take my gravity reading. If it's close to the estimated gravity reading, I'll go ahead and secondary. If it's not close....it's best to let it be. Wait a day or two....take another sample....see if it's still going down or is staying there. Sometimes you don't get full attenuation due to lack of oxygen or bad temperatures.

 

[goatchze]

Opacity:

I described my first batch of pilsner as looking like "yellow milk"...turns out the base pilsner malt I use is undermodified and requires a protein rest.

No protein rest = milky looking
Protein rest = normal looking

 

[beerkrump]

From the OP description and that it was his first beer and maybe first kegging, odds are that he has a lot of sediment or his draw tube is too close to the bottom of the keg and is drawing huge amounts of yeast with each pour.

eternalfrost, pour a glass and put it in the fridge over night and see if you get any sediment forming. Check this thread and see if it sounds familiar.

 

[IrregularPulse]

From the OP description and that it was his first beer and maybe first kegging, odds are that he has a lot of sediment or his draw tube is too close to the bottom of the keg and is drawing huge amounts of yeast with each pour.

eternalfrost, pour a glass and put it in the fridge over night and see if you get any sediment forming. Check this thread and see if it sounds familiar.

This is what I was going to suggest.
Some sediment will make it to keg so matter you crashing process and transferring. Then it will settle during the week or 2 to carb. The first pull (Unless you cut your dip tube) will then pull the sediment out. I wait and see if it clears after a few draws.