Has anyone had experience with, and noticed significantly more cloudiness in a sour mash over a traditional mash? It was 50/50 wheat and pilsner, if that makes a difference, with only a very short protein rest. Could the extra cloudiness be from the wheat alone?
Sour Mash Clarity
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TopherM
Well-Known Member
Wheat malt has tons of extra proteins that should stay in the wort/beer, and will make the wort/beer cloudy.
Are you expecting clarity? The Krystalweizen style is a hefeweizen with all of the proteins taken out. They don't taste nearly as good as if you leave the wheat protein and some yeast in the beer, but you CAN make it clear if you really want to.
Are you expecting clarity? The Krystalweizen style is a hefeweizen with all of the proteins taken out. They don't taste nearly as good as if you leave the wheat protein and some yeast in the beer, but you CAN make it clear if you really want to.
It was a sour-mashed Berliner Weiss, so I was trying to get a nice clear refreshing beer. No major problem if it never clears, just trying to get the reasoning behind it. I do have a wheat wine that I brewed quite a few months ago, and it has really cleared up a lot in the bottle.
This BW will be more of a hot summer beer anyway, so no rush to get it cleared quickly (don't ask me why I decided to brew a tart refreshing beer in November, haha).
This BW will be more of a hot summer beer anyway, so no rush to get it cleared quickly (don't ask me why I decided to brew a tart refreshing beer in November, haha).
TopherM
Well-Known Member
From personal experience, there are two very experienced brewers in my club that make Berlinner Weiss. The first guy's is relatively clear, and tastes pretty good. The other guy has actually now gone pro and distributes his BW to about 12-15 local pubs, and his is both phenominal and ridiculously hazy with wheat proteins.
It could have nothing at all to do with leaving the wheat proteins in there, but it certainly doesn't hurt.
It could have nothing at all to do with leaving the wheat proteins in there, but it certainly doesn't hurt.
Good to hear. For some reason cloudiness (which, in general, I don't mind a bit) gives me the impression of a heavier, more sip-worthy beer rather than the tart freshness that I was going for with this one. Do you happen to know if the two guys in your club use a sour mash, or if they do a traditional fermentation with lacto?
ReverseApacheMaster
Well-Known Member
The extra cloudiness comes from two things: the soluble starches that float off into your wort as it sits but doesn't convert due to the low temperatures and all the bacteria floating around. When you boil it some of the proteins will clump together and drop out either in your kettle or in your fermentor. Once the bacteria die in the boil they will drop out, too. However, you'll still end up with a cloudy beer.
TopherM
Well-Known Member
Both make their Berlinner Weiss in about 4-5 weeks grain to glass, so I would assume they are both using the sour mash method.
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