to fine or to filter...that is the question

[reinstone]

Hi I have 7 corney kegs of various brews....altbier, bohemian pils, kolsch, and amber ale that have been lagering for a month or longer. I have been transferring off the yeast and they are not perfectly clear-after the first pint or so. I need to have them force carbed and ready to go by september 22....for my early octoberfest party. Because I will be dealing with some strictly commercial beer drinkers....I want them to be brilliantly clear. (except the ale as it is a dry hopped beer-and those people understand-the ones who drink good ale) So having two weeks I would like advice on whether to fine or filter .....or both. I have a canister filter with nominal 5 and 1 micron filters (several). I also have some isninglass, gelatin and polyclar and am willing to buy a .5 micron filter or two or three if needed. So the question is....the beer is partially carbed......just carbed enough to seal the kegs.......at 32 degrees or so. What to do? I am willing to try just about anything-thanks.....I have read up on filtering under pressure and feel confident I can do that.

also the beers taste great....they just aren't the clarity I want.

thanks in advance.

 

[brycelarson]

man, I would have expected them to clear up after a month at 32... I think fining is your best bet.

 

[Cranny04]

I would try some Gelatin, it's what I use... At those temps is should clear in a day or two...



This is my IPA that I fined using gelatin..

 

[terrapinj]

the first pint or 2 are always cloudy IME, the sediment usually settles around the dip tube

 

[reinstone]

will try bill cosbey's favorite and then if not will filter from there.

 

[reinstone]

do i need to agitate it?

 

[Cranny04]

Yes, I dump it in then either roll the keg on my knee, or just bubble co2 up through the dip tube to mix it...

 

[reinstone]

so since this is my secondary and lagering keg, I am sure that there is crap on the bottom, yeast etc....maybe some haze forming compounds that have settled.....would it be optimal to transfer to a diff keg under pressure and then add the finings in order to not stir up the sediment.

 

[KBentley57]

Stirring up the sediment should be fine, they are good enough to grab everything and take it straight to the bottom. After they compact for about a week, you shouldn't have any problem racking off crystal kleer beer.

 

[scottland]

Please don't 'just' dump gelatin in.

-Get a microwave-safe glass cup. I like to use a pyrex measuring cup. Measure out 2/3 cup cold water. Any water will work, but I wouldn't use tap water if it tastes like crap.*

-Add one teaspoon of gelatin, and stir the solution. I like to use using my thermometer probe, so I can check the temperature at the same time.

-Place the water/gelatin mixture in the microwave, and begin to heat it 15-30 seconds at a time, stopping to stir the solution and check the temperature. As it heats up, you'll notice the gelatin will begin to dissolve.

-The goal is to heat the gelatin to 150F, but not much over. If it climbs to 155 or so, that's fine, but I'd be hesitant to go much over 170F. We're not trying to make jello, rather just trying to pasteurize the solution.

-Give the mixture one last stir, and dump it straight into your beer. Gently swirl the fermenter or keg, and return it to your fridge or kegerator for 24-48 hours.

-If you used a keg, purge the headspace with CO2 to remove any oxygen that got mixed in.

It takes under 3 minutes to do it correctly, so there's little reason not too. I cut and pasted that from my blog, the whole post is here: http://bertusbrewery.blogspot.com/2012/06/how-to-clear-your-beer-with-gelatin.html

 

[reinstone]

Just to update-the Jello worked great-no chill haze or anything. Not sure if it was suspended yeast or what but the beers were all super clear. Also when I moved a keg-even after transfer there was yeast that got stirred up. This tells me what I thought was chill haze was really yeast.....my recommendation now to others who use have this question is to use the gelatin and let it settle a week cold....then if you plan on moving the beer transfer first. The gelatin takes some time but works wonders. Cheers..

 

[reinstone]

update worked great beer was brilliant