Ways to adjust the clarity of my current beer

[morbster]

I completed my second brew two days ago, and I had some leftover wort from when I drew my hydrometer sample, so I decided to stick it in the fridge to see how it would clarify over a couple days. Note that no yeast is present in this sample.

I'm interested in learning more about the factors that affect beer clarity, so I have a couple quick questions.

1.) Does primary fermentation have any effect on beer clarity, or can you estimate that your beer will be just as clear going into the fermentor as it will be coming out?

2.) Based on the sample that I stuck in the fridge (shown below), would this give me a good idea of what my beer will look like after crash cooling?

I'm aware of the primary clarifying methods (crash cooling, Irish moss, and gelatin), but I'd really be interested in learning more information about the clarity of beer throughout the brewing process if anyone has some experience to share.

 

[tooblue02]

Not sure how you took that sample but it looks like a lot of yeast are in there plus some other stuff... I have not tried any of the clarifying stuff you mentioned but the last two beers I brewed came out much clearer than previous batches. I do BIAB using bags from Wilserbrewer and when I siphoned the beer out of the primary it was incredibly clear which followed over to the bottles. Some things you can do would be to strain the wort when going into the primary and be careful when siphoning from primary to bottling bucket. I think it comes down to understanding your equipment and getting your technique down. I am getting better after 10 batches under my belt but still not perfected!

 

[JonM]

The best things I have done for clarity are get a good hot break, use Whirlifloc/Irish moss, and chill quickly for a good cold break. Then add time. Even cloudy beers clear with enough time in the bottle or keg. That's about it.

 

[Teromous]

I'm aware of the primary clarifying methods (crash cooling, Irish moss, and gelatin), but I'd really be interested in learning more information about the clarity of beer throughout the brewing process if anyone has some experience to share.

As yeast flocculates it has the added benefit of dragging suspended solids down with it which would decrease turbidity in your beer. This won't snag everything though. Now, don't forget that low-flocculating yeasts can actually increase turbidity in your beer. Additionally you have to consider time. The fermentation process takes a while, which only helps slower moving particles drop. The short answer is yes, regular fermentation can clarify your beer if you use the right yeast strain, so the clarity can not solely be determined by what comes out of your kettle.

 

[flars]

Save that yeast. You have enough for a starter to use in your next batch.

Are you drawing wort sample through a spigot on your fermentor? Using a wine/beer thief or turkey baster will reduce the volume used for hydrometer readings. Use the tube you hydrometer came in as the sample holder.

Less volume for samples means more finished product in the bottle.

 

[Hello]

You could always buy and use one of these:
http://morebeer.com/products/beer-wine-filtering-kit.html?a_aid=hbf&chan=dod?a_aid=hbf&chan=dod

You mentioned "note that no yeast is present in this sample" and yet, I see a ton of yeast. Did you mean something else?

 

[Teromous]

I have one of those filters and have used it numerous times. If you ever need convincing why not to buy one, I'm happy to oblige...

 

[BigFloyd]

You had one heck of a lot of suspended yeast in that bottle.

Here are my steps for clear beer (and my beers are quite clear):

-Bag your hops. A DIY hop spider is easy to make and easier to handle than hop sacks. Mine is 4" schedule 40 PVC (I had some scrap pipe, it works fine) and uses 1 gallon paint strainer bags.

-Add 1/2 a whirlfloc tab at 10 min in a 5-gallon batch

-Chill quickly for a good cold protein break. If using an immersion chiller, stir frequently. For partial boils, chill your top-off water to near freezing.

-After chilling, cover the kettle with a lid or foil sprayed with StarSan and let it sit for 15-20 minutes so that the whirlfloc can settle out the particles it has gathered.

-Try to leave as much kettle gunk behind when transferring to the fermenter

- After fermenting, either cold crash (I do 5-7 days at 35-36*F) or let the beer sit in the primary an extra 14 days or so to clarify. I like cold crashing since it gets the beer extra clear and also firms up the yeast cake so that it's harder to disturb. If you want additional clarity, you can add gelatin 4-5 days before bottling.

-When moving the primary to get set up to rack to the bottling bucket, try hard to not slosh it around and stir up the yeast cake. Of course, keep the tip of the siphon away from the cake.

-Don't try to get every last drop transferred out of the primary. You'll end up sucking up some yeast trub.

 

[morbster]

Like i said, that isn't yeast in the bottle. It's probably just suspended grain particles that passed through the mesh of my grain bag (edit: or maybe cold break).

Edit: When I brewed this, I tried to pre-filter as much as possible during wort aeration. I passed the wort through a sanitized kitchen strainer multiple times. I then cleaned and sanitized my grain bag and folded it over itself a few times to create a finer strainer, which I put inside my kitchen strainer. I passed the wort through this makeshift strainer two times before taking my gravity sample (which is when I took the picture). After that, I pitched my yeast.

I thought I had a pretty common grain bag, but if my suspended grain solids are causing a bit of fuss, maybe I should check and see if a better one is out there.

 

[morbster]

As yeast flocculates it has the added benefit of dragging suspended solids down with it which would decrease turbidity in your beer. This won't snag everything though. Now, don't forget that low-flocculating yeasts can actually increase turbidity in your beer. Additionally you have to consider time. The fermentation process takes a while, which only helps slower moving particles drop. The short answer is yes, regular fermentation can clarify your beer if you use the right yeast strain, so the clarity can not solely be determined by what comes out of your kettle.

Thanks for the insight, Teromous. I have only recently started to learn more about the different yeast strains, and I had forgot about the effects of low-flocculating strains. I pitched S-04 in this batch, so I'm interested to see if I can notice any clarity changes when I bottle.

 

[BigFloyd]

Like i said, that isn't yeast in the bottle. It's probably just suspended grain particles that passed through the mesh of my grain bag (edit: or maybe cold break).

Edit: When I brewed this, I tried to pre-filter as much as possible during wort aeration. I passed the wort through a sanitized kitchen strainer multiple times. I then cleaned and sanitized my grain bag and folded it over itself a few times to create a finer strainer, which I put inside my kitchen strainer. I passed the wort through this makeshift strainer two times before taking my gravity sample (which is when I took the picture). After that, I pitched my yeast.

I thought I had a pretty common grain bag, but if my suspended grain solids are causing a bit of fuss, maybe I should check and see if a better one is out there.

If it's what I call "grain gunk", that junk should settle out and remain in the primary. The first batch after building my recirculating E-BIAB rig, I did a Vienna/Amarillo SMASH to get used to it and work up my processes. The wort looked like tan mud going into the fermenter bucket. I was a bit concerned the beer was going to stay awfully cloudy. After crashing it, I was relieved to see that the mud had become nice clear beer as it was going into the bottling bucket.

 

[morbster]

If it's what I call "grain gunk", that junk should settle out and remain in the primary. The first batch after building my recirculating E-BIAB rig, I did a Vienna/Amarillo SMASH to get used to it and work up my processes. The wort looked like tan mud going into the fermenter bucket. I was a bit concerned the beer was going to stay awfully cloudy. After crashing it, I was relieved to see that the mud had become nice clear beer as it was going into the bottling bucket.

Thanks BigFloyd, your experience is encouraging. While it seems that my beer isn't super clear even with the "grain gunk" settled out, it's good to see that this is a similar situation that others share.

 

[shortyz]

primary 1week -> rack 1week -> rack 1week (cold crash + gelatin) = bottle.

this god rid of my chill haze, clearest beer ive ever done. (ale yeast)

 

[morbster]

primary 1week -> rack 1week -> rack 1week (cold crash + gelatin) = bottle.

this god rid of my chill haze, clearest beer ive ever done. (ale yeast)

Would you advise against doing primary for 2 weeks -> cold crash + gelatin 1 week then bottle?

I'm still not convinced that using a secondary is worth it unless you actually have secondary fermentation going on.

 

[JonM]

Seriously - bottle it and let it sit. Every time I have had cloudy beer, it has cleared up in the bottle after 6 weeks or so. I wouldn't screw around with multiple rackings and all that stuff because of the risk of oxidation and infection. Time will likely clear it up just fine.

 

[BigFloyd]

Would you advise against doing primary for 2 weeks -> cold crash + gelatin 1 week then bottle?

I'm still not convinced that using a secondary is worth it unless you actually have secondary fermentation going on.

Many of us are convinced that it's certainly not worth it to rack to a secondary unless you are 1) adding fruit, 2) long-term aging/lagering, or 3) dry hopping and want to harvest the yeast.

Seriously - bottle it and let it sit. Every time I have had cloudy beer, it has cleared up in the bottle after 6 weeks or so. I wouldn't screw around with multiple rackings and all that stuff because of the risk of oxidation and infection. Time will likely clear it up just fine.

This.^^^^^