What type of haze is this and how to clear

[Andrew Lawrence]

Hi all,

This is my first post but I've spent many hours reading threads on here over the past few weeks.
A couple of weeks ago I started my first home brew, a cheap and simple blonde can kit from muntons. I wanted to get a feel(and taste) of home brew before I committed to a proper set-up for extract and eventually all grain brewing. The primary fermentation completed after about 10 days and I have had it in a secondary carboy for the last 4 or 5 days. I haven't had a dedicated beer fridge since university, so I moved it to my basement which is not heated and is in the ~8°C range(I'm in Canada, eh). It's not near freezing but I figured any temperature drop would help drop the haze to some extent. The beer was actually somewhat clear when I transferred it to the secondary, especially the top half. Since I've transferred to the secondary, it's been perfectly clear on the top 2 inches and then abruptly changes to a fairly thick haze which thickens toward the bottom of the carboy. There is still trub forming on bottom of the carboy but the haze hasn't changed in the past several days; it seems just as dense and has the same ~2 inches of beer on top that is incredibly clear, then it's almost like a "shelf" or perfectly flat layer of dense haze beneath it(see pic below). I'm wondering if anyone has experienced this before and can offer insight as to what type of particulate is causing this haze. I'm not totally opposed to a little cloudiness but if I can clear it relatively easily with a fining agent, it would make for better bragging rights while my friends are drinking their commercial beers currently around $27-$30 per dozen here in Newfoundland, Canada.

 

[KookyBrewsky]

Are you sure it's actually like that throughout the entire beer, and not just a thin layer stuck to the glass wall?

Pretty much every time (though few) I've used my glass carboy, there's some sort of residual illusion from something that makes the beer look different than it actually is from that angle. Be it yeast on the glass, krausen stuck to the top that makes it look like there's a thick layer above the brew, etc... If you move the carboy around and the "shelf" level moves, then it'd be some type of strange haze, at which point I can offer no help

 

[Andrew Lawrence]

Hmm I never considered that, but my first thought was that it looked like condensation on the outside of the carboy. Perhaps I will poke something down and try wiping the inside wall and see if that's it. Thanks for the reply!

 

[KookyBrewsky]

Hmm I never considered that, but my first thought was that it looked like condensation on the outside of the carboy. Perhaps I will poke something down and try wiping the inside wall and see if that's it. Thanks for the reply!

I was pretty worried the first time I used my carboy, it looked like there was an impenetrable krausen on top and it wasn't falling to the bottom. As soon as I took the bung/air lock off for a moment and looked down into the beer with a light it was perfectly normal. It was just a bit stuck to the entire top wall of the carboy, and the beer had essentially none on its surface. Illusions!

May or may not be your problem, but worth quickly peering into the carboy from the top without the bung in place.

 

[Andrew Lawrence]

I just gave the carboy a slight rock and the haze came right up to the top and now there is no clear layer, so it's definitely some kind of haze in the beer not on the wall of the carboy. I'm thinking about moving the carboy back to room temperature and see if it may be chill haze. Have also been considering trying gelatin. Thoughts?

 

[MikeCo]

The 8C temperature should help clear it with time, but gelatin would likely accelerate clearing.

 

[Lorne Lemaire]

give it time, that's the yeast settling. Eventually it'll be clear, patience!

 

[Takuie]

I had nearly the same issue a few years back. What I found was that I was not getting “cold break” when chilling after my brew. I don’t like using agents to clear up my beer. Search google on cold breaking, chill your wort faster and you will find they clear up much more quickly. I generally go from grain to glass in 21 days. Nearly all of my beers fall clear in about 2ish weeks. Hope this helps.