Cloudy beer after kegging

[Math0]

I searched a bit and I couldn't find what I was looking for so there it is. After fermenting and put to secondary for a few more days, I keg the beer to 30 PSI for a day or so then lower to 8-10PSI until ready. I tried the same batch in bottles and in the keg and it seems the beer coming out of the keg is very cloudy. A lot more than it was before in secondary. It is not over carbed. Is there any particular reason for this? Thanks!

 

[jro238]

A couple questions:

Have you kegged other batches that came out clear?
Did you draw out a half pint or so before taking your sample to flush out the settled gunk?
How long has the beer been in the keg without being moved?

 

[Math0]

A couple questions:

Have you kegged other batches that came out clear?
Did you draw out a half pint or so before taking your sample to flush out the settled gunk?
How long has the beer been in the keg without being moved?

I did 6 or seven batches with the kegs and I always try to leave the trub at the bottom. I also use a secondary so I can avoid this to mix with the beer at transfer time. And the beer is not moving after kegging, stays in the fridge...


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[jro238]

Eh, it might just be that the yeast didn't flocculate as much as you are used to. It could also be chill haze if you have some polyphenols. It will settle out with time if it is the former, but it will just get worse if it is the latter. You could always add some gelatin to clear it up (works well for both of these causes).

 

[Cajun_McChicken]

Did you use Irish moss or whirlflock? My lighter beers always pour a bit cloudy for the first week or so.


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[BigFloyd]

Instead of using a secondary, try cold crashing the primary before racking straight to the keg. A week at 35*F can work wonders.

 

[Math0]

I use irish moss (15g flakes in the last 5 minutes of the boil). And I cold crash at 14C for 3-4 days. Thanks for your help, but the only reason I think here would be that I don't wait enough to clear it up in the keg. And I drink it too damn fast

 

[lotusworker]

I had the same problem with my belgian wit, but it is supposed to be a little cloudy. I did end up putting in the keg, so clearing finings which helped. I think that just aging it a bit longer in the kegerator would help too, although your first 4-5 pints might be more cloudy as it settles at the bottom.

Don't worry just keep drinking.

 

[BigFloyd]

I use irish moss (15g flakes in the last 5 minutes of the boil). And I cold crash at 14C for 3-4 days. Thanks for your help, but the only reason I think here would be that I don't wait enough to clear it up in the keg. And I drink it too damn fast

3-4 days at 14*C is not cold enough or long enough to effectively crash an ale batch and will have almost no effect on a lager.

 

[Math0]

3-4 days at 14*C is not cold enough or long enough to effectively crash an ale batch and will have almost no effect on a lager.

Good to know thank you! I thought the average was 3-4 days. For a typical ale batch, at what temp should I cold crash? 40F?


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[ballsy]

I cold crash at 2.5 C For about 48hrs. Works well.

 

[PAjwPhilly]

Lower temperatures = higher flocculation. So dropping it to 4C will speed things up. Some yeast might need 2 weeks at 4C to drop out...

 

[BigFloyd]

Good to know thank you! I thought the average was 3-4 days. For a typical ale batch, at what temp should I cold crash? 40F?


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After fermentation, I move the primary into my upright lager freezer (which is controlled at 35*F) for 5-7 days. When I pull it out to keg or bottle, I move it gently so as to not stir anything up and rack the beer cold.

 

[rrhoads]

Hi.
I know this thread is a little old but I just brewed a 10 gallon batch of Styrian Stunner bitter from a recipe I found online, which is basically Marris Otter matched with all Styrian Golding hop additions. Anyway, It's one of the few beers I've brewed that did not clear after the addition of gelatin at carbonation, and cold crashing. I had a failed starter of 1098 British Yeast. Fermentation didn't take off after 2 days, so to be safe I pitched a couple packs of S-04. I'm thinking this has something to do with the lack of clearing? Some weird protein haze from the original yeast? Any opinions on this?

 

[Clonefan94]

My opinion on keg clearing is this. Since the keg draws from the bottom when it pulls beer, you very well could have perfectly clear beer at the top of the keg. It's just my assumption as I've never physically observed this, is that the yeast takes time to drop out of suspension. Since it doesn't instantly all drop out, the beer will clear from the top down. So all of that beer you are first pulling, theoretically, will be the cloudiest beer in the keg, until you either draw that cloudy beer off, or give the yeast sufficient time to fully drop out of suspension.

Again, this is just my idea on the matter as I have noticed during parties with younger beer, that you can actually tell a difference in clarity between the first beer drawn that day and the last. Because of my pipeline, my beers usually don't get put on tap for about 2 weeks after kegging. By that time, it's usually enough that my beers pour pretty clear in general.

Then again though, I don't use gelatin, so all of my observations my be completely worthless to you.