Beer not clearing?

[pumpkinman2012]

This is a first for me, I have several batches of beer, 6 gallon each, that just will not clear, I've racked them to a carboy after fermentation like I always do, usually two weeks later my beer is crystal clear, and I'll bottle it.

Most of the beer that I brewed is hitting the one month mark, twice as long as it usually takes to clear.

The only thing I did differently was to tighten up the grain mill to get a finer crush, since doing this, I'm hitting all of the numbers perfectly, but the beer is still cloudy.

I tried to add Super Kleer to one carboy to see if it would make a difference...after 4 days, no change in appearance.

Any ideas on how to clear this?

Thanks in advance,
Tom

 

[vinylrooster]

This is a first for me, I have several batches of beer, 6 gallon each, that just will not clear, I've racked them to a carboy after fermentation like I always do, usually two weeks later my beer is crystal clear, and I'll bottle it.

Most of the beer that I brewed is hitting the one month mark, twice as long as it usually takes to clear.

The only thing I did differently was to tighten up the grain mill to get a finer crush, since doing this, I'm hitting all of the numbers perfectly, but the beer is still cloudy.

I tried to add Super Kleer to one carboy to see if it would make a difference...after 4 days, no change in appearance.

Any ideas on how to clear this?

Thanks in advance,
Tom

I have used gelatin with great success. Not sure if your kegging, but generally my process is as follows:

primary>secondary>cold crash>rack to keg and add gelatin immediately>seal and shake keg>return to fridge and let sit 72 hours> pour off 1-2 pints of sludge.

I have ended up with only crystal clear beer.


-Rooster

 

[stonebrewer]

+1 on the gelatin.

Other steps that I use that help are to use Irish Moss in the boil (~15 minutes before flameout). I also recirculate through a stainless steel hop spider which catches a lot of the break material. I also use a filter on the input of my carboy to get the last bits of gunk. Depending on the yeast and beer, I usually have clear beer after the 4th or 5th pour (yeast in the keg takes a few pours to remove).

 

[B2Barleywine]

Has anything in your process changed? What yeast are you using? Does the beer clear as it warms up?(chill haze)
I get crystal clear beer using whirlfloc @ 5 min and always ensuring I get a good hot and cold break. Cold condition my primary @ 33f for a few days, keg it and it's clear by the time I'm drinking. My finer crush brews have cleared, they have taken a bit longer to do so though.

 

[vinylrooster]

Absolutely agree with the whirlflock (super concentrated Irish moss)

 

[pumpkinman2012]

Sorry for leaving out some info -
I use whirlflock at 15 mins.
I'm bottling, not kegging yet.
The only things that have changed are the fact that I've adjusted my grain mill to crush finer, and I usually use Clarity-ferm, I didn't have that for 3 batches.
I usually make between 5-10 6 gallon batches of beer over a course of 2 weeks as my "inventory" gets low.
I usually recirculate/Vorlauf the first half gallon or so in an attempt to get a clearer beer, as well as make sure that my Hot and cold breaks are solid.

I'll pick up some gelatin tomorrow, I'll do a search on how to use this process.
As far as yeasts, in the 8 batches I used Safale US 05, Nottingham, Wyeast 1272, WLP833, BRY-97,Saflager W-34/70 and so on.

Thanks for the help!!

 

[vinylrooster]

I'll pick up some gelatin tomorrow, I'll do a search on how to use this process.

http://www.bertusbrewery.com/2012/06/how-to-clear-your-beer-with-gelatin.html?m=1

http://suigenerisbrewing.blogspot.com/2013/01/brewing-science-gelatin-clearing-beer.html?m=1

Those two were good resources for me the first time I gelatin cleared. I personally do the sui generis (second link) but both methods have worked fine for me

 

[pumpkinman2012]

Thanks for the links!!

 

[vinylrooster]

The first pint and a half that comes out after 48 hours on gelatin in a pre chilled keg look pretty much like sludge (picture with three "half pints" in it). Then it continues to get clearer everyday and after a week it's crystal clear (second picture). The beer actually looks much more clear in person than it does in that picture. I took it at night in kinda low lighting.

Anyway, hope this helps you.

 

[nmenninga]

Sounds like starch haze, I just drink it. Clarifiers drop out lots of stuff, but not starch that i know of. Finer grind gives a lot more dust (raw starch) in grist. May need to mash longer in future. You can check conversion with iodine. Also, check grain bill for convertibility, do you have enough modified malts to convert everything in there?

 

[chays99]

I'm having the exact same issue. How long should the mash be extended?

 

[unionrdr]

I had this same problem before I got my Barley Crusher grain mill. I was using an old mini food processor to crush my grains. no mater hop quick I pulsed it,I got too fine a crush. This isn't so much starch haze as it's a lot of protiens released by the fine crush. I used some 4lbs of base malts with the other grains,so no need to extend the mash.
Then I got the grain mill,& left it set on the factory notched setting of .039". Crush is perfect now. most of the haze went away,due I think to less of the fine,floury poofy stuff. I then added 1/4tsp of Fivestar Super Moss @ 10 minutes left in the boil. I also make sure I get a good hot break now as well.
Anyway,I then chill the wort down to about 75F & strain it into the fermenter.
I pour in gallons of local spring water that's been in the fridge a day or two getting good & cold. This not only has more o2 in it being cold,but chills the 75F+/- down to 64F. Thus giving a good cold break as well in combination with the effects of the super moss. 2L of trub,cold break,etc settles to the bottom quite rapidly. It packs down to about 1/2" or less by the next day.
By bottling day it's usually clear,sometimes slightly misty. After a couple days in the bottles,it settles crystal clear every time.

 

[nmenninga]

Let an iodine test be your guide. Just don't put the iodine back in your mash. And per Denny, take the results with a grain of salt.

There's another thread nearby here where they are talking about 90 minute mashes to get drier beer and lower FG. I would think that would be more than enough.

I usually do about 75 mins total mash, and boil with irish moss, usually with pretty good effect, even after going to a finer grind. I do notice with the finer grind, there is a lot more 'white flour' looking powder going into the mash.

The only hazy beer I get is wit, I presume it's starch from the flaked wheat. I have to drink it up, it won't last a year in the bottle. It's delicious, though.

 

[bbohanon]

I use Whirlfloc and this:
http://www.whitelabs.com/other-products/wln4000-clarity-ferm

It helps clear it up and keep it clear coming out of the fridge/keg/bottle.

 

[pumpkinman2012]

Thanks for all of the help, a combination, of Whirlfloc, Clarity Ferm, cold crashing and Gelatin has produced crystal clear beer.