Need some help...my last few IPA's have had substantial clarity issues. Each has been heavily dry hopped. I understand that the byproducts from the dry hopping will lead to some haziness. But my end product isn't hazy. It's opaque. It looks like juice. The taste is fine, but it's not the most visually appealing. It does not clear with time. Only when I am at the last two-ish pints of the keg does it start to clear.
Additional notes on my process:
All grain recipes, 5 gallon batches. Irish moss added at 10 minutes left in the boil. Typically do a hop stand for the flame out addition. Immersion chiller. Brewing in Phoenix makes it a bit more difficult to chill quickly, but every other style of beer that I brew comes out clear (including a hop forward, but not dry hopped, English IPA). Packaging is a corny keg. I had been dry hopping in the keg, and leaving the hops in the keg until the keg kicked. I cold crash. Beer is served around 45-50 degrees.
I thought that dry hopping in the keg might be the culprit. So, on the last DIPA I brewed, I cold crashed prior to dry hopping, brought the temp back up to mid-60's, dry-hopped, removed the dry hops, then cold crashed again. No change--milky, juice like appearance (last brew was a brown DIPA--it looked similar to prune juice).
I don't use post-fermentation finings. One time I attempted to use gelatin after fermentation, and after I carbed the beer (I initially thought a few more days at serving temp would clear the beer). There was no change, although I'm not confident that my process was correct.
Again, I don't expect a crystal clear finished product when dry hopping, and I actually like the appearance of the light haze in an IPA. But as I mentioned, it's not a light haze.
Thoughts?
Additional notes on my process:
All grain recipes, 5 gallon batches. Irish moss added at 10 minutes left in the boil. Typically do a hop stand for the flame out addition. Immersion chiller. Brewing in Phoenix makes it a bit more difficult to chill quickly, but every other style of beer that I brew comes out clear (including a hop forward, but not dry hopped, English IPA). Packaging is a corny keg. I had been dry hopping in the keg, and leaving the hops in the keg until the keg kicked. I cold crash. Beer is served around 45-50 degrees.
I thought that dry hopping in the keg might be the culprit. So, on the last DIPA I brewed, I cold crashed prior to dry hopping, brought the temp back up to mid-60's, dry-hopped, removed the dry hops, then cold crashed again. No change--milky, juice like appearance (last brew was a brown DIPA--it looked similar to prune juice).
I don't use post-fermentation finings. One time I attempted to use gelatin after fermentation, and after I carbed the beer (I initially thought a few more days at serving temp would clear the beer). There was no change, although I'm not confident that my process was correct.
Again, I don't expect a crystal clear finished product when dry hopping, and I actually like the appearance of the light haze in an IPA. But as I mentioned, it's not a light haze.
Thoughts?