First time brewing - preventing hazy beer

[cnance]

Hello all,
I'm about to attempt my first batch of beer tomorrow (Irish red ale kit from Northern Brewers), and the idea of hazy beer does not sound appealing, so I would like to take a few steps to try to minimize it as much as possible.
I'm going to try a cold break (or cold crash? I've seen both terms, not sure if they're different or interchangeable....) by rapid cooling in an ice water bath and with some frozen (and sanitized!) bottles of water inside the kettle right after boiling. What temp should I try to get it down to for an effective cold break before adding yeast? Should I move it to room temp as soon as the yeast are added, or let it keep cooling to a certain temp?

I also want to try to use gelatin, but I'm not quite as clear on this process and when it should be done. I am only doing a primary fermentation, and I only have 1 fermentation bucket and 1 bottling bucket. My plan as of now is to let it ferment in the ferm bucket for 2 weeks, then add gelatin and let it sit for another 3 days or so, then transfer it to the bottling bucket, add the priming solution and go from there.
Does this sound like a decent plan, or is there a better way to do it?

Like I said, this is my very first batch to attempt. I know the general ideas about how the process works, and I guess my main concern is that if I add gelatin in the fermenting bucket I'll take too many yeast out of solution to be able to bottle condition effectively.

I would definitely appreciate any insight or other tips you can offer!

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

You need to get it to 70 or below asap, 65 if possible is better for an Ale yeast in most cases.

In reality this will probably take you 15-20 minutes.

You want to keep it at 65-70 for the duration of your fermentation...if you can keep it at 65 thats ideal because your beer will ferment a few degree's hotter..if you keep the room at 70 it will go above that and may start producing some weird off flavors.

Dont worry about haze, seriously it doesnt effect the beer. Things like yeast will settle out over time in the bottles. I honestly wouldnt waste your time with gelatin. Once you bottle it and leave them out for 3-4 weeks at room temperature to carbonate, throw them in the fridge for a week and the yeast will all settle to the bottom of the bottles. Instant clear bear.

TLDR Version: Only time will produce good clear beers.

 

[el_caro]

I think you are probably worrying a little much about hazy beer at the beginning of your brewing experience.
There are quite a few factors that influence how clear you beer will be in the short term and it is worth addressing some of those where practical at this stage.

You have touched on cold break and that is important. Another one is Hot Break and that also is important. Have a read of John Palmers on-line book on the subject. http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter7-2.html

Getting clear beer is helped by getting clearer wort into the fermenter.

The use of finings like Whirlfloc in the kettle toward the end of the boil is rightly claimed to aid in the coagulation and settling of haze forming proteins and Beta glucans.

The yeast strain will also effect how quickly the beer clears.

Once in the fermenter then certainly the use of gelatin and cold crashing at the end of fermentation and prior to bottling will aid in the clearing of the beer. However these two are non essential to making good beer.

Do not confuse cold break (happens in the kettle ideally) with cold crashing which is done in the primary (or secondary) fermentation vessel.

Cold crashing needs a refrigerated fermentation chamber and if you are to make a serious hobby of brewing then it is worth getting one sooner rather than later. Temperature control is very important throughout the whole brewing and beer storage process.

My advice to a new brewer would be get temperature under control, pitch the correct quantity of healthy yeast, be anal about sanitation, use fresh ingredients and have lots of patience. Then further down the track you can worry about the thousand other things that can influence the quality of your beer. At least you will have some home brew on hand when someone tells you RDWHAHB.

 

[unionrdr]

I keep a couple gallon jugs of local spring water in the fridge a day or two before brew day. Get a good rolling boil,at least at the beginning couple minutes to get a good hot break. This will help with clarity later. Chilling the hot BK down to 75F or so in 20 minutes or less will also help reduce chill haze come fridge time. Then pour chilled wort through a fine mesh strainer to get the gunk in the bottom of the keetle out. This also helps aerate it a bit. Then roughly pour in chilled top off water to recipe volume & stir roughly 5 minutes. This'll mix wort & top off water to get an accurate OG reading on the hydrometer. The temp should be around 60-64F after adding the chilled water.

 

[Captain Damage]

Almost all non-filtered beers will exhibit chill haze at first - that's where the beer at room temperature is clear, but it appears cloudy when it's cold. This is not a flaw, and more importantly, it is not permanent. The chill haze will drop out naturally after 1-3 weeks at refrigerator temperature. I say it's not a flaw because it's purely cosmetic. You can't taste it. You can think of it as an indicator that your beer hasn't been cold-conditioning long enough. Chilling your wort quickly after the boil seems to reduce the time it takes for chill haze to drop out, but we're talking about 1 week instead of 2 or 3.

There is an enzyme product called Clarity Ferm that you add to the fermenter that is said to eliminate the proteins that cause chill haze. I haven't tried it and I'm still waiting to hear from anyone who has. Give it a try and report back on how it works!

Also, be aware that a few styles are supposed to be hazy. Wits usually have a protein and starch haze; hefeweizens often have a protein haze and are deliberately served with the yeast, which makes them hazy; and heavily dry hopped beers often have a haze.

 

[unionrdr]

In my experiences,chill haze usually takes 3-5 days to settle out. although my PM beers have gotten some wicked haze that didn't want to settle out. Working on that one yet. I used Fivestar super moss for the first time on my all NZ hopped Maori IPA. It'll go in the fridge Wednesday. So we'll see. I'm gunna send yooper a couple bottles,so it better clear up nice!

 

[JohnSand]

I used Clarity Ferm in a Spring White (which maybe should be hazy, but I was experimenting with low gluten processes). I put the first bottle in the fridge today. I'm astonished how clear it is.

 

[eastoak]

Getting clear beer is helped by getting clearer wort into the fermenter.

i don't think that it matters at all how cloudy the wort going into the fermentor is since chill haze will develop based on factors like hot break and cold break. the cloudiest wort can still make crystal clear beer and clear wort can make cloudy beer. some people take this further and think that they have to have clear wort running into the brew kettle from the mash or else the beer will be cloudy, this is also not the case.