Why is my beer cloudy?

Twopan · Aug 24, 2024

I have brewed many successful batches. More recently though I have had some refuse to clear, with what looks likes faint whispy clouds in the beer. I never get it with Saison, but have recently had it with a Malt Miller Leffe Clone, which was perfectly fine last time, and a Belgian dubbel, which again, was fine last time. I have done nothing different that I can think of - same ingredients, same mash time etc. I always add one protofloc tablet 15mins before end of the boil, and 4g of Brewbrite. Any ideas folks? Thanks.

Rodcx500z · Aug 24, 2024

If it is a 21-23L brew one tablet of protofloc is way to much, i only use 0.5g in 21L Or a pinch between finger and thumb

Twopan · Aug 24, 2024

Rodcx500z said:
If it is a 21-23L brew one tablet of protofloc is way to much, i only use 0.5g in 21L Or a pinch between finger and thumb

Yes it is 23L so I am clearly over egging it with the protofloc. I'll try a bit of a tablet next time, thanks.

Caramel Ox · Aug 25, 2024

I have settled around 0.6g protofloc and 2g brewbrite otherwise the amount of trub is too much. That doesn’t really help with your cloudy problem though which is tricky to guess at.

Twopan · Aug 25, 2024

This guidance on protofloc and Brewbrite is helpful thanks. What counfounds me though is that the problem is inconsistent. I use the BIAB method and always mash longer (90 mins +) at 62° to eek out better efficiency, and dunk sparge the bag in fresh, dechlorinated water at 75° for at least 10 minutes. I cool the wort to pitching temperature using a immersion chiller. Ferment at room temperature. Bottle after 12 - 14 days. The Leffe clone and dubbel both has this problem, but not my recent two batches of Saison, which are as clear as a bell. Is it a temperature control problem I.e. am I fermenting too warm (it can rise to 28°, averaging around 26° at this time of year)?

Twostage · Aug 25, 2024

Twopan said:
This guidance on protofloc and Brewbrite is helpful thanks. What counfounds me though is that the problem is inconsistent. I use the BIAB method and always mash longer (90 mins +) at 62° to eek out better efficiency, and dunk sparge the bag in fresh, dechlorinated water at 75° for at least 10 minutes. I cool the wort to pitching temperature using a immersion chiller. Ferment at room temperature. Bottle after 12 - 14 days. The Leffe clone and dubbel both has this problem, but not my recent two batches of Saison, which are as clear as a bell. Is it a temperature control problem I.e. am I fermenting too warm (it can rise to 28°, averaging around 26° at this time of year)?

I was thinking room temperature is quite variable at the moment unless you're lucky enough to have an unused room where the temperature is very stable.

Seems like it could be the only variable and Saison will cope with 28c quite happily, not sure about the yeasts you are using.

Agentgonzo · Aug 25, 2024

Twopan said:
What counfounds me though is that the problem is inconsistent.

One possibility is your water could vary from day to day depending on how much rain there had been prior to your brewday.

Caramel Ox · Aug 25, 2024

Are these actual Malt Miller kits ie they might have sent different malts? Bottle or keg?

Twopan · Aug 25, 2024

Caramel Ox said:
Are these actual Malt Miller kits ie they might have sent different malts? Bottle or keg?

The Leffe is but the dubbel is a community recipe which I have scaled down slightly. Both have been clear before.

Twopan · Aug 25, 2024

Twopan said:
The Leffe is but the dubbel is a community recipe which I have scaled down slightly. Both have been clear before.

And the leffe is both bottled and in a mini keg. The mini keg was a real pea-souper! The bottles slightly less cloudy but not great at all.

Twopan · Aug 25, 2024

Twostage said:
I was thinking room temperature is quite variable at the moment unless you're lucky enough to have an unused room where the temperature is very stable.

Seems like it could be the only variable and Saison will cope with 28c quite happily, not sure about the yeasts you are using.

The yeasts were MJ Belgian Abbey M47 for the Leffe and SafAle T-58 for the dubbel. I used the Abbey instead of the supplied T-58 and switched this to thr dubbel.

Twostage · Aug 25, 2024

Twopan said:
The yeasts were MJ Belgian Abbey M47 for the Leffe and SafAle T-58 for the dubbel. I used the Abbey instead of the supplied T-58 and switched this to thr dubbel.

M47 has an ideal range up to 25 so could probably cope with a couple more degrees.

Caramel Ox · Aug 25, 2024

Twopan said:
And the leffe is both bottled and in a mini keg. The mini keg was a real pea-souper! The bottles slightly less cloudy but not great at all.

A keg can be fined later if you have stuff on hand so you can treat the issue when it happens. Bottles may benefit from some colder nights in the garage when the season changes and come out better?

Twopan · Aug 25, 2024

@Caramel Ox thanks! Funnily enough, I have just been in the garage and looked at the the Leffe bottles. They have suddenly cleared! After two months in the bottle, the cloudiness has, like magic, just dropped out. However, two bottles I had in the fridge are more cloudy, like a chill haze, despite brewbrite being used. My theory now is that if it is prone to cloudiness, it will clear neither in summer temperatures of 22C+ nor in a 4C fridge environment. But storage now at c. 16C seems to have solved it. The keg had been kept in the fridge which sort of supports this theory. Learning for me from this thread is 1. use less protofloc, 2. avoid any trub from the kettle going into the FV and accept the losses and 3. store the bottles in a cool, but not cold environment until clear.

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