AG brews not clearing

[DoctorMick]

That's a shame. I thought you might be on to an easy solution for me.

Here is the HBC Apollo after 2 weeks carbonation at room temp, and 2 weeks conditioning at shed temperature (although it is a little hard to capture the haziness in a photo).

Maybe I'll stick a few bottles in the fridge for a week or so and see if that improves clarity.

Does it taste alright?

 

[MagnusTS]

Does it taste alright?

Yep, it tastes very nice.

And I know I should be happy with that, and I should just enjoy my nice tasting beer, but a sad part of me would like nice tasting crystal clear beer.

I will fight my obsessive behaviour by drinking several of these beers tonight!

 

[DoctorMick]

Yep, it tastes very nice.

And I know I should be happy with that, and I should just enjoy my nice tasting beer, but a sad part of me would like nice tasting crystal clear beer.

I will fight my obsessive behaviour by drinking several of these beers tonight!

:lol:

As long as it tastes alright that's the main thing. :

 

[Slid]

That's a shame. I thought you might be on to an easy solution for me.

Here is the HBC Apollo after 2 weeks carbonation at room temp, and 2 weeks conditioning at shed temperature (although it is a little hard to capture the haziness in a photo).

Maybe I'll stick a few bottles in the fridge for a week or so and see if that improves clarity.

That is a good plan, Magnus. I rarely drink beer at 6 weeks from pitching these days - probably more like 4-8 weeks later.

 

[Saisonator]

You should pump the wort through the chiller back in to the GF for a couple of minutes to sterilize it, dont run the cold water tho.
If you're bottling then finnings such as isinglass or gelatin are a bad idea as you'l take out too much yeast for the beer to condition later.
You could try crash cooling, give the beer a few weeks in the bottle then transfer to a fridge and get it to about 1C-2C for a week, Then serve at your normal temp.

Pleased to report that after using gelatine after fermentation and cold crashing for 5 days, my beer kolsch has carbonated to a very acceptable level after 12 days in the bottle.
So Magnus give gelatine a try, it's cheap and easy, unless you are a vegetarian that is.

 

[DoctorMick]

Pleased to report that after using gelatine after fermentation and cold crashing for 5 days, my beer kolsch has carbonated to a very acceptable level after 12 days in the bottle.
So Magnus give gelatine a try, it's cheap and easy, unless you are a vegetarian that is.

I was under the impression that you need to cold crash if you use gelatine, is that not the case?

 

[Covrich]

One thing that made a huge leap for consistent clarity for me was water treatment, specifically CRS

CRS in the water the night before
Whirlfloc 15mins to flame out
plenty of time in fermentor.. 2 weeks minimum pref 3 weeks

Of course yeast will play a big part in what clarity you get and how easy you get it

 

[MagnusTS]

One thing that made a huge leap for consistent clarity for me was water treatment, specifically CRS

CRS in the water the night before
Whirlfloc 15mins to flame out
plenty of time in fermentor.. 2 weeks minimum pref 3 weeks

Of course yeast will play a big part in what clarity you get and how easy you get it

I'm just looking into this right now.
Such a lot of info on water treatment, and very complicated.
Is there an *****'s guide to water treatment thread?
How to measure mash pH?
What is CRS and how does it work?

 

[MagnusTS]

Pleased to report that after using gelatine after fermentation and cold crashing for 5 days, my beer kolsch has carbonated to a very acceptable level after 12 days in the bottle.
So Magnus give gelatine a try, it's cheap and easy, unless you are a vegetarian that is.

Thanks, that is good to hear.

I am going to do a mini experiment with my current brew.
Thinking of racking off half of it into 2ndry, & adding gelatine and cold crashing.
Leaving the other half in primary Fv.
Then compare clarity and carbonation between the 2.

 

[Dutto]

I'm just looking into this right now.
Such a lot of info on water treatment, and very complicated.
Is there an *****'s guide to water treatment thread?
How to measure mash pH?
What is CRS and how does it work?

I don't bother myself because everything passes through one of these ...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005CAZDBY/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

... but you will find all you need to know on this Thread ...

http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=64822&highlight=water+treatment

Enjoy. :thumb:

 

[chthon]

When is your beer hazy? In the bottle or after you have poured it?

 

[MagnusTS]

When is your beer hazy? In the bottle or after you have poured it?

Both in bottle and after pouring.
5 weeks in bottle now (2 carb, 3 conditioning), and still hazy.

I'm going to try some suggestions from this thread:
Current brew I am going to cold crash with gelatine 4 days before bottling
Next brew I am going to treat water with CRS and check mash pH.

 

[chthon]

Should have asked the temperature too. And did you brew something bitter? Hop bitterness could mask astringent bitterness created by too carbonated water.

 

[strange-steve]

I saw from another thread that you have only 46ppm calcium in your tap water, if you get that up to 100+ then you'll notice better clarity, because calcium helps with precipitation and flocculation. Also, as others have said, gelatin works really well, especially when used in conjunction with crash cooling.

 

[MagnusTS]

Should have asked the temperature too. And did you brew something bitter? Hop bitterness could mask astringent bitterness created by too carbonated water.

Do you mean conditioning temp?
They were in an outdoor shed for 2 weeks, then into the fridge for the last week. Not sure exactly what the temp is out in the beer shed. I must remember to use my high-low thermometer to check.

I have noticed quite a bitter aftertaste with recent brews, more so than other hoppy brews.

 

[MagnusTS]

I saw from another thread that you have only 46ppm calcium in your tap water, if you get that up to 100+ then you'll notice better clarity, because calcium helps with precipitation and flocculation. Also, as others have said, gelatin works really well, especially when used in conjunction with crash cooling.

Thanks Steve, that's really helpful.
On that note, I have finally got hold of the values needed for my water, and am just about to post them on your excellent beginners guide to water treatment thread.

 

[chthon]

Do you mean conditioning temp?
They were in an outdoor shed for 2 weeks, then into the fridge for the last week. Not sure exactly what the temp is out in the beer shed. I must remember to use my high-low thermometer to check.

I have noticed quite a bitter aftertaste with recent brews, more so than other hoppy brews.

So it seems that indeed there were too many carbonates in your water. Your beer has more tannins. However, this does not mean your beer is a failure, just that you need to give it time.

My first AG brew had the same problem. But I noticed that in the course of time, the bitterness became less. After six months in the garage (autumn and winter), the (unfortunately) last bottle tasted excellent.

So, this is my advice. Put your beer in a cool place for a couple of months. It will become clear in the bottle, and the astringency will disappear. Taste one every month.

 

[strange-steve]

I don't bother myself because everything passes through one of these ...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005CAZDBY/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Off topic I know, but just in case you are unaware, that carbon filter will remove chlorine, but it won't remove chloramine or any mineral ions. Your beers might just benefit from a little treatment :whistle:

 

[MagnusTS]

Just to see for myself what gelatine would do to clarity and carbonation, I treated half my current brew with gelatine and left half without.

I racked half my current brew (a mosaic pale ale smash) into a 2ndry FV and put it in the shed to cool for 24hrs. Then I added 1tsp gelatine dissolved in 150ml water (at 60C), gave it a gentle mix, and then left it to cold crash* for a further 3 days before bottling.

* I say 'cold crashed' but the shed doesn't get too cold at this time of year. High-low thermometer says min 11C, max 16C.

The other half of the brew was just left in the primary at RT for the 4 days before bottling.

I bottled today, and I think you can see a clear difference in the photo.

BUT... Will it carbonate?

I usually do 2 weeks at room temp for carbonation. Do you think I should leave these for longer?