Clearing

[justink]

Just wanted some info on the term 'Clearing' when talking about the second stage ferment in keg/bottle.

I've seen it mentioned and assume that it literally means that the beer 'clears' as in it becomes more translucent. Assuming that is right can anyone explain how clear the beer should end up or do all beers differ?

 

[pittsy]

all beers do differ and also it depends on kit/extract/allgrain too but 2nd fermentation/clearing is when you transfer from 1st FV after fermentation is complete then you transfer to a 2nd FV for a few days maybe a week (usually cooler too) to help get rid of bits ect in brew because they settle in bottom of vessel, you seen all that crap in bottom of 1st FV when you remove beer ? well you get about half of that again in 2nd FV then batch prime to keg/bottles then after warmth time for fizz you then store beer cold this is for conditioning while you still do get more clearing too, hope that helps :)

 

[justink]

Thanks pittsy, thats helpful.

I guess the term 'clearing' makes me think that the beer should come out crystal clear! When in reality thats unlikely. I tried my first ever brew last night (Wherry) and it was really nice. Its only been in the keg for just under a week but as its my first I have decided to try and taste it early on to understand how it matures etc over time.

It certainly seems clearer than when it first went in.

Maybe someone with 'the power' could add a 'Clearing' note to the glossary? I looked there first but there isn't one. The glossary has been very useful so far for a newbie like me!!

 

[pittsy]

no probs , just keep reading i'm on my 4th AG today (going well) only started brewing around christmas (although i did my real first when i was 15 , now 37) did 2 kits moved onto extract then onto partial and each time i moved up the beer is 10 times better than last style of brew

 

[justink]

nice one!

I keep seeing all this talk of AG and I must say it is soo tempting! Think I'll stick to doing a few kits to get to understand the whole process and then maybe venture into some grains. I love the idea of being able to come up with your own recipe and your own unique beer! :

 

[Dave1970]

I guess the term 'clearing' makes me think that the beer should come out crystal clear! When in reality thats unlikely.

It's not unlikely, if your Wherry is a lot clearer after a week think what a couple of months will do. There's no reason why your beers shouldn't finish up as clear as commercial beers, just as with so much in brewing needs patience.

My limited experience of AG so far is that AG beers do clear quicker. My AG#1 cleared in 2 days, AG#2 took about 4 days and has developed a bit of a chill haze when it was moved out to the garage

 

[artiums_enteri]

Racking the beer to a secondary vessel used to be a very popular practice because it was believed that getting the fermented beer off the yeast cake would clear up the beer, and prevent autolosis, (yeast cannibalizing when they've depleted their resources.)

Studies have shown it takes months for negative effects to occur from your beer being left on the yeast cake. Also there was not much difference between conditioning in the primary vessel and racking to a secondary. In fact more harm than good can be done by racking your beer. A brewer can put his beer at risk of oxidation, contamination, and prevent the beer from attenuating fully if it is racked.

It is advised for clarifying the beer to just leave it in the fermenter and cold crash it, (take it down to a freezing temp very rapidly) and hold it for 48 hours. This makes all the chill haze forming proteins and the dead yeast cells drop to the bottom of the fermenter leaving crystal clear beer the brewer can rack off of a solid yeast cake. I take it one step further and use a tea spoon of gelatin to help coagulate all the stuff I don't want in my finished product. The end result is 5 gallons of beer that looks like its been run through a .5 micron filter without the trouble of filtering or loosing a lot of the beer's character from filtering.

 

[justink]

artiums_enteri - very interesting stuff!!

I have put mine under the stairs as I thought the garage would be too cold this time of year but after reading that the garage would have been the best place for it! Not sure what I'll do when it comes to summer.......clearly I'll have bought a fridge and shed load more gear by then anyways.... :thumb:

 

[artiums_enteri]

So long as primary fermentation is complete, and you've hit your FG you are good to cold crash. This is the only time you really want to shock the yeast.

One thing to be mindful of is temperature fluctuation. It's much better to keep your beer at a steady temp or one that raises 1-2 degrees per day after the first 72 hours of fermentation rather than have huge swings in temperature. If you are going to store the beer in the garage where it is close to freezing at night, but about 55 during the day I'd say just deal with the cloudy beer and keep it someplace the temp is consistent. Chill haze and cloudiness does not affect the flavor of the beer, but big temperature swings sure do.

 

[justink]

Thanks, I'll keep all that in mind. I'm starting my second brew soon so can put that to good use.

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