Haze from pressure barrel

[That_Steve]

So this is my second brew (same kit/recipe). The brew is primed and in my pressure barrel (pictured in my profile pic!)

When I pour it from the barrel it comes out very hazy (virtually opaque) but seems to settle eventually, with a yeast sediment. Which suggests to me it is clearingin the barrel but either the tap is below the settle line, or the act of owning the tap is mixing it up.

Any thoughts or suggestions??

Many thanks.

 

[Clint]

How long has it been kegged?

 

[That_Steve]

A week and a half

 

[terrym]

First you are not fermenting then using your PB to dispense your beer are you? I say that because it looks like an airlock on the cap of your PB.
Otherwise you may have got settled yeast in the outlet to the tap, which will clear when it is blown out.
Most beers clear with time. You should really give it about 3 weeks from kegging to completely settle down and get drinkable
What was in your recipe?

 

[That_Steve]

Ah no, that picture was my first brew. I brewed, decanted, cleaned, then recanted :)

This one I brewed in a separate bucket.

Okidoke, I'll give it longer. Thanks!

 

[That_Steve]

Well, it's now been three weeks since priming and kegging and it's more or less opaque still!

The last brew (same recipe) was definitely clear by now. Any suggestions to rescue it, or am I doomed to a few weeks of drinking cloudy beer?

I'm reluctant to go down the finings route, only because I don't want to open the barrel up and let all that nasty oxygen in!

 

[Clint]

Looks ok...get it down ya!

 

[That_Steve]

Ha! It tastes very green still

 

[terrym]

When I was brewing a number of years back (before I took a break) I used Boots PBs for some beers. What I noticed was that after the initial carbing up of the PB some beers were slightly hazy. However there seemed to be a stage/pressure below which the beer would clear almost overnight after I had drawnn off a pint or two the previous evening. I could never understand why this happened. I have since used PBs in the second part of my brewing 'career' and never noticed this again. Anyway perhaps @That_Steve might have the same. Anyone out there who can offer a solution to this odd phenomenom?

 

[That_Steve]

Interesting.

I did half wonder (although looking back I expressed it extremely poorly in my initial post) whether with the internal pressure/carbonation, opening the tap was causing the inside to kind of fizz up like a coke bottle (other brands are available) and thus stirring up the sediment.

 

[PhilBrew]

Hi Terry

When I was brewing a number of years back (before I took a break) I used Boots PBs for some beers. What I noticed was that after the initial carbing up of the PB some beers were slightly hazy. However there seemed to be a stage/pressure below which the beer would clear almost overnight after I had drawnn off a pint or two the previous evening. I could never understand why this happened. I have since used PBs in the second part of my brewing 'career' and never noticed this again. Anyway perhaps @That_Steve might have the same. Anyone out there who can offer a solution to this odd phenomenom?

... ok, I'll have a go

Hi Steve

I did half wonder (although looking back I expressed it extremely poorly in my initial post) whether with the internal pressure/carbonation, opening the tap was causing the inside to kind of fizz up like a coke bottle (other brands are available) and thus stirring up the sediment.

... I think some of that may well be happening ... and you need to recognise the chances of that happening (whether in a pop-bottle or a pressure barrel) will be increased by a combination of the pressure in the vessel and the numbers of "nucleation points" in the stuff in there ... you haven't mentioned what sort of kit it was you made and what sort of yeast was used, but if it was a "fluffy" (low flocculating) yeast (like say US-05), and if you're not storing that vessel in a particularly cool location, then you may well be finding you're creating the "ideal conditions" for that to happen whenever you're opening the tap ... and even worse, each time you open the tap, you kick up a load of yeast sediment (creating a load more "nucleation points") and increase the chances of it happening next time ... so what can you do to "break the cycle"? Basically, leave it alone to condition, stop sampling it and get it somewhere cool (which will both increase the amount of CO2 that will dissolve into the beer (reducing the internal pressure) and encourage the yeast to flocculate (to a more compact yeast cake, reducing the number of "nucleation points").

My guess is that what Terry found, and what you will find, is that as you become a more experienced brewer, you gain confidence (and rolling stock) and leave the brew to condition better (for longer, cooler) before starting to drink it, and by then the yeast will have compacted sufficiently to be able to draw off a clear pint ... alternatively, you take Clint's advice and get on with drinking it and it'll be murky until it gets to the point where you've drawn off enough to reduce the internal pressure and waited long enough for the yeast to settle enough, to be able to draw off a clear pint

Cheers, PhilB

 

[That_Steve]

Thanks for your input PhilB!

I was wondering whether the change in season/temperature from the previous brew was a factor.

Now to figure out how the hell I can cool a pressure barrel without spending the earth!

 

[Jonnymac]

I'm not sure if this is of interest, but I am having a similar problem in my Corny keg.
My previous brews (Woodfordes Admiral and St Peters Ruby red. Both twin can kits), were ready after a couple of weeks in the keg and got better as they went.
My current brews (Coopers Amber and Coopers Stout, both with brew enhancer) have been in 4 weeks and still quite Murky. I am not experienced enough to say it is a kit brand thing, but it is possible. What kit was it?

 

[That_Steve]

It's the ESB mini mash kit from themaltmiller.co.uk which is exactly the same recipe as my last brew.

The only real difference I can think is the temperature - both for fermentation and prime/kegging.

I probably primed it with the same amount of sugar as I did when the ambient temperature was cooler. Perhaps the warmer temp with the larger amount of sugar is responsible for the excess of yeast in the beer?

 

[Primarybrew]

It's still needs a lot more time,beers always clear a lot quicker in bottles. At the minute I've got 40 pints of wherry,primed and bottled about 4 weeks ago.
Also I done a batch of wilko artisan bitter which I kegged in my pressure barrel about 2 weeks ago,this is now all gassed up but I wont be sampling it for at least another 6 weeks as the taste improves dramatically if left.You need to resist the temptation and you'll be well rewarded for you patience.
I've Also just bottled a wilko sweet newkie brown done with 1kg medium spray malt and short brewed it to about 32 pints. It's just a waiting game now

 

[Primarybrew]

Sorry I used 1kg of munitions beer enhancer not spraymalt