Help with Pale clarity

[Agentgonzo]

Hmm, yes, gelatine is going to make a big difference and will clear a 30g dry hop pretty well but a 150g dry hop is a different story. We need to remember we are home brewers. Most commercial brewery’s filter there beers.

I've done 30-50g dry hops and they've cleared. 100-150g ones are a different story.

 

[AJA]

I cleared a 150g dry hop in an 18l batch (WC IPA) with gelatine no problem. Make sure it is cold before you fine.

 

[The Baron]

I've done 30-50g dry hops and they've cleared. 100-150g ones are a different story.

Totally agree with Agent and Benfleet small dry hops can clear but lets be honest most dry hops are large to extra large and they do not clear very easily at all even with finings

 

[Wigglebutts Brewery]

My process is rigorous boil, cold crash, gelatin and floating dip tube…. = Clear cask ale! Chill haze is just evil, Dionysus‘ reminder re: humility..

 

[foxy]

I think the clarity of beer is important, its not a good look having friends around and offering them a cloudy beer, or having a judge given a cloudy beer by a steward in a comp. While it's only 5 points for appearance the judges will be alert in looking for other faults.
Its worth remembering the old adage, the first taste of a beer is with the eyes.
Getting a clear beer should follow getting the right pH for mash sparge and boil, be careful with the protein content of the grain bill, flaked oats and especially flaked wheat can be a nightmare. Boiling like you mean it, and leaving behind as much as possible in the kettle. Fermenting with enough yeast to get the job done, dry hopping within reason and cold crashing, as cold as possible, with a higher ABV beer as low as -2 C the colder the shorter the time in cold crash but should get most things to drop out.
A yeast haze is fairly standard and acceptable, that will quickly drop when packaged. Permanent and chill haze are what you don't want, that is caused by protein and polyphenols. Chill haze will disappear at room temperatures but doesn't take long to become a permanent haze. So just taking the effort to get everything right from grain selection, mash sparge and boil procedure, good yeast cell count, and sensible dry hopping. A longer cold crash at 0 degrees C so everything drops out and no finings should be needed, but that's optional.

 

[An Ankoù]

I would be very grateful if anyone could give me some advice with regards to the clarity of my Pale Ales. I use an AIO and whirlpool at the end of the boil. The wort is always clear when transferring to the fermenter but after dry hopping I am always left with something that resembles orange juice in clarity. I cold crash too but this does not seem to help in the clearance or the adding of finings.

All my darks are spot on, just the pales.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Darks are clear and pales are cloudy? Look at your mash pH. I used to have the same trouble when I assumed that, as I had no limescale whatsoever, the water must be soft. Far from it, I have 120 ppm carbonate equivalent. Reducing that to 40 did wonders for clarity and flavour.
I don't dry hop often, but when I do, I still expect clear beer even if I have to leave it longer before drinking.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

The wort is always clear when transferring to the fermenter but after dry hopping I am always left with something that resembles orange juice in clarity. I cold crash too but this does not seem to help in the clearance or the adding of finings.

Many people aspire to that kind of look!

It would be helpful if you gave an example of the recipes you are using (preferably the one that was "worst") - are you using high-protein grains like wheat and oats, how much hops are you adding, when are you adding finings, what yeast are you using, how are you serving (keg/bottle etc)?

If you're combining high-polyphenol hops like Galaxy with high-protein grists, then you'll get the classic NEIPA-type haze. If it's clear at cellar/room temperature but hazey when chilled, that's chill haze - a fine precipitation of protein that can be broken down with a protease like Clarity (Malt Miller have their own-label version, NBS Clarity). If you're using a poor-flocculating yeast then in some cases like Windsor, it will drop clear but any disturbance (like careless handling or bad keg practice) will kick up a fog of yeast so the answer is to either add a better-flocculating yeast or just be more careful when dispensing!