clear - How do i make clearer beer

bf514921 · Post by **bf514921** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 3:05 pm

I was looking into ways to make my beer clearer. I Cold crash and lager almost every beer now but that only goes so far, i was wondering what everyone uses for fining agents, whirlfloc? Gelitan, Irish moss, what were the likes dislikes, or should i just lager a few more weeks? what other methods have been tried and their success with it.

tompb · Post by **tompb** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 5:56 pm

I just use irish moss. A bit of aging helps settle a keg. Beyond that I just drink beer. I don't do much for competitions, so clarity isn't an issue. I'm not sure if it has a haze most times.

Post by **JimPotts** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 6:00 pm

At 3BB, Travis has been using Biofine. It's an isinglass product. He was trying it out on pints one night, and it was really impressive.

DrPaulsen · Post by **DrPaulsen** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 12:45 am

I've also found that just lagering doesn't always work. In the fermenter, I've used gelatin, Superkleer, Biofine Clear, and another one that escapes my mind. Lately I've been having good luck by starting with Biofine & then adding gelatin after a few days. Biofine does a great job of pulling yeast out of suspension, but stays fluffy at the bottom of the keg. The extra gelatin seems to condense the Biofine precipitate and get you clearer beer with fewer pints of mud.

I've noticed a big difference in clarity, depending on which yeast I use. WLP001 is a terrible flocculator and stays in suspension a long time. That being said, making sure my water has enough calcium (50 ppm+) and adding yeast nutrients has helped.

In the boil kettle I tend to use whirlfloc, but that's just b/c I'm lazy and do not want to measure out Irish Moss.

One last thing - if you think a clarity issue is chill haze, rather than yeast, try Superkleer. I believe it is a negatively charged fining agent and will grab chill haze proteins. I've had good luck using it to get rid of both chill haze and tannins.

carrisr · Post by **carrisr** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 8:54 am

I agree that yeast makes a big difference. I've been using S-04 in a lot of my American style beers because it drops like a rock after it's done. If you ferment it a the cold end (62-63F) it becomes pretty clean flavor-wise. I've also used Clarity Firm (expensive) and have started experimenting with Biofine.

On 01/21/2012 03:05 PM, bf514921 wrote:

I was looking into ways to make my beer clearer. I Cold crash and lager almost every beer now but that only goes so far, i was wondering what everyone uses for fining agents, whirlfloc? Gelitan, Irish moss, what were the likes dislikes, or should i just lager a few more weeks? what other methods have been tried and their success with it.

Brandon Franklin

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bf514921 · Post by **bf514921** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 11:57 am

that is good to know about the s-04, i have an irish red going that i made yesterday with that, you fement on the cooler end i have it at 69 +-1 degree right now, i might cool it down a little to see what happens. definately know the yeast strain makes a difference i made a pilsner type beer with Wyeast 2278 Czech Pils, i transfered to the secondary and it was really clear alraeady. before i transfered i cold crashed it

drpaulsen, biofine, helps the dropout, the gelatin compacts everything, do you lager it when adding these fining agents?

Also , the calcium could be a factor, i don't build my water at this point i just use what comes out of my tap, however part of the problem may be it is a softened water, removing alot of that calcium.

DrPaulsen · Post by **DrPaulsen** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 2:11 pm

I have had better luck fining at lager temps.

carrisr · Post by **carrisr** » Mon Jan 23, 2012 8:11 am

Well I wouldn't ferment cooler if I were doing an Irish Red as you want
that "English" character from the yeast. It will still drop like a rock
when done. I ferment it at cooler temps when I don't want those esters
like in an APA. Also, I wouldn't lower during active fermentation. I
usually try to start 1F below my target temp then let it rise to temp
after pitching. Then after the most active fermentation has past let it
rise from there to make sure it finishes and cleans up as much as possible.

On 01/22/2012 11:57 AM, bf514921 wrote:

that is good to know about the s-04, i have an irish red going that i
made yesterday with that, you fement on the cooler end i have it at 69
+-1 degree right now, i might cool it down a little to see what happens

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bf514921 · Post by **bf514921** » Mon Jan 23, 2012 2:54 pm

s-04 looked like a fast ferment taion, pitched 2 packets kept the temp around 65 +- 1, went to hi krausen and back down alread. seems pretty fast. how long do you primary with it, i usually run 2 weeks in a primary befor i rack to a secondary and lager.

tony b · Post by **tony b** » Mon Jan 23, 2012 7:41 pm

Dr. Lee, et. al.,

Does the use of Biofine and/or gelatin interfere with re-pitching the yeast cake?

BTW - I use Irish Moss (1 tsp @ 10 mins) and racking to a 2nd carboy for at least a week before kegging/bottling. All transfers with an auto-siphon. I generally have very clear beers.

"Patience you must have." Yoda

bf514921 · Post by **bf514921** » Mon Jan 23, 2012 8:49 pm

i try to make it so i can lager at least 2weeks or more, i prefer a month or more before i keg.

DrPaulsen · Post by **DrPaulsen** » Mon Jan 23, 2012 9:48 pm

tony b wrote:Does the use of Biofine and/or gelatin interfere with re-pitching the yeast cake?

I've never tried that, so I can't say. Conventional wisdom (i.e., I heard it on Brew Strong once) says it does not make a difference.

Are you considering trying this? Since I typically fine in the keg, I've never come across this situation.

davidw · Post by **davidw** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 1:04 am

Let's not forget, too, a good vigorous rolling boil to aid in producing a clear beer. I've been to some breweries where I've looked in the kettle and saw what looked more like a simmer to me than a boil.

That said, I would rather drink an ale that was opaque and had great flavour vs. one that was clear and had essentially been lagered and therefore lost some of the 'fresh' flavours that an ale should have.

hoboscratch · Post by **hoboscratch** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 9:38 am

I almost exclusively use WLP001, WLP007, and US-05 and almost never have issues with cloudy beer. Here is my process, FWIW: I obviously boil, but not vigorously. I never cold crash. I never secondary. I use Irish moss and a yeast nutrient. I do a poor man's recirculation before transferring my wort to the boil kettle, chill as quickly as possible and don't stir up the trub, and use an auto siphon.

I do let my beer sit on the yeast cake in a swamp cooler for 2 weeks every time, to let it get nice and compact, without moving or touching the bucket in any way. Then I go straight to the keg from the primary. Unless my ingredients intentionally cause haziness (excessive dry hopping, wheat, oats maybe?, etc), I have no issues with clarity.

That said, I did use gelatin once and it made a heavily dry hopped IPA extremely clear. Oddly clear I might say. It was a light colored brew to begin with and almost looked like a pilsner but had a typical bright, citrusy IPA characteristics. I would almost prefer a hazy IPA over an extremely clear one. It kinda freaked me out.

tompb · Post by **tompb** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 7:19 pm

I just do a primary for 4-10 days depending on the beer. Once done I kill the temp controller for about 3-4 days. I keg and put it in the fridge to carbonate. It takes a pint or 2 to clear any settlement away from the diptube. As long as I don't jostle the keg I get clear beer.