Hi guys, yet another old chestnut . . . I have 5 gal of Sarah Hughes dark ruby mild sitting in a barrel tasting absolutely beautiful with a lovely, creamy head, one of the best (if not ‘the best’ tasting brew I’ve made) but it’s still cloudy. After primary fermentation I moved it from the FV to a polypin and left it for one week after which I primed it and fined it with gelatine in the same way as Jim prescribed in the techniques part of the site where it has now been for about three weeks. Were did it go wrong, and should I attempt to clear it, or just drink it?
I now have 5 gal of Old Speckled Hen nearing the end of fermentation and I wondered if I should use Dave Lines method (removing a sample and refrigerating it, moving the rest to a polypin and fining with gelatine, leaving it for 5 days, then barrelling and priming with the krausened wort) for this brew? I have nowhere to put the beer after fining that is particularly cool . . . could that be the problem? I intend to leave the OSH outside in a container filled with cold water . . . is that a good idea? Look forward to your help, guys. Ray.
cloudy beer
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J_P
Re: cloudy beer
Have you any pewter tankards 
? If it tastes good and you've fined it then I say sup the thing and worry about polishing your next brew.
IMO prevention is better than cure, getting a good boil going and using something like protofloc is better (and easier) than faffing on with post boil finings.
I'll back my assertions with this picture, no post boil finings were used at all
? If it tastes good and you've fined it then I say sup the thing and worry about polishing your next brew.IMO prevention is better than cure, getting a good boil going and using something like protofloc is better (and easier) than faffing on with post boil finings.
I'll back my assertions with this picture, no post boil finings were used at all
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Eric
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Re: cloudy beer
Hi Ray,
J_P's answer is indisputable. If you brewed it to drink and not just to watch, then where's the problem with that brew?
If you had a lot of debris from your mash tun you should look to improving your filtering and run-off technique.
If that was reasonably clear then what was it like from your boiler and you may have to look at your boil, cooling and filter bed as well as your copper finings.
If at that stage it was clear then it can only be your yeast or a chill haze. Finings would deal with the former and temperature would deal with the latter and if you used a yeast like SO4, it drops like a stone unaided.
As J_P said, look to polish your next brew. If you have used known good finings in your last brew, you might just want to give it a good roll about to get the finings well distributed and a couple of days to see if it clears.
J_P's answer is indisputable. If you brewed it to drink and not just to watch, then where's the problem with that brew?
If you had a lot of debris from your mash tun you should look to improving your filtering and run-off technique.
If that was reasonably clear then what was it like from your boiler and you may have to look at your boil, cooling and filter bed as well as your copper finings.
If at that stage it was clear then it can only be your yeast or a chill haze. Finings would deal with the former and temperature would deal with the latter and if you used a yeast like SO4, it drops like a stone unaided.
As J_P said, look to polish your next brew. If you have used known good finings in your last brew, you might just want to give it a good roll about to get the finings well distributed and a couple of days to see if it clears.
Without patience, life becomes difficult and the sooner it's finished, the better.
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Ray Mason
Re: cloudy beer
Was this your first all grain brew or have you brewed others. If so have they cleared ?
What yeast did you use ? Did you use copper finings ? Is your water supply soft ?
Hi Chris, Sorry, not enough info there from me,was there. It wasn’t my first AG brew but in the past I’ve tended to brew stout type beer to avoid clarity problems, in fact, I’ve brewed for quite a few years. Now that I’ve retired I want to experiment with other types of beers, hence the clarity problems now. You ask, did I use copper finings . . . . er . . . well . . . er . . . no, but it did run clear from the copper. (Should I stand at the back of the class?). As for the yeast I use Brupaks Ale Yeast all the time. And the water supply is very soft in Cumbria, close to Jennings Brewery actually.
Hope that helps your diagnoses. Ray
What yeast did you use ? Did you use copper finings ? Is your water supply soft ?
Hi Chris, Sorry, not enough info there from me,was there. It wasn’t my first AG brew but in the past I’ve tended to brew stout type beer to avoid clarity problems, in fact, I’ve brewed for quite a few years. Now that I’ve retired I want to experiment with other types of beers, hence the clarity problems now. You ask, did I use copper finings . . . . er . . . well . . . er . . . no, but it did run clear from the copper. (Should I stand at the back of the class?). As for the yeast I use Brupaks Ale Yeast all the time. And the water supply is very soft in Cumbria, close to Jennings Brewery actually.
Hope that helps your diagnoses. Ray
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Ray Mason
Re: cloudy beer
Sorry, thanks to all the guys that answered, it is much appreciated. Ray.