Clear Beer

I saw in the No Secondary post that Chirs-p was having problems with clearing his beer. Wyeast told me to take a 50 mi sample of the hazy beer ( a White Labs tube works great ) and add 2 mi of 40 to 50% Caustic. If it clears it is a protein problem if it stays cloudy it is a yeast problem.
It is a good place to start.

Interesting test, never heard of this before. Not sure many people have caustic handy. I do because I make soap.

Is caustic lye?
If so, I wonder if another base would work.

[quote=“DUNNGOOD”]I saw in the No Secondary post that Chirs-p was having problems with clearing his beer. Wyeast told me to take a 50 mi sample of the hazy beer ( a White Labs tube works great ) and add 2 mi of 40 to 50% Caustic. If it clears it is a protein problem if it stays cloudy it is a yeast problem.
It is a good place to start.[/quote]

So yeah, a recent development… I finally got this last batch to clear. The key was to get the beer really freaking cold; almost freezing. And THEN add gelatin. This produced a near-commercial grade level of clarity.

BOOYAH!

Thanks for the tip, by the way. Will try this.

I bought some gelatin finings but haven’t attempted to use them yet. Have only cold crashed a couple times and it seems to help but not anywhere near perfect. What is the actual process for adding the finings?

viewtopic.php?t=64190

Also does anyone try to clear wheat beers? I have two American Wheats currently (one for strawberry wheat). Most commercial wheat beers I drink are unfiltered.

Thanks. Do you typically use one tsp? three?

Thanks. Do you typically use one tsp? three?[/quote]

Here’s my process…

  1. Collect 2/3 cup water in a microwave safe measuring pitcher / cup
  2. Add 1 teaspoon of gelatin finings to the water, Stir.
  3. Place in microwave heat 30 secs, check temp (target is 150F)
  4. Once I hit 150, pull it out of the micro. Give it another stir and then dump it straight into your fermenter or keg. Put your lid / stopper back on and give that baby a good swirl. That’s it.

Again, the thing that’s worked best for me is making sure the beer is ice cold before adding the gelatin.

Has anyone aver experienced a change (decline) in hop flavor after using gelatin? My limited understanding is that chill haze is caused by proteins and tannins precipitating out. I am not sure if the tannins are from the hops or malt. If from hops I am wondering if there would be the possibility of a change in hop profile.

I could swear that there was a change in a recent beer of mine after gelatin where the hoppy flavor was more subdued. But I might just be imagining that.

[quote=“Steeler D”]Has anyone aver experienced a change (decline) in hop flavor after using gelatin? My limited understanding is that chill haze is caused by proteins and tannins precipitating out. I am not sure if the tannins are from the hops or malt. If from hops I am wondering if there would be the possibility of a change in hop profile.

I could swear that there was a change in a recent beer of mine after gelatin where the hoppy flavor was more subdued. But I might just be imagining that.[/quote]

Your logic stands to reason. The gelatin is clinging to small particles in the beer, causing them to fall out of solution. Those particles, be them hop matter or otherwise contribute to flavor. The question is,… Is the contribution to flavor noticeable?

Not sure

take a 5G batch of fermented, dry-hopped IPA, cold-crash, rack 2.5 gallons off into a keg. add gelatin to the remaining 2.5 gallons in the fermenter, wait 2 days, rack to a different keg, carb, serve both. Blind triangle tasting with you and a few other people.

Shorter answer - Check out Hops by Stan Hieronymos. There also may be an upcoming “Ask the Experts” on the AHA forum.

Shortest answer - I don’t think gelatin is going to bond to volatile hop oils or noticeably detract from hop aroma/flavor, especially on a homebrew scale, especially to the average drinker.

Thanks. Do you typically use one tsp? three?[/quote]

I usually use 1-3.

:mrgreen: