AussieIPA Dark top, milky bottom?

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Only1MADMaN

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28/1/19
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Location
Newcastle
Hi brains trust.
Looking for what you might do when faced with this fermenter.

My question is
(I will explain what went into the brew underneath)
I’ve dry hopped in a Tea defuser, 10g Of cascade on day 4. Now I have a dark clear top and a milky bottom in my fermented brew.
Should I rack and bottle or just bottle (like normal) from fermenter?

IMG_2887.JPG


30min rolling boil of 50/50 1KG of Dex/light DME.
15min rolling boil 30g of mix Simcoe/Casscade/Amarillo/Chinnock.
1min flame out of 30g same mix.
Cooled to 30 degree places in fermenter with 1.7kg on Copper APA to 23 liter mark.
Pitched yeast at 22 degree.
Sg 1.040

Fermenter at room temp stay within temp rang last 6 days steady at 22 but spiked 3 times to 24 than 26 but came back down to 22 with some ice bags ocky strapped to the sides.

Day 4- 10g of cascade dry hopped.
Day 6 Sg 1.005
Day 7/8 looking to bottle.


I have some hop particles sitting 5cm from top of meniscus
IMG_2888.JPG

and I have this darker ring at the top and the typical milky IPA at the bottom.
I feel if I bottle I will get a strange miss match of flavors as the level drops, OR am I over think it?

Cheers
MADMaN
 
It's just mostly just the yeast settling, if you waited long enough the clear part would reach all the way to the bottom, cold conditioning (crashing) would make it happen faster.
The top part looks darker because yeast in suspension reflects more light back to the observer so the beer with yeast appears paler although it really isn't.
The clear beer (the top 50mm or so) is what we call cask clear, that happens when the yeast population reaches around <10,000 cells/mL, so plenty of yeast for bottle or cask conditioning without leaving a big slab of yeast trub on the bottom of your bottles/kegs.
A few other things can cause haze, Proteins, Starch, Hops... but what we are seeing in the picture is pretty typical yeast sedimentation.
I would strongly recommend you get better control of your fermentation temperatures (bar fridge, STC-1000...) you will make better beer and be able to do things like crash cooling which will give you better beer faster. Probably more important than going all grain or getting a keg system and these days pretty cheap to do.
Mark
 
It's just mostly just the yeast settling, if you waited long enough the clear part would reach all the way to the bottom, cold conditioning (crashing) would make it happen faster.
The top part looks darker because yeast in suspension reflects more light back to the observer so the beer with yeast appears paler although it really isn't.
The clear beer (the top 50mm or so) is what we call cask clear, that happens when the yeast population reaches around <10,000 cells/mL, so plenty of yeast for bottle or cask conditioning without leaving a big slab of yeast trub on the bottom of your bottles/kegs.
A few other things can cause haze, Proteins, Starch, Hops... but what we are seeing in the picture is pretty typical yeast sedimentation.
I would strongly recommend you get better control of your fermentation temperatures (bar fridge, STC-1000...) you will make better beer and be able to do things like crash cooling which will give you better beer faster. Probably more important than going all grain or getting a keg system and these days pretty cheap to do.
Mark

Cheers mark.

I’ve been looking at the inkbird systems and trolling gumtree for fridges (no freezer so I can brew 2 at once) so that is a must.

I think this is the best temp control I’ve had in 5 brews as it has sat at 22 (mostly) and haven’t have to force a temp drop. Days in Newcastle have been a nice 25 degrees.

I was planing on bottling this Sunday 3/3.
As I have no way to cold crush, would you recommend leaving longer or sending to bottles?

Thanks again
 
personally I'd wait until it finished settling, once it starts to clarify it's usually pretty fast (a day or two or three) the beer will be better for the lower trub load.
But work on getting a fridge/freezer and controller, big step in the right direction. Brewing cooler only helps and being able to crash chill is a big bonus.
Mark
 
I agree with what Mark said.

If you can, let the fermenter sit for longer than a week or so.
For my simpler beer styles, personally I would give at least 2 weeks.

Do you have a second fermenter you can transfer to and get it of the trub?
I go into my secondary after the FG becomes stable and let it clear out even further for at least another week.
Of late I've been adding gelatin to help clear it out before racking off. Search for "Clearing beer with gelatin" on google or on here.
You'll be surprised just how bright it can become.
 
I agree with what Mark said.

If you can, let the fermenter sit for longer than a week or so.
For my simpler beer styles, personally I would give at least 2 weeks.

Do you have a second fermenter you can transfer to and get it of the trub?
I go into my secondary after the FG becomes stable and let it clear out even further for at least another week.
Of late I've been adding gelatin to help clear it out before racking off. Search for "Clearing beer with gelatin" on google or on here.
You'll be surprised just how bright it can become.

Cheers Hou5ecat

I don’t have a racking bucket but have thought about one for back sweeting my ciders.

I think I’ve got some good advice now and think I’ll be better prepared for my next brew.

It’s amazing how quick your brew kit expands when you want to do more intense brews.

Thanks again.
 
A quick trip to Bunnings or your local HBS can get you a secondary.

Welcome to the many brews
 
Hi everyone just an update.

I decided to cold crash and it drop a lot of the cloudiness out.
I wanted to speed up the proses as I had a hop bomb in the fermenter that I didn’t want in for anymore than 4 days.
I bottled with a small amount of haze but no where near what I had 2 days ago.

I’ll be leaving to age for 4-5 weeks before I have a taste test.

PS: I’m going to invest in a fridge to control my temp before attempting any more complex brewing tactics.

Thanks again
 
Just a quick update.

57551721577__7C35A7B3-BB4B-4CD8-BC31-AE35B6B273F8.JPG



I’m ganna call this a success.
I’ve been rolling the bottles because I noticed the 4 lines and Coopers Pale Ale booth have a slight cloudiness to them (I know right, after all that trouble I went to).
Beautiful hop aroma with a shaft NEIPA bitterness.

I’m super impressed and think I’ll try an perfect this brew by dialing down the bitterness.

Cheers
 

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