Clear At Room Temp, Cloudy Cold

[flash2sqn]

Hi all,

I am very new to brewing and have noticed that my latest brew, my 2nd, is lovely and clear in the bottle at room temp but once I have chilled it down to drink it is all cloudy, is this normal? It is a kit pilsner and has been in the bottle for 5 weeks.

Also, I bottled it in stubbies and a dozen Grolsch swing top bottles, I used 1 Coopers Carbonation Drop for the Stubbies and 1 Drop plus 1/2 a teaspoon of castor sugar in the Grolcsh bottles. The Grolsch bottles turned out great, lovely head that lasts all the way to the bottom, nicely carbonated with a nice mouth feel, however the stubbies are flat with no head. Would the 1/2 teaspoon of sugar really have made this much difference or could there be another issue?

Cheers,
Flash

 

[bum]

Hi all,

I am very new to brewing and have noticed that my latest brew, my 2nd, is lovely and clear in the bottle at room temp but once I have chilled it down to drink it is all cloudy, is this normal? It is a kit pilsner and has been in the bottle for 5 weeks.

Yeah, mate, it is called chill haze and is not uncommon. There are things you can do about it - some are done while you make the beer (maybe of slightly limited use to a kit brewer) and others can be done after the beer is fermented. Have a bit of a search, there's tonnes of info.

Another alternative is not to worry and enjoy the beer.

 

[slash22000]

I'm not an expert but it sounds like you've got a classic case of chill haze.

"A condition occurring in some beers at low (near freezing) temperatures caused by proteins in the beer becoming cloudy."

Google has about 500,000 results for clearing it up. Personally I use gelatin in my kegs and it eliminates chill haze almost instantly. I don't know if/how it would work in bottles though.

 

[flash2sqn]

Yeah, mate, it is called chill haze and is not uncommon. There are things you can do about it - some are done while you make the beer (maybe of slightly limited use to a kit brewer) and others can be done after the beer is fermented. Have a bit of a search, there's tonnes of info.

Another alternative is not to worry and enjoy the beer.

Cheers bum, the stuff in the Grolsch bottles is good so I will drink that first.

 

[verysupple]

Firstly, the clear warm, cloudy cold is almost certainly "chill haze". Here's a good explanation of what it is and what causes it. http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter7-4.html It's not a big deal, it doesn't really affect the taste, just the aesthetics.
Secondly, I'm not sure what size Grolsch swing tops are but 1/2 a teaspoon of priming sugar could make a fair bit of difference as a drop wouldn't be more than 1 teaspoon. 1/2 teaspoon would add an extra 50% sugar.

EDIT: Wow, beaten by 2 people. I've gotta type/think faster

 

[bum]

Here's a good explanation of what it is and what causes it. http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter7-4.html

It is a good enough description of what it is but I've always found it a fairly piss-poor description of what causes it. I get pretty damned clear beers from my no-chill cubes without any sort of finings used in the fermenter. Palmer seems to generally suggest that my beers should be cloudy and taste of creamed corn. He's entirely wrong on both counts. Well, not always wrong on the cloudy part, I guess, they can't all be lookers (not in my brewery anyway).

 

[verysupple]

It is a good enough description of what it is but I've always found it a fairly piss-poor description of what causes it. I get pretty damned clear beers from my no-chill cubes without any sort of finings used in the fermenter. Palmer seems to generally suggest that my beers should be cloudy and taste of creamed corn. He's entirely wrong on both counts. Well, not always wrong on the cloudy part, I guess, they can't all be lookers (not in my brewery anyway).

Actually I agree with you about no chill - it CAN give crystal clear beer IF you do it right. He's just starting though and I think what you said earlier about it not mattering and just enjoy it is the best advice.

 

[wbosher]

I've never come across a kit beer affected by chill haze. Well, you learn something new every day.

 

[flash2sqn]

Thanks Guys,

Had a further look in to Chill Haze and wort cooling, I Chilled my latest brew fairly quickly so will see if I have the same problem. It doesn't worry me to much, not as much as the under carbonated stubbies anyway.

Grolsch bottles are less than I thought, they are about 400ml, so I guess an extra 1/2 teaspoon is significant, I plan to prime with dex for my next brew so will look into it a bit more.

Cheers

 

[wbosher]

I think one carb drop should be enough for stubbies. Maybe the caps weren't sealed properly.

 

[fletcher]

not meaning to steal your thread mate, but i also had the same under-carbonation of some bottles and not with others, and they were all the same. i also used two carb drops in teh PET 750ml bottles. i wasn't sure what caused it as they were all screwed on very tightly, checked and double checked all, and were in the same conditions.

 

[wbosher]

What makes me think it was the cap seal was because it was only the stubbies.

 

[Bribie G]

Flash, was it just a kit plus sugar or dex, or was it a kit plus "brew enhancer" of some description? Brew enhancers usually contain light dried malt extract which I found can often chuck a chill haze, depending on what batch they came from - some LDME is destined for the baking trade and they couldn't GAF whether it's suitable for beer or not. I found that kits plus sugars are usually foolproof.

 

[yum beer]

If you've got chill haze then theres a fair chance your serving your beer too cold.

Ive had a few glasses over time with chill haze, normally the haze will clear as the beer warms.

 

[warra48]

Does it taste good?

No problem!

And, yes, you have CHILL HAZE.

Solutions?
1. As discussed in the abve posts.
2. Don't worry about it.

 

[Jay Cee]

Solutions?
1. As discussed in the abve posts.
2. Don't worry about it.

3.

 

[flash2sqn]

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. I think it is chill haze and it doesn't really worry me, it tastes pretty damn good.

It was made with a grain bag, which I steeped, a can and craft brewing pack all made at TWOC (Deliverance) in Perth.

I have some Dex to prime my next brew with (tomorrow), what would you suggest, 1 teaspoon per stubbie or just a half?

Flash

 

[yum beer]

1 teaspoon per stubbie or just a half?

Flash

Id go for a full stubbie, half stubbie's are no good to anyone.

 

[wbosher]

I have some Dex to prime my next brew with (tomorrow), what would you suggest, 1 teaspoon per stubbie or just a half?

Flash

1 teaspoon is usually enough for a 750ml bottle, so it makes sense that 1/2 teaspoon will do for stubbies, or 1 carb drop. If your going to be using different sized bottles, bulk priming is probably a better idea.

 

[Guysmiley54]

That grain bag... What grain was it? If it's a crystal malt that's good as the enzymes have already been converted. If it's a base malt, steeping (as opposed to a full mash) will leave starches that aren't completely converted resulting in chill haze.

Worth a thought B)