Clearing Your Beer

[gravelsanga]

Hi,
I've returned to brewing after a number of years in hibernation and bought a keg set-up. I've always been satisfied with bottles and not to concerned with how my brew looked.
Now though, I'm more interested in getting a nice clear brew. There's heaps on racking but cant find much info on clearing cubes and how you use them?

Filters look good but can you still get the same results from gravity an patience?

Cheers.

 

[floppinab]

Filters look good but can you still get the same results from gravity an patience?

Cheers.

The short answer is yes you can get very similar results but the long answer is as always it depends.............

What's the cause of the clarity, yeast or protein haze.

If it's protein there are many improvements you can make to your (AG??) brewing process to get rid of that. Post fermentation the use of clarity agents like polyclar can be used following racking to secondary and cold conditioning (for both ales and lagers).

If it's just yeast then it depends on whether the yeast is a high or low flocculator. Racking and then cold conditioning for a week or two will give you a very bright beer if you use a high flocculating yeast but will do very little for a hefeweizen or one of the low flocculating lager yeasts. Following racking getting your brew into a fridge <5 deg will help a lot. Leaving it at ale ferm temps + gravity will help but that temp drop makes a big difference

 

[Adzmax]

Filters are good, there was a thread floating around a while ago you might be interested in.

Click here

Apparently he said that it used pretty much no gas and just gravity. I use gas myself but don't see why gravity wouldn't work Perhaps speak with Ross from Craft Brewer (site sponsor), I use one of his kits and I'm sure if you call he'd be happy to help. I brew in a fridge so at the end of fermentation I switch the fridge on, chill it then also use Polyclar.

 

[gravelsanga]

Thanks!!

On the subject of filters, I happen to be in the pool industry and i know sand filters work far better than cartrige filters. It's got me wondering if the same applies when filtering beer. I'm working on a simple inline sand filter and going to try it out.

 

[Ross]

Thanks!!

On the subject of filters, I happen to be in the pool industry and i know sand filters work far better than cartrige filters. It's got me wondering if the same applies when filtering beer. I'm working on a simple inline sand filter and going to try it out.

I would very much doubt it, but look forward to seeing your results.

Cheers Ross

 

[Darren]

Filters look good but can you still get the same results from gravity an patience?

Cheers.

hey Gravelsanga,

Gravity and patience is all it takes. Probably gives a better product too. Most HBers that filter probably remove the yeast before it has done its job.

cheers

Darren

 

[kevnlis]

-1C for 3 days then rack to the keg, works for me every time!

 

[Batz]

hey Gravelsanga,

Gravity and patience is all it takes. Probably gives a better product too. Most HBers that filter probably remove the yeast before it has done its job.

cheers

Darren

Darren
When you add gelatin is your brew in the keg is at room temperature ? I ask because my brews are normally cold when kegging so gelatin would set as soon as I poured it into the keg.


Batz

 

[Darren]

Hey Batz,
I only use gelatin if I am in a hurry.
The trick to gelatin is to heat it to around 70C. At this temp it should not gelatinise. Really you just want to dissolve it. I havent had one set yet. If I do use it, I add it to the bottom of keg then transfer the beer onto it. Leave for about 48 hrs, discard the first glass and away you go.

cheers

Darren

 

[cloudy]

I would very much doubt it, but look forward to seeing your results.

Cheers Ross

Yeh, i agree Ross. i'm not in the pool industry but from experience (with my pool) cartridge filters work much better than sand. in my oppinion, filters are a waste of time. as, i think it was Darren that said, patience works every time. i use finings in my 50's and racking/patience in my 20's.

cheers.

 

[OzBeer_MD]

i use finings in my 50's and racking/patience in my 20's.

cheers.

Umm. Sorry you lost me. As Paulene Said "Pleeze Eksplayne"

MD

 

[paul]

Cloudy would be refering to keg size in litres

 

[OzBeer_MD]

Cloudy would be refering to keg size in litres

Gotcha, thanks (I always thought my Corny Kegs were 19L?)

MD

 

[cloudy]

Gotcha, thanks (I always thought my Corny Kegs were 19L?)

MD

yeh mate sorry bout that, they are 19l but i make my brew to 20l.

 

[gravelsanga]

Ok, I'm pretty much hearing filters are unnecessary if you are prepared to let your brew settle for a bit.

My idea is simply a 40mm copper pipe filled with filter sand and mesh near the end to hold the sand, capped both ends with inlet and outlet, and use it inline when transfering from the fermenter to the keg. This is the first time i've used the keg system so i won't be supprised if my ideas are are ill concieved!

What is a clearing cube and how does it work?
Thanks.

 

[bconnery]

Darren
When you add gelatin is your brew in the keg is at room temperature ? I ask because my brews are normally cold when kegging so gelatin would set as soon as I poured it into the keg.


Batz

Batz, I do pretty much what Darren outlines, maybe slightly different as I pretty much always add some now...
I chill the beer to be kegged down for a day or so to really drop the yeast.
Dissolve some gelatin in boiled and cooled water. Warm enough to dissolve but a long way from boiling so as to not set the gelatin and beer.
Add to the keg as I am transferring the beer.

So the gelatine is dissolved and mixing with cold beer.

Regardless of whether I force carb or not I let the beer sit for a day or two to let the gelatine do its stuff.
Depending on how the brew went there is sometime more in the first glass or two but after that, nice and clear...

 

[cloudy]

Batz, I do pretty much what Darren outlines, maybe slightly different as I pretty much always add some now...
I chill the beer to be kegged down for a day or so to really drop the yeast.
Dissolve some gelatin in boiled and cooled water. Warm enough to dissolve but a long way from boiling so as to not set the gelatin and beer.
Add to the keg as I am transferring the beer.

So the gelatine is dissolved and mixing with cold beer.

Regardless of whether I force carb or not I let the beer sit for a day or two to let the gelatine do its stuff.
Depending on how the brew went there is sometime more in the first glass or two but after that, nice and clear...

i may be missing something here, but why put the gelatine in the keg as apposed to in the fermenter? Then after 3 to 5 days rack the "clear" beer into the keg?

 

[crozdog]

What is a clearing cube and how does it work?
Thanks.

A clearing cube is just another name for a cube which you use as a secondary vessle. After racking to it, you will find the yeast will settle/flocculate out leaving "clear" (or bright) beer as Floppinab described. you can use a 2nd fermetner to achieve the same thing. Many use cubes cause they stack better in fridges than fermenters do.

don't forget to wash and sanitise any sand you use in that experiment

 

[Batz]

Ok, I'm pretty much hearing filters are unnecessary if you are prepared to let your brew settle for a bit.

My idea is simply a 40mm copper pipe filled with filter sand and mesh near the end to hold the sand, capped both ends with inlet and outlet, and use it inline when transfering from the fermenter to the keg. This is the first time i've used the keg system so i won't be supprised if my ideas are are ill concieved!

What is a clearing cube and how does it work?
Thanks.

I know you've only made 3 posts but you are going to be remembered for this sand filter for a long time :lol:
Hey Pumpy how did that gravel mash tun bottom go again :lol:

Batz

 

[gravelsanga]

Thanks Batz, It'll be nice to be remembered for whatever the reason!

Anyhooo, I can catagorically announse (although most will already have known or suspected) that sand filtering your beer is a waste of time! My brew has been in the fermenter for 7 days and i used a sachet of finings. In transfering from my fermenter to my keg i tried differant filter setups and sand grades and what resulted each time was no differance in clarity to what went through the filters to what came out of the fermenter, which was surprising clear anyway!