CLOUDY BEER

[Peter Bradshaw]

This was the recipe:

1kg Liquid Malt
200gm BE1
1 Cup Carapils (Steeped)
Safale S04 Yeast
20gm Amarillo (20 mins)
10gm Amarillo (Flame out)
Made up to 11 litres
7 Days Primary
7 Days Racked
Bulk Primed 90gm Dextrose
Bottled in 20 Grolsch Bottles.

The contents looked cloudy and I was not sure if there was infection or not. After 2 weeks in the bottle I tried one last night and was pleasantly surprised. Whilst still slightly cloudy in the glass, the taste was spot on.

So, whilst I am not panicking I would appreciate possible suggestions on what may have caused the cloudiness.

Cheers, Pete

[Kevnlis]

My guess would be that the steep was too hot.

[KEG]

yeast not settled yet, or chill haze from suspended proteins.

[warra48]

What they said above.
If it tastes good, I suggest you drink them while they do taste good.
Cloudy beers don't seem to last as long as clear beers.

[James L]

i'll keep that in mind with my cloudy pilnser warra48, but something tells me there wont be much left of anything after this festive season... especially the pilsners and lagers.

I am determined to get this pilsner right though. Bought a 6 pack cooler and i'll mash and sparge the pilsner grain properly... the rest of the pilsner was gurd...

[warra48]

Just one other thing, if you are using specialty grains, you really need to boil the wort and spargings which you drain, until you get a hot break. This settles excess protein, and should help you achieve clearer beer. Don't boil any cans though, just add at flameout.

[Peter Bradshaw]

So let me get this right:

Steeping with too hot water creates extra proteins, which become suspended, thus creating a haze.

Always boil the steepings of grains, even if temp of water is correct.

I knew you guys would know. You make this Home Brewing seriously enjoyable.

Cheers, Peter B

[Trough Lolly]

So let me get this right:

Steeping with too hot water creates extra proteins, which become suspended, thus creating a haze.

Always boil the steepings of grains, even if temp of water is correct.

I knew you guys would know. You make this Home Brewing seriously enjoyable.

Cheers, Peter B

Hi Peter...It's not so much that the steeping creates extra proteins, it's just that when you steep grains, you get other compounds in the sweet liquor, as well as the maltose and other related sugars that you're trying to remove from the grain matter.
Boiling the "steepings" or sweet liquor will serve a number of purposes, as described although the protein and hot break from steeped crystal is a lot smaller than the break you get when you use base malt in a partial or full mash. Not only does the boil help sort out the break material, but it does a number of other tasks, thanks to the rolling boil. such as pushing out the DMS (cooked cabbage/corn like flavours).
We can also help balance the additional malt flavour with some hop bitterness when we boil the "steepings" so we keep the malt / hop profile in balance. A 20 to 30 minute boil will do the trick...

Cheers,
TL

[Peter Bradshaw]

Many thanks to you guys. I guess I can now get on with making a damn fine product even better.

See below.

Cheers, Peter B