For certain beer styles, such as Bavarian hefeweizen and Belgian witbier, it is expected to have cloudiness. However, the average consumer now expects beer to be clear or “bright,” as beer enthusiasts and professional brewers would say. Clarity has a greater impact on appearance rather than flavor, but since the visual impression is the first thing drinkers notice, it plays a significant role in assessing beer quality. To prevent your friends from raising eyebrows at your cloudy homebrew and to improve your scores in homebrew competitions, it’s important to know how to clarify your homebrew beer.
What Causes Beer Cloudiness?
Before discussing how to clarify or clear your homebrew beer, it’s helpful to understand what makes beer cloudy in the first place. Cloudiness in homebrew can come from various sources:
Malt can contribute proteins, fatty compounds (lipids), and tannins to your beer. Excessive protein can result in “protein haze” or “chill haze,” which occurs when the beer is clear at room temperature but becomes cloudy when chilled.
After boiling in the kettle, hops can break down and leave behind debris.
Yeast, as it multiplies and feeds on the sugar in your wort, becomes suspended in the beer.
All of these are common sources that can potentially prevent your homebrew beer from becoming clear.
ACE Homebrew Beer Equipment
Common Methods to Clarify Your Homebrew Beer
There are several common methods to clarify or clear your homebrew beer. Here are the most popular ones:
Whirlpool
– At the end of the boil, before transferring the wort to the fermenter, give it a strong stir. Proteins, lipids, and hop compounds will collect at the bottom of the kettle, forming a pile of “trub” in the middle. This makes it easier to draw off the beer, leaving behind most of the protein and hops.
Kettle finings
– Clarifying a beer with clearing agents is very effective. Irish moss (also known as “carrageenan”) is a type of seaweed that acts as a coagulant. It is added in the last 10-15 minutes of the boil and helps enhance the effectiveness of the whirlpool by aiding in protein coagulation.
Cold break
– Rapidly cooling the wort, such as with an immersion wort chiller, helps proteins settle out after boiling.
Secondary fermentation
– Transferring your beer from the primary fermenter to a secondary fermenter provides an opportunity to leave behind trub and settled yeast. The duration of the secondary fermentation also affects clarity – the longer the fermentation, the greater the settling. Ales usually require around fourteen days, while lagers tend to take longer.
Fermenter finings
– Some beer finings can be added to the secondary fermenter. Gelatin is a popular choice, but it should be noted that it is derived from animal collagen, making beer clarified with gelatin technically not suitable for vegetarians. Using gelatin to clarify homebrew beer is a quick and easy process.
Cold crash
– Lowering the temperature during secondary fermentation helps yeast and other particles settle out.
Filter
– Many commercial breweries filter their beer, and while some filters are available for homebrewers, in most cases, the aforementioned techniques are sufficient for achieving bright and clear beer.
