Chill haze

[orlando]

pH-boil hard-protafloc-chill!

[far9410]

Im quite new to AG and have been suffering from chill haze. However after dropping a bollock with my latest brew (too low gravity) i had to boil twice to increase - and the second boil was really hard (i use an 9KW gas burner - goodness knows how much gas i chewed through). However, just finished fermenting and the beer is crystal clear....amazing , no additives other than Irish moss in the initial boil.

I'll have to get on and finish the boiler then!

[barney]

So what are we saying?

A 90 minute boil is better for the wort, in an attempt to reduce chill haze, than a 60 minute boil?

[orlando]

So what are we saying?

A 90 minute boil is better for the wort, in an attempt to reduce chill haze, than a 60 minute boil?

Well I'm not. Whatever time you take it's the vigorous nature of it that counts. I used to do what was recommended, which was to use both elements to get up to the boil quickly then turn one off until the 90 minutes was up. I now boil hard (both elements) for 60 minutes and that, as part of the other recommendations, is sufficient. I don't believe it is all you need to do though. A good hot break is essential but a good cold break matters too. pH in the right range gives you a great start and a good chill before packaging pushes the brew on to good clarity, but don't forget a good chill in bottle or keg. One builds on the other.

[barney]

Right got it,

[super_simian]

You can't taste chill haze.

[orlando]

You can't taste chill haze.

True, but it's not about tasting it it's about getting your beer to an aesthetic standard to suit you, for those that care, if you can why not?

[Aleman]

You can't taste chill haze.

True, but it's not about tasting it it's about getting your beer to an aesthetic standard to suit you, for those that care, if you can why not?

It also means that there is something not quite right with your brewing process, that needs tweaking

[Troutman47]

This is quite interesting.

The beers I have made with an EBC of 18+ have always been crystal clear but the lighter colour one of around EBC 10/11 do get a chill haze.
I always mash for 90 mins and boil for 90 mins, as Orlando says, brought up to the boil with both elements and then one is turned off for the duration.

So would boiling on both elements for 60 mins help stop the haze in the lighter colour beers?

There's no where I can crash cool so that's never gonna be part of the process.

Also, I've tried protofloc tabs and they're ok but I seem to get the same results from Irish moss so I've gone back to the moss. (The lighter colour beers were with protofloc)

Is there a difference in loss to evaporation between 90mins/1 elements and 60 min/2 elements?

[orlando]

This is quite interesting.

The beers I have made with an EBC of 18+ have always been crystal clear but the lighter colour one of around EBC 10/11 do get a chill haze.
I always mash for 90 mins and boil for 90 mins, as Orlando says, brought up to the boil with both elements and then one is turned off for the duration.

So would boiling on both elements for 60 mins help stop the haze in the lighter colour beers?

There's no where I can crash cool so that's never gonna be part of the process.

Also, I've tried protofloc tabs and they're ok but I seem to get the same results from Irish moss so I've gone back to the moss. (The lighter colour beers were with protofloc)

Is there a difference in loss to evaporation between 90mins/1 elements and 60 min/2 elements?

Both elements I'm convinced helps, but as I wrote earlier it is only part of the story. As for 90 minutes 1 element vs 60 with 2 I don't know but I'm sure there are some clever maths that will cover it. What I do know is the ambient temperature is just as important. I brewed to day and had horrendous losses due in part to the cold (8c indoors ), I lost 7.5 litres from a pre boil of 32l using both elements In the Summer it will be a litre or two less.

[barney]

Troutman,

By the sounds of it your mash PH needs looking at. The darker beers are more able to acidify the mash themselves.

I have started to acidify the sparge water as well, will see if there is an improvement.

[Troutman47]

Cheers Barney, I'll check that out, I have some ph strips.

[orlando]

Cheers Barney, I'll check that out, I have some ph strips.

If your serious about measuring pH I would avoid them and get yourself a meter, there is too much variablity and interpretation involved. pH is logarithmic and what seems a small linear change is not, think Richter scale. However, be prepared to pay £40 or more for a decent one. My view is they are as important as a thermometer that reads the right temperature, even if once you have your process set up right you probably don't need to use on every brew.

[Troutman47]

Well I tried a 60min boil with both elements today and the loss to evaporation was an extra 2l!
18.75% instead of the usual 12.5%.

On the plus side, I used Crisp's Maris Otter Pale Malt today and got a mash eft. of 95.4%!!

One more thing, how many times does it take to forget to put the hop strainer in before you start remembering??