Haze

[Wez]

The comment above about dark beers not suffering from chill haze is true I've found, the hookey street that I brewed is so clear i'd describe it as very nearly polished, held up to a light it's a deep mahogony (sp?) colour and it's crystal! I used 130g chocolate malt (25L batch)- would that have the same effect as black malt??

Also, i've been wondering about the construction of my copper manifold in the cool box mash tun, the slots are a little wider that i'd like, do you think that re-doing it with a finer slit would make a difference or just increase the risk of a stuck mash? I do tend to get a little more grain particles coming through in the run off than i think is good

[Dan]

I have tried placing a sparge bag around mine once and it seemed to work. if you have an empty boiler you can always dump a stuck mash in there reheat and transfer it back to the lauter tun with the original manifold.

[Vossy1]

Wez, What maltsters grain are you using

[Wez]

T Fawcetts

[Vossy1]

I have had a good look back into my notes and so far I've addressed every issue I can, and certainly every one other members have suggested to me

Personally I have had problems with my March May HERMS recirc pump and I'm wondering whether these are the cause of my problems. Basically, the mash would stick every now and then, even at a 2 ltr/min flow rate. You could hear the pump change pitch, the flow return recirc flow would stop and then start again.
I'm wondering if the pressure caused by this extracted tannins and proteins from the mash. Now it's a long shot, but I haven't had these issues with my new pump from morebeer...however I've just looked in my notes (again) and the only pale I've made using this pump, had a far from clear recirc

Though you'd never guess it I'm quite peeved with this issue, but I'll never stop asking questions, even if they make me look even more stupid than I already am

[Wez]

The most important thing is that it tastes ok, striving for perfection..nothing wrong with that.

[Vossy1]

Wez....Dan..there's a common thread developing here....Fawcetts malt.

I'll be able to prove if this is my issue as I only have muntons and Warminster malt left...

I feel all revitalised....haze b**tard....round 2....hundred....ding ding

[Vossy1]

Another thing I've noticed with my recirc system is that there's always a 5mm deep layer of fine flour deposit left all over the top of the grain bed after sparging

[wooyay]

Another thing I've noticed with my recirc system is that there's always a 5mm deep layer of fine flour deposit left all over the top of the grain bed after sparging

I appear to be haze free when using Maris Otter from The Hop & Grape (I don't know which maltsters they use I'm afraid), but my one beer using Golden Promise has never cleared. This could be something that I did wrong, given it was my second 5 gal AG batch so I'm not concerning myself over it.

I batch sparge and do the recirc via the trused jug over the back of a spoon way. It's a pain and I wish I could automate it, but I've been lazy so I'm stuck with it. After each run off there's a good covering of fine flour on top of the grains - probably getting on for 5mm if not more. I've always taken this to be a good thing since it's obviously come from the MT's tap and the act of recirculating it has prevented it from going into the copper.

Perhaps going back to basics and doing things manually where possible and slowly moving back to your current setup one step at a time may shed light on what could be causing it?

[Aleman]

I don't think I've had a hazy beer for years now, OK I can force a haze, buy super chilling. Ala my ex Pale ale Chilled to -14C definitely had a haze upon thawing, but when back up to dispense temps (10C) it was free of any haze. I don't normally worry about malt source taking whatever Maris Otter John and Patsy have in stock. I have on occasion used Warminster malt from Farnborough, again with no problems. In general I use Weyermann malts in my continental beers, again with no problems. The last two beers have been brewed using my RIMS setup and if anything the wort has been even clearer going into the kettle than before, this is inspite of the fact that at the end of sparging I always get some 'flour' and fine debris flushed through into the kettle.

What I have noticed with the last two beers is that the gummy protein foam that forms as the wort comes up to boil is MUCH less than with my non RIMSed beers, and the hot break is significantly reduced, Cold break is much the same, and there is less foam after oxygenating. So I think there is a significant amount of protein degradation taking place in the mash during recirc. (Which may be affecting my head retention, but as I'm having difficulty sealing my cornii at the moment the beer is lightly carbed and doesn't form much of a head on dispense anyway).

How does this help you Vossy? Not sure if it does, but my methods and equipment are pretty similar to yours, and from your description of your process I suspect that you are a lot more caring of your wort that I am. I guess that it could be down to pH which is something I never monitor any more (My lab meter is just too much of a PITA to calibrate and use on a regular basis, so I've never really bothered with it. I have some narrow range papers coming from H&G so if they are any good I'll be able to report back what my pH is during the mash).

[steve_flack]

Another thing I've noticed with my recirc system is that there's always a 5mm deep layer of fine flour deposit left all over the top of the grain bed after sparging

I don't get that but maybe that's because I crush my own.

[delboy]

Another thing I've noticed with my recirc system is that there's always a 5mm deep layer of fine flour deposit left all over the top of the grain bed after sparging

I don't get that but maybe that's because I crush my own.

I get it big time with fawcetts lager malt mine along with stuck mashes, thats why i've decided to start crushing my own.

[steve_flack]

I had a few dodgy crushes from homebrew shops - in fact now I think of it one of the culprits supplied Fawcett's malt so there may be a connection there....

I currently use Norfolk-grown Maris Otter Pale Malt malted by Crisps and lager malt from Tuckers or Muntons (depending upon supplier). I've not had problems with any of those.

[steve_flack]

What, so the rest of us can have a laugh?

[Vossy1]

What, so the rest of us can have a laugh?

I'll take one in a bit. I'm going to take a sample from another immature ale as well, at rt to see if it's there, I'm wishing myself luck at this point