Can I get this clear in time?

[Wez]

Although this brew has only been in the keg since 12/05 I am keen to get it to clear for the weekend of 9th & 10th June for when friends visit so that I can serve a nice clear beer. I only used 1 tsp irish moss as copper finings and when I checked it last night it is still quite murky. The yeast used was Gervin English Ale) not sure how quickly this one settles out.

I must also consider that it might not be yeast in suspension and could be some type of haze, I think I read somewhere that there are ways of finding out which type of haze you have?

Any suggestions as to what I can do? One thing I though of was release the pressure in the keg, transfer the beer to another keg (carefully), add isinglass (or something else) to it to try to get it to clear quickly.

I have already tried adjusting the mash ph to 5.2 on subsequent brews but on this one I didn't so the jury is out on tose one's still...

[mysterio]

It's either going to be haze caused by yeast still in suspension (common) or 'protein' haze, normally evident at temperatures under around ~10C (chill haze). There is also starch haze caused by unconverted starches in the mash but this is uncommon.

Yeast haze is probably the easiest one to tackle. If you have good fresh isinglass try that, it should only take 24-48 hours. Alternatively use gelatine (just the plain old supercook stuff you get in supermarkets), mixed with hot (not boiling) water and added to your batch and stirred gently. I've found the gelatine method to be effective but it takes about a week, I think this is what Jim does too. Also keeping your beer at cooler temps helps the yeasties to drop out.

If it's haze caused by proteins/polyphenols/tannins and the like (try drawing off a sample and putting it in the fridge to see if it gets 'hazier'), you have to look further back in your process. Copper finings is a good start and so is mash Ph, and how much hot/cold break makes it into your FV.

I would definately start off with some isinglass or gelatine.

[Wez]

Copper finings is a good start and so is mash Ph, and how much hot/cold break makes it into your FV.

I'm not sure a short while after pitching the yeast i get cream coloured fluffy lumps rasing from the bottom of the FV to the top (never got this with kits), I also get some 'matter' sticking to the sides of the FV which drop if I give the FV a short sharp twist.

On every batch (but the last two) i have been draining the boiler then rinsing the hops to chase efficiency but I though better of it this weekend just gone as I figured that I was just washing through what the hop bed had stopped.

My LHBS will only sell isinglass off the shelf, how can i tell how fresh it is and also should it be fridged?

[mysterio]

I'm not sure a short while after pitching the yeast i get cream coloured fluffy lumps rasing from the bottom of the FV to the top (never got this with kits), I also get some 'matter' sticking to the sides of the FV which drop if I give the FV a short sharp twist.

On every batch (but the last two) i have been draining the boiler then rinsing the hops to chase efficiency but I though better of it this weekend just gone as I figured that I was just washing through what the hop bed had stopped.

This is perfectly normal, you're always going to get more gunk in your FV when doing all-grain brewing due to all the grain/hop particulate involved. I probably would avoid sparging hops - the grey gunk that forms on top of the hops when you're draining the boiler is best kept out of the FV if you want to avoid haze. You also run the risk of extracting tannins from the hops. What I normally do is brew an extra half gallon or gallon depending on how many hops i'm using, this usually only works out to ~50p a batch and gives me some leeway when accounting for hop absorption.

My LHBS will only sell isinglass off the shelf, how can i tell how fresh it is and also should it be fridged?

Not sure about that one. I've only used H&G's refridgerated isinglass which (most of the time) works well.

[Wez]

This is a photo of my TLC Twist which I kegged on 5th May so it's only had 3.5 weeks it's in the beer fridge at 13 deg C - maybe i'm just not giving them enough time. How cloudy / hazy do you think this is or is it difficult to tell from this pic?

[Vossy1]

Looks like one of mine

Can't you just serve it in stone steins

Or say it's a wheat beer

[Wez]

Looks like one of mine

Can't you just serve it in stone steins

Or say it's a wheat beer

It's a right royal sh1tter ain't it, it bloody tastes fan-effing-tastic and i'm so proud that I made it! But when you give it to friends you feel like you got to say "now it's a bit hazy" or "don't worry that it looks like sh1te"

It's like wrapping your kids best Christmas pressie up in a used bit of bog roll, you know they'll play with it and enjoy it but they'll always remember how it looked when you gave it to them.

[Vossy1]

Stone steins....they'll get the result you want instantly and if anyone pours their's into a glass you can call them............

Well anything you want

I'm sure most people don't know what beers meant to look like anyway

[Vossy1]

Sounds like a chill haze, you can often get rid of it by putting in the fridge, turn it right down and leave it for a couple of weeks.

Doesn't have the time........

Real beer anyone

[RabMaxwell]

All my beers look like that these days since i started using US56 yeast it ain't a good clearer. But Hop & Grape isinglass does the trick i don't even use kettle finnings anymore.