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Author Topic: Beer still cloudy after 2 servings of gelatin  (Read 5864 times)

Offline nyakavt

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Beer still cloudy after 2 servings of gelatin
« on: March 08, 2010, 06:30:36 am »
Since I started kegging I have been pouring about 1/2 pack of bloomed then heated gelatin on top of the chilled keg.  It has worked great, clear beer in 1-2 days.  But my latest, a Dortmunder Export, is being very stubborn.  I used the dregs of one gelatin package, about 2.5g, and saw no change to clarity.  A couple days later I added another 3.5g and still no change.  This is the first time I've weighed the additions, so I could have been using more than 1/2 pack previously. 

The only major difference to this particular batch was the brewing salts used, lots of calcium chloride and gypsum and some chalk to give high hardness (~200 ppm calcium) and moderately low residual alkalinity.  The mash pH was 5.3 per colorpHast strips, I have not measured beer pH. 

So is there anything I can do to clarify this beer, or is it just chalk that is making my beer cloudy?


Offline jwatkins56550

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Re: Beer still cloudy after 2 servings of gelatin
« Reply #1 on: March 23, 2010, 07:24:10 pm »
the addition of calcium to beer helps yeast flocculate...among other things.  However, haze problems can come from many different things.  It's hard to pinpoint it down.  Try using Polyclar,  you could have a haze issue due to polyphenols and proteins.

Here is a little info:
http://www.beerbrewer.co.uk/beer/beer-clarity-beer-haze/

Offline Kaiser

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Re: Beer still cloudy after 2 servings of gelatin
« Reply #2 on: March 23, 2010, 10:23:52 pm »
Based on my experience gelatin also removes chill haze. Beer pH is a possibility but I'd be surprised if it is the case. Chalk is unlikely the cause since the beer pH is way to low for chalk to remain undissolved. Starch haze is another option. Pour a sample and add a few drops iodophor or another iodine preparation. You should be able to see a reaction if it is caused by large dextrins.

Kai

Offline nyakavt

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Re: Beer still cloudy after 2 servings of gelatin
« Reply #3 on: March 26, 2010, 07:28:54 pm »
This beer eventually cleared up, I didn't update this thread because I hadn't recieved a response.  Turns out that the volume I needed to pull to get a clear pint was more than I was used to, about a pint this time vs. 6 oz previously. 

Thus far gelatin has done a great job for me in getting rid of chill haze, and quickly.  Below is a series of photos I took over 4 days after adding gelatin.  The sample was completely opaque after chilling (day 0).  I think it would be quite clear in the glass after day 2 or 3.  Even though there are some particles suspended in the beer, they seem to stay suspended at the same level, so drawing from the bottom would probably not disturb them enough to get a cloudy beer.