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Author Topic: Ph and Hazy beer help  (Read 2528 times)

Offline Andor

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Ph and Hazy beer help
« on: February 04, 2017, 12:45:49 pm »
I have an IPA and a cream ale on tap that just aren't sexy. The IPA was first and I thought maybe it was from hops but now the cream ale has the same haze. Both Have been in the keg for weeks with no real improvement in clarity. Warming the beer up doesn't change it. I do all the basic stuff Irish moss, crash before transfer. The beers tastegood and in the past I would have left it at that it I'd like to get to the root cause. Both are low srm beers with no specialty malts:

Cream ale 50% 2row-40% Vienna-10% flaked maize
IPA 75% 2 row-15% rye malt-10% flaked rye.
Both brewed with 1272

I'm thinking maybe it's a ph issue but I can't find much info. Does too low ph have a significant impact on clarity? With both beers I shot for ph of 5.2 in bru'n water but I use colorphast ph strips to check so I'm unsure of actuall. Although on my past few batch I've noted coming in low(based on color I was used to seeing relative to bru'n water) I'll be getting a ph meter soon just want to see if I'm barking up the right tree here.

Offline Bob357

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Re: Ph and Hazy beer help
« Reply #1 on: February 04, 2017, 02:36:11 pm »
If you used Bru'n water I would expect your pH to be within a reasonable range.  I'd first expect insufficient calcium carried over to the boil. You need calcium for  good hot/cold break.

Last summer I did a few BIAB batches and had some serious clarity problems until I increased the amount of calcium used. Since I broke my pH meter I have been shooting for 5.3 with Bru'n water to be sure I fall into range.
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Offline mikepires17

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Re: Ph and Hazy beer help
« Reply #2 on: February 04, 2017, 03:13:28 pm »
The haze issue could be from over-pitching your yeast. I feel that is a common issue with hazy beers commercial and homebrew.

Offline ynotbrusum

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Re: Ph and Hazy beer help
« Reply #3 on: February 04, 2017, 03:37:14 pm »
Do you mean that the yeast fail to flocculate and that causes the haziness?
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Offline brewinhard

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Re: Ph and Hazy beer help
« Reply #4 on: February 04, 2017, 03:40:27 pm »
The haze issue could be from over-pitching your yeast. I feel that is a common issue with hazy beers commercial and homebrew.

I have never experienced that even when I have pitched on to a full yeast cake many moons ago.

Offline Frankenbrew

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Re: Ph and Hazy beer help
« Reply #5 on: February 04, 2017, 03:52:28 pm »
Since I broke my pH meter I have been shooting for 5.3 with Bru'n water to be sure I fall into range.

I don't have a ph meter so I shoot for 5.4, middle of the range, with Bru'nwater. I've never had a clarity issue even with low floculating yeast.
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Offline HoosierBrew

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Re: Ph and Hazy beer help
« Reply #6 on: February 04, 2017, 04:53:00 pm »
The haze issue could be from over-pitching your yeast. I feel that is a common issue with hazy beers commercial and homebrew.

I have never experienced that even when I have pitched on to a full yeast cake many moons ago.


Nor I. On the whole, pitching a large amount of healthy yeast is a great practice. Underpitching with rare exceptions can cause a host of issues ( long lag time, excessive esters, underattenuation). I've never had overly hazy beers after a big pitch. With pH a concern, I am more inclined to think that conversion could have been affected, leaving unconverted, hazy starches in suspension . If it is a yeast in suspension issue, using gelatin would drop out the yeast and rule that out.  $0.02.

 
« Last Edit: February 04, 2017, 04:54:36 pm by HoosierBrew »
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Offline Ellismr

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Ph and Hazy beer help
« Reply #7 on: February 04, 2017, 07:53:43 pm »
When I do pale ales such as a Kolsch I add acid to get my Ph down to 5.2.  If I don't 10 minutes into the mash my Ph is 5.7.  It all depends on your water and its residual alkalinity. 

What I've heard in the past is that the closer you can get to 5.2 the clearer the end product. 


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Offline Hooper

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Re: Ph and Hazy beer help
« Reply #8 on: February 05, 2017, 06:21:46 am »
I harvested some Fuller's yeast. The first brew was hazy when I put it in the keg and never cleared. Not one to give up, I left the second Fuller's brew in the fermenter until it was clear and it dropped clear in the keg pretty fast. Third brew...I got in a hurry and put it in the keg before it was bright and lo and behold it never dropped clear...All three beers with the same recipe and water...it seems to me the yeast was the reason for my hazy brews...and my impatience of course...
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