[oscarvan]

Yes I know that time is good for beer...... but there's a time and a place for time. This week ain't it.

Saturday night I need to perform and deliver a keg with drinkable beer in it. So, on 1/20 I brewed the house APA, and with a re-pitch of 1056 it went nuts and now it is done with the primary....in fact it was done yesterday. FG right where I want it, taste is excellent! So, I would keg it and force carbonate it and slurp it up with the others at the party....

But, as much as I myself like green beer, I was thinking I'd clean it up a little. So as I was strolling around the interweb I found this...

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/midwest-beer-clarity-filter-system.html

Now, since I need this tomorrow, I can go to Home Despot and cobble something just like it together. In fact, two filters in series, 5 and 1 or less micron.....Do the two keg thing an presto, she done.

Remember this won't be a sipping beer, this will be a "bunch of people having a party" beer.....

Any comments on what I intend to do?

[bluesman]

Green beer is better than no beer. You can also try a fining agent to help clear it up a bit. I use gelatin to clear my beers. It's cheap and easy to use. Let me know if you need instructions for use.

[oscarvan]

Gelatin still needs 4-5 days......

[tschmidlin]

Crash cool it and carbonate it.  Now is not the time to be messing with filters and such.  Get it REALLY cold and it will help clarify it.  If you really want it "aged", pump some air into it and let it oxidize

[tumarkin]

+1 to Tom's advice. 

Also, it'd be best to deliver the keg to serving location as early as possible to allow it to settle out there, day before if you can. If it's still too cloudy for your liking by Sat., provide opaque (dark red or blue) plastic cups along with beer. Don't say anything about clarity, and likely no one else will either.

[bluesman]

Gelatin still needs 4-5 days......

I disagree. Crash cool as low as you can go and add some gelatin and from my experience you will clear in 24hrs. The key is to get the beer super cold without freezing it. 

[uthristy]

If anybody ask about being hazy just reply its "all natural for full flavor" , now if they get the trotts the next day...

[Hokerer]

and even if they don't get the trots, those whose systems aren't used to the yeast in homebrew are very likely to have the uhh, errr, "airs".  I took my first batch of homebrew to a family party in Philly and we drove back to Virginia afterwards.  It was a very "fragrant" ride home.

[dak0415]

Gelatin still needs 4-5 days......

I disagree. Crash cool as low as you can go and add some gelatin and from my experience you will clear in 24hrs. The key is to get the beer super cold without freezing it. 

Bluesman,
How do you prepare gelatin for 30 deg beer?  I would think it would clot right up immediately.  I've used Polyclar and I filter, but I have never used gelatin.

Dave

[bluesman]

Gelatin still needs 4-5 days......

I disagree. Crash cool as low as you can go and add some gelatin and from my experience you will clear in 24hrs. The key is to get the beer super cold without freezing it. 

Bluesman,
How do you prepare gelatin for 30 deg beer?  I would think it would clot right up immediately.  I've used Polyclar and I filter, but I have never used gelatin.

Dave

For a five gallon keg.

1 tsp gelatin
1 cup water @ RT

Heat gelatin and water in microwave until the first bubble appears and remove. Chill mixture in refrigerator until cool to touch but don't let it gealatinize. Add chilled gelatin mixture to chilled keg and stir in very gently as not to introduce oxygen into beer. Allow beer to chill for 24-48 hrs and blow out gelatin from bottom of keg. I usually lose a half pint to blow out. More often than not I get very clear beer using this method.

[denny]

I'll just add that every single time I try to rush a beer to meet my schedule, I've been disappointed.  Do you really want to serve people beer that isn't the best representation of what you can do?

[dcbc]

Food for future thought.  If you are brewing a beer you know will need to be rushed out, hefeweizen is a good style to go with.  Ferments crazy fast, doesn't need to be clear, and is great young.

Agree with gelatin working in 24 hours. 

I use one pack of knox for 10 gallons.  Put it in 1 cup of room temp water and leave for 20 minutes so it blooms.  Put it in the microwave until I see that first bubble of boiling water and stop immediately.  Add it to keg of 32 degree beer (I use a 10 gal corny with the dip tube cut off).  Wait 24--48 hours and transfer to serving kegs.

I used to do the gelatin in the serving kegs, but when I moved them to the kegerator or if I had to transport them to a party, the stuff that I had worked so hard to get to drop out would get stirred up again.  This way, that still happens, but there is much less there to get stirred up after the transfer.

[corkybstewart]

I'll just add that every single time I try to rush a beer to meet my schedule, I've been disappointed.  Do you really want to serve people beer that isn't the best representation of what you can do?

I learned that lesson the hard way also.  If the beer isn't ready to serve with pride there's always beer for sale at the store.

[bluesman]

I'll just add that every single time I try to rush a beer to meet my schedule, I've been disappointed.  Do you really want to serve people beer that isn't the best representation of what you can do?

I learned that lesson the hard way also.  If the beer isn't ready to serve with pride there's always beer for sale at the store.

Yes. If there is some sound advice I can give to a new homebrewer. It's goes something like this...sanitize well, pitch plenty of healthy yeast into a well aerated wort at cool temps, ferment cool and exercise alot of patience. Oh...one more thing...keep a decent stock of some good micro's (emergency stash) to hold you over. 

[Kaiser]

I’ve been there. Even the 1 um spun filter will not be fine enough to clear the beer since it doesn’t remove protein haze.

Kai