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  • Centrifuge really hazy beer

    WHi there,

    We are having some serious haze issues with our IPA and to a lesser extend some of our other beers. We use whirlfloc G in the kettle, a Chico strain, dry hop at about 6g/L at 16C. When we run it through the centrifuge, no matter how slow or fast, we only get the EBC down to about 90-110. This beer is also crash chilled for about 2 days.

    I dont mind the haze bordering on murky, but it does seem to settle in the keg which causes allot of issues for pub owners.

    What can we do to get this haze down? Would this haze be contributed by the hops. What are you all doing?

    Cheers

  • #2
    If you've got a microscope handy, you should take a sample of the slurry you get when it settles and see what it is made of. If it is yeast, I don't know why your centrifuge would be letting this pass by, except maybe the seal that separates the clean from the hazy has gone bad. Don't know what your grain bill looks like, but your hop level shouldnt be an issue. My conversion says its about 1.5#/bbl, which isnt that much. That said, if your protein levels in the grain went up, and the tannins in your hops are higher than usual, you could be getting a haze from that. Which is very hard for a centrifuge to effectively eliminate. If it is protein based, you can definitely try pvpp or silica gel. Both of these need to be added in before centrifuging, and are removed either by filtration or the centrifuge.

    How cold are you able to get with your crashing? And can you get colder or hang out in the tank for another day or two?

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    • #3
      Thanks Jebzter. The grain bill is just ale and about 4% crystal. Im thinking we might have to leave it in tank for longer. We crash to 0C and cant really get it lower than that.

      Comment


      • #4
        0 C is good. A number of brewers on here have had problems in the past with getting below 3 C, so that is why I asked about temperature.

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        • #5
          I would take a serious look at your centrifuge. There has to be an issue with leakage.
          Joel Halbleib
          Partner / Zymurgist
          Hive and Barrel Meadery
          6302 Old La Grange Rd
          Crestwood, KY
          www.hiveandbarrel.com

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          • #6
            Haze issues

            Our AL Brew 80 does not remove haze if the beer hasn't been cold crashed long enough. The weight of the haze forming complexes isn't high enough to be affected by the centripetal force.

            If we leave our dry hopped beers crashed for multiple days, those complexes have a chance to further aggregate and gain enough molecular weight to be pulled out. Generally the beer still won't be brilliant, so we run through a lenticular filter for polishing immediately in line post centrifuge.
            Mike Elliott
            Head Brewer
            Philipsburg Brewing Co.
            Montana

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            • #7
              Thank you Mike, Jebzter and BrewinLou for you input. The centrifuge is all good. We sorted the problem and now have IPA's, that was 130 EBC, in the 5 to 10 EBC range.

              Cheers

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              • #8
                Out of interest what was the solution in the end? Thanks

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                • #9
                  You could try a test run with some Zero-Gel.
                  Brewmaster, Minocqua Brewing Company
                  tbriggs@minocquabrewingcompany.com
                  "Your results may vary"

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Gbbc View Post
                    Thank you Mike, Jebzter and BrewinLou for you input. The centrifuge is all good. We sorted the problem and now have IPA's, that was 130 EBC, in the 5 to 10 EBC range.
                    Cheers
                    We are having very similar issue, would be much interested in what have you done to get EBC so low..

                    Thanks

                    Andrej

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Clearing up centrifuged beer

                      Originally posted by pivar View Post
                      We are having very similar issue, would be much interested in what have you done to get EBC so low..

                      Thanks

                      Andrej
                      If your beer is suddenly much higher in turbidity coming out of the centrifuge it is often caused by protein changes in the malt. If you do the settling test of cooled wort to optimize your kettle finings on a regular basis (very recommended) you will generally catch this problem before you see it downstream. Many people think that kettle finings primarily contribute to optimal hot break, but it is in fact the cold break where the magic happens. If you optimize your kettle finings I can almost guarantee that your post centrifuge clarity will improve dramatically. Many brewers simply use the same amount of kettle fining for all their beers, and over malt crop year changes. This is a sub optimal procedure that is easily rectified.

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Brewtech11 View Post
                        If your beer is suddenly much higher in turbidity coming out of the centrifuge it is often caused by protein changes in the malt. If you do the settling test of cooled wort to optimize your kettle finings on a regular basis (very recommended) you will generally catch this problem before you see it downstream. Many people think that kettle finings primarily contribute to optimal hot break, but it is in fact the cold break where the magic happens. If you optimize your kettle finings I can almost guarantee that your post centrifuge clarity will improve dramatically. Many brewers simply use the same amount of kettle fining for all their beers, and over malt crop year changes. This is a sub optimal procedure that is easily rectified.
                        Hi! This is quite interesting. Do you have some sort of calculation or guide how to adjust kettle finings to achieve optimum dosing? I meen, how do you easily rectify procedure of finings addition? Is there any ratio for proteins vs finings?

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          I tried to paste in a photo I had copied this from the Brewers Supply Group - Wort and Beer Clarification Manual, which I think must be available free on line - I'm damned sure I didn't pay for it! File too big, so suggest you do a search for this article.
                          dick

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