- Joined
- Jul 13, 2012
- Messages
- 1,039
- Reaction score
- 744
- Points
- 113
Background... I have been brewing all grain for about 6 years, on average once a month, always in the same city, using the same municipal water and most of the time brewing the same recipe with minor variations.
A simple version of my standard recipe (24-25L fermenter vol.) is 6kg base malt (85-100% Vienna) 25g Magnum for bittering and 200g late addition (5-10min) aroma hops, all pellets. I single-step mash for 60min @ ~67°C, batch sparge for 30min @ ~72°C, and boil for 60min. I ferment using US-05 (2 packages) in a plastic bucket (temp controlled at either 15°C or 17.5°C), do not use any fining agent or secondary and bottle.
Up until about 2 years ago, my beer would eventually clear if left long enough to condition in the bottles. Depending on weather (no temp control for conditioning) and who-knows what other factors, it would sometimes take two weeks for the beer to clear and sometimes two months, but eventually it would clear up. Because I don't use any fining agents, it wasn't always crystal clear, but I generally see through it, even it was still a bit cloudy. Proof = see my avatar
Problem... Since early 2016, my brew doesn't clear any more...at all....ever! I have left bottles for 4+ months and it still looks like soup when I pour it, and I definitely can't see (anything!) through it. I have tried double checking everything I could think of in my process, especially pH, to no avail and no change. When boiling, I do notice that if a cold break occurs the wort appears clear, but I have never used a chiller to cool my wort, and that wasn't a problem earlier, so not sure if that would necessarily help...(I still would like one though
)
The mineral values have changed slightly in the municipal water, but not much.
Any ideas!? I am at a loss...
A simple version of my standard recipe (24-25L fermenter vol.) is 6kg base malt (85-100% Vienna) 25g Magnum for bittering and 200g late addition (5-10min) aroma hops, all pellets. I single-step mash for 60min @ ~67°C, batch sparge for 30min @ ~72°C, and boil for 60min. I ferment using US-05 (2 packages) in a plastic bucket (temp controlled at either 15°C or 17.5°C), do not use any fining agent or secondary and bottle.
Up until about 2 years ago, my beer would eventually clear if left long enough to condition in the bottles. Depending on weather (no temp control for conditioning) and who-knows what other factors, it would sometimes take two weeks for the beer to clear and sometimes two months, but eventually it would clear up. Because I don't use any fining agents, it wasn't always crystal clear, but I generally see through it, even it was still a bit cloudy. Proof = see my avatar
Problem... Since early 2016, my brew doesn't clear any more...at all....ever! I have left bottles for 4+ months and it still looks like soup when I pour it, and I definitely can't see (anything!) through it. I have tried double checking everything I could think of in my process, especially pH, to no avail and no change. When boiling, I do notice that if a cold break occurs the wort appears clear, but I have never used a chiller to cool my wort, and that wasn't a problem earlier, so not sure if that would necessarily help...(I still would like one though
The mineral values have changed slightly in the municipal water, but not much.
Any ideas!? I am at a loss...