Beer Forum

I brewed a german pils that fermented for 4 weeks, then lagered for 4 weeks @ 32 degrees F. When I pulled a sample of
it before kegging it was clear as crystal. Absolutely the clearest beer I have ever brewed. I was so excited that it came out this good.

When I went to keg it, I just let the autosiphon hit the bottom of the fermenter and it sucked up a little bit of trube. I figured no big deal--I've sucked up trube before in my ales and carbonated and they are still extremely clear. WEll, not so with this one--it's slightly hazed now! Why?! Is it because the little bit of trub got redisolved in solution after carbonating? Doesn't make sense though--I've got trub into my kegs before with my english pale ales and they are still totally clear after carbonating.

Why could this be? I don't understand. I swear the beer was clearer then just about anything you've ever seen right before it went to the keg. Now the haze--Depressing! The keg was thoroughly washed and cleaned--I even took it apart and cleaned all connections right before i kegged. Driving me nuts. Where could this haze have come from? It's not even like the first few pints--EVERY pint is hazed! Blast!

First of all, why could this be? Second of all, do I have any recourse? Dump Silica Gel or anything in there, to flush out whatever is causing the haze?

second off, does it taste like haze. no, just close your eyes and drink it. keep it simple, adding extra crap seems like a formula for wrecking beer that's totally drinkable.

The beer is totally drinkable--goes down very easy, no yeasty off flavors or sanitation-related flavor flaws.
It just would fail outright if it was judged a comp because of the haze, and I want to know why it's there so I can prevent it next time

Maybe chill haze? pour a bit let it warm up and see if it gets clear. If it does, you have chill haze, one way to remove it is to filter at serving temp. I don't remember if clarifiers work on chill haze...

Nope, it's not chill haze for two reasons:

A. The beer was lagered @ 33 degrees for 4 weeks and was not hazy.
B. I did actually let the beer warm up to room temp and there was no difference in appearance.

Blast! What could it be!?

Perhaps you were mean to nuns in a past life?

Kazi the Younger wrote:The beer is totally drinkable--goes down very easy, no yeasty off flavors or sanitation-related flavor flaws.
It just would fail outright if it was judged a comp because of the haze, and I want to know why it's there so I can prevent it next time

This isn't exactly true. On the BJCP scoresheets, appearance only counts for a total of 3 points. It is highly unlikely you would be docked the entire 3 points as this section includes color, clarity, and head (retention, color, and texture). You would have to have all of these messed up to lose all 3 points. Even at that, it's only 3 points out of a possible 50.

Wayne

Ah yes, you are right about that--perhaps I'm weighting it too much. It's more depressing then anything. I just
don't get why the haze now, where it could it possibly be coming from? Has anyone else noticed a lager becoming hazy after kegging?

I used whirlflock
I got a good hot break and cold break
Rapid chilling with Jamil's Chiller
Only Minimal cold break entered the fermenter
4 weeks @ 48-50
4 weeks @ 33-34
Crystal clear in the glass with sample taken by wine thief
In the Keg--Cloudy!!!!!

Is this something that might clear up in time?