I think clarity is a very complicated subject for everyone. The solution to this problem should be after the stable brewing process is established, that is, smooth operation method, non-clogging filtration process, and the most important thing is that your wine can be brewed stably for dozens of batches without infection. Only when these are done can you consider clarifying the problem. My experience tells me that the degree of clarity is the inevitable result after considering most procedures. The following are the key points related to beer clarification:
Malt selection
Avoid high-protein malt, so it is difficult to make a clear-bodied 50:50 wheat wine, because the protein content of wheat is relatively high. As it happens, wheat wine is the favorite of many new friends, so when choosing wheat wine ... forget to clean up. In addition, unsweetened oats, or poorly improved and unstable malt are the reasons for the turbidity of the wine (don't buy malt with wheat roots).
Saccharification and boiling
New friends often think that boiling wort for at least an hour is a waste of life. Therefore, some people cleverly shorten the saccharification time, and some boil to cut corners, which will make the wort more turbid. You know, there is a reason for the wisdom of our predecessors. It is a shortcut to do well first, then become a master and then improve.
Filtering should be true.
Whether the filtration is smooth or not has a lot to do with the filtration system used by individuals. I don't like the extreme filtering method (soybean milk bag) because it will greatly slow down the filtering speed. However, how to balance the filtration speed and clarity by using false bottom and filter tube is a very important topic, especially the smoothness of filtration is closely related to the degree of malt crushing, and it needs to be tried before adjustment. In a word, the goal is a 5 gallon (about 19L) filter barrel, and the sediment below 2~3cm should be reached before the yeast is fed (the wort is fully cooled). For fermented wort with too much sediment, it is really time-consuming and laborious to achieve a relatively clear goal by rotating barrels. I suggest that it is best to do it at the beginning.
chill
The faster the cooling speed, the faster the protein in the wort will separate and coagulate after boiling. When these protein are gathered together, due to their large specific gravity, they will naturally precipitate at the bottom of the fermentation barrel, which also contributes to the clarity of the wine. Therefore, using a good cooling system (cooling pipe) is a very important investment.
Selection of yeast
To be clear, please choose yeast with high flocculation. High flocculation means that the yeast obviously gathers together and settles quickly. In this case, the situation of yeast floating in wine will also be reduced, so it will help to clarify wine. But is there such a good thing? Yeast with high flocculation ability is also a kind of yeast that doesn't eat sugar seriously. Often, if the temperature is not well controlled and the pitch rate is too low, you will immediately settle down to sleep. This kind of yeast is easy to cause trouble to novices. On the other hand, it happens that most of wheat beer yeasts such as WB-06 or Wyeast 3068 are low-flocculation low-flocculation yeasts, so the yeasts drift greatly and don't like to sleep. Therefore, the use of this yeast is doomed to be out of the clear body (unless it is stored in the refrigerator for two or three months).
Use of clarifier
Perhaps the most famous clarifier is the Whirlfloc clarifier in America. In the early years, Tian Daai brand was used, and the effect was quite good, but this tablet was not easy to take and the price was high. Later, I switched to carrageenan, and I can buy/order it from a chemical company-in the last 10 minute of boiling, the ratio is 2~3g 20L, and the dosage is very small, but the effect is just as good. It is suggested that every homebrewer prepare a small bottle, which can be used for brewing all year round.
Pass through the barrel after the main fermentation.
After the main fermentation, the wine is pumped into another fermentation barrel by siphon, and the precipitated yeast, protein residue and even malt crumbs that are not considered during wort filtration are left in the previous barrel, so that a clearer wort can be obtained. However, it is necessary to pay attention to the risk of barrel passing, and be careful to spill wort during the extraction process to avoid excessive air contact and beer oxidation. In addition, there is a risk of wort infection. Please disinfect all the equipment that will come into contact with wine before passing through the barrel.
Degree of carbonization
Do many people think carbonization will affect clarity? It really will. The carbonation of new friends is often not well controlled, and it is often heard that bottles are full of bubbles or even broken. You will find that when the degree of carbonation of wine is too high, its color will be particularly cloudy. This is because the cold residue, hot residue, malt residue, hops residue and yeast residue that should have been well precipitated at the bottom are all removed by excessive carbon dioxide. At this time, even if it is frozen in the refrigerator for several months, the wine is turbid, and all previous efforts are in vain.
Long-term in-bottle maturation
As long as bottled beer can be placed upright, yeast will begin to accumulate and precipitate at the bottom of the bottle after fermentation in the bottle, and low temperature storage can increase the effect of this accumulation and precipitation. Usually you can get very clear beer by putting it in the refrigerator 1 ~2 months. Even if you don't do everything above, it won't have much impact. This is the laziest clarification method. However, if you take the beer out and shake it carelessly, it will recur, so although it is to clarify the lazy method, you should try your best to do what you should do, otherwise you will still break your work when you take it to your friends.
In short, there are many factors that affect the clarity. For beginners, I would suggest that you should first seek basic skills and get everything ready. You will find that beer will naturally become very clear after that. Cheers!