The Definitive Knock-down, Drag-out Cloudy Beer Debate Thread

How in the world is distillation not filtration?

 

I have a few locals who carry Hefeweizen on tap (HB & Hacker-Pschorr), I always wondered how they keep the yeast in suspension.

I also purchased many Hefeweizens in Bavaria vom Faß, but not gravity poured, that had the yeast in good suspension.

 

We store and ship kegs upside down to that they get flipped right before tapping. This works pretty well except when a keg stays on for a long time but they usually don't

 

My opinion is that it is a straight up gimmick to try to deflect from an appearance that they feared would turn people off from the beer. It obviously tastes better from a proper glass to anyone with working senses. That the beer became so popular and subsequently legitimized it's appearance because of how good it tastes has made the whole thing a joke at this point that I think they are still having with their customers.

If the beer tastes great to you then that's all that matters. Not all haze is created equally and some IPAs that are hazy will be stringent and not very drinkable because of the yeast. I've never had more than one Heady in a sitting so I can't really comment on drinkability but I think the beer's popularity shows that its haze does not detract from the flavor like it does with some other beers.

 

With whisky and whiskey, the distillate still contains "impurities" and the barrel used in aging provides more. That's where some of the flavors and appearance comes from.

 

Sorry for the late reply but here goes: If you think that not filtering makes for a better smelling and tasting beer then that is all that matters. Brewers are going in a new direction right now because the market is big enough and understanding enough to let them release hazy IPAs. That wasn't always the case and most beers are filtered/centrifuged/fined/lagered because it is at least perceived that this is what people will buy and brewers (especially formally educated brewers) are also taught this in school or at established breweries.

No matter what you think about the final product, leaving an IPA hazy is the easy way to do it. Every method of clarification takes more time, resources, and know-how to do. So what I meant by "lazy practice" is that I honestly suspect that some hazy/muddy IPA is simply the result of brewers that are taking a shortcut or just aren't as knowledgeable and are luckily making some beers that people still really like, which I guess is fine. I totally realize that some very good brewers are making the artistic decision to leave IPAs hazy because they think the beer is better in that form and I can't knock that. Wheat and Rye IPAs are a good example of this because they will still be hazy even when given a good clarification period that drops out the harsher hop and yeast compounds.

A straight-up IPA will be at most lightly hazy if done properly and given enough time to clear. In my experience, rushing the beer and getting out a murky beer does nothing to aid in aroma or favor and often makes things harsher in mouthfeel and less drinkable. I think you would find that the hazy IPAs that you love would be just as good and probably even better if given a little more time to clarify or were even fined or centrifuged. I will freely admit that filtration results in a slight character change that may be a detriment to some people that love unfiltered hop character, though I think many people overstate the difference that it makes when done properly.

 

Just because it doesn't remove everything doesn't mean it isn't filtration.

 

The point is that while the stuff is aging and before it becomes a finished product it has and/or develops a whole new set of things to be filtered or not. So there is actually a big and ongoing debate in the whisky world as to whether or not it should be filtered before bottling and as to whether or not filtered or unfiltered tastes better. So yes, even though the distillation could be said to be a form of filtration there is still need to decide before bottling the finished product if the whisky will or will not be filtered/clarified and a need to decide when purchasing if one wants to buy and drink filtered or unfiltered whisky. So even though one could be said to be looking at a second filtration, it is still reasonable to have a preference for either filtered or unfiltered whisky and those are the terms in common use to describe the whisky as purchased.

 

I think you're talking about chill filtration. This is one specific type of filtration your previous statements were misleading.

 

So? You are talking about a process that creates the whiskey in the first place. It isn't whisky until distilled.

But given that one can buy unfiltered whisky it still seems perfectly reasonable to express a preference for unfiltered over filtered final product.

 

Distillation isn't filtration because of the definition of filtration.

Filtration is the act of separating solids from fluids (liquids or gasses) by having the solution flow through a medium of such type that only the fluids can pass through.

Distillation may have a similar effect as filtration, but that doesn't mean it's the same thing. Same goes for centrifugation.