Achieving a Clear, Bright, West Coast Style IIPA

Do you plan on using a secondary? You might want to do your first thru third steps in a secondary vessel, bottle, and once carbonated, put them in a fridge for a week or two and leave them completely undisturbed. In my experience that's the only way to get rid of that initial chill haze, was by letting them sit in the fridge for an extended period of time in the dark (basically lagering). The other way is to filter your beer, which is a process that looks like a lot of work and energy. I say use a secondary and let your bottles lager for a few weeks after carbonated to achieve the results you're looking for.

 

Depends on your timeline and which yeast you use...gelatin will undo somewhat what you are trying to achieve with the hops...lagering will slow the dryhopping which is a good thing in this case. Get a good quick cold-break after your boil and you are half way there...good luck

 

After the second hop charge add polyclar, it is quick and you will be able to accomplish the second attack to beer haze, gelatin clarifies beer in regards yeast in suspension and polyclar clarifies beer in regards protein-poliphenol haze(chiil haze).

Good luck !!

 

I do all my dryhopping at room temperature. My assumption would be that cold temperature hopping will be similar to cold steeping anything else, it is going to take longer to extract those oils. Also, hop polyphenols add haze to a beer. Stripping out these polyphenols may create a muted hop presence in your beer. But here's the thing, homebrewing affords us the opportunity to experiment on a level professional breweries cannot. I say go for it, take notes, and report back. I am brewing a pilsner I want to dryhop and your results may give some insight as to how I dryhop a lager.

 

You mentioned bottling. Are you bottle-conditioning (carbonating in the bottle), or are you bottling off a keg? If bottle conditioning, you will need to pitch more yeast at bottling time if you are planning on cold crashing and adding gelatin (as the gelatin pulls yeast out of suspension). Also, why add gelatin before the first dry hop? If you are looking for clear beer and are bottle conditioning, I would add the first dry hop, wait three days, add the second dry hop, wait three days, then cold crash. Once the beer is as close to 32 degrees as possible, add the gelatin. Wait 24-48 hours, then rack to bottling bucket with your priming sugar and a fresh pitch of yeast (you will only need about 1/5 of the packet of US-05 to carbonate the beer), and bottle. While there will be some amount of sediment (as there is in any bottle conditioned beer), it will be as minimal as possible (similar to Sierra Nevada Pale ale), and the beer should pour bright after a week or two of refrigeration (after you let the bottles sit and carbonate for a week or two at around 70 degrees).

 

What is your grain bill and what type of yeast did you use? Also, how big are your dry hop additions? Some additional data points might be helpful.

IMO, relative to other suggestions, I would advise against the need for a secondary. And, supposing that you had been mindful of your yeast pitch rate considering the 1.080 OG, I still think that you'll still have enough yeasties to bottle carb.

 

There may still be a little sediment in suspension if you leave your beer in primary only. It's not a big deal but if you want the most clear beer possible you should transfer to secondary and let it sit for a day or two. I guarantee you there will be a small layer of yeast on the bottom of your carboy or bucket after that time. It's not the most important step if clarity is not much of a concern (which is the case for most homebrewers) but you said you want your beer to be filter level clear, and if that's the goal, putting your beer into a secondary (bright) tank for a couple of days is only going to help in that regard. Good luck to you with whatever choice you make

 

What exactly does the transfer to a secondary do that just permitting the beer to sit in the primary for some 'extra' time not do? As the fementation completes yeast cells flocculate and settle out. It seems to be that this is simply a matter of time and gravity.

Cheers!

 

You can let it sit in primary as long as you want but there is still going to be yeast in suspension that will further settle out when you rerack to secondary. Just because it's the common thought that we don't "need" to secondary does not negate the fact that doing a secondary transfer can help clear up the beer more than it would clear just in the primary alone. If you don't believe me brew a beer let it sit in primary and then rack it over to a clear carboy and if there's not a layer of yeast in the bottom after a few days I'll eat my hat

 

I would be willing to bet that the amount of yeast on the bottom of the secondary would be the same as if I just let that beer sit in the primary for the same period of time.

If you have a link to a scientific study (i.e. a peer reviewed journal) that concludes that the mechanism of transferring beer yields increased settling of yeast I would be happy to read that article.

Cheers!

 

I do not have a peer reviewed study but I have brewed many batches of beer and my own experience is enough for me. If you need to be convinced do as I suggested and brew a batch of beer let it sit in primary for as long as you think is needed to clear and then rerack it over to a carboy for a few more days. There is always sediment in the carboy even after it has "cleared" in primary.

 

I agree 100% with you here; that as you secondary a beer more yeast will settle out.

Unless you have data otherwise I am personally convinced that the same amount of yeast will settle out in the primary during that timeframe.

There is absolutely zero need for me to conduct the 'experiment' you mentioned since I know what will occur. What I need is information that details that by conducting a transfer/secondary more yeast settles than would if you just gave the beer more time in the primary.

Cheers!

 

The whole point of OP's question is how he can achieve the clearest beer possible not whether secondary is necessary or not for beer. As I have already stated, you obviously do not need to secondary to make good beer, which is the general homebrewing consensus ( I fully agree with that btw), but if clarity is of the utmost concern, as is the case here, then doing a secondary transfer MAY aid in that regard. That's all I said, and that's what Im sticking with in regards to advice for how to get the clearest beer possible on a homebrew level. You're getting sidetracked here because I said the yeast will drop out even further in a secondary. You just said you agree with that 100%, so using that logic does it not seem plausible that since that last bit of yeast is no longer floating in the beer and is on the bottom of the carboy, that the beer MAY BE clearer than it would be if it was just left in the same carboy with all the trub and proteins from the original fermenation? Maybe yes or maybe no, but it doesn't hurt to try, and honestly, neither one of us knows the answer to his question as a fact. There's nothing wrong with throwing it out as an option for him, it's not going to hurt anything to do it, and if it works then the OP has what he is looking for, clear beer.

 

I can't agree with you here. There are reasons why folks do not conduct a secondary for an ale:

• The transfer exposes the beer to 'extra' air (oxygen) and this increase oxidation of the beer.
• As homebrewers we sanitize (vs. sterilize) so transferring exposes the beer to 'extra' unwanted microorganisms

You state that conducting a secondary "may" help with clarification. I am not convinced here.

I am convinced that transferring beer to a secondary does have the negative consequence I detailed above.

Cheers!