I've given up on having clear beer...

I just gotta ask: how cloudy are your beers? If your beers are less than absolutely crystal clear, do you consider this as being a fail?

For my ales the only clarifier I typically use is rehydrated Irish Moss flakes added for the last 15 minutes of the boil. Those beers do not turn out absolutely crystal clear but they are by no means cloudy either. I am very happy with these ales! They are very tasty and I have zero desire for absolutely crystal clear beers.

My lagers (I typically brew four batches per year) turn out a bit clearer but again they are not absolutely crystal clear despite the 5-6 weeks of lagering.

Cheers!

 

Gelatin has worked well for me, though the results are grist and yeast strain-dependent.

Are you adding it after cold crashing?

 

This guy seems to like using this filter and his beer looks pretty dang clear! Seen them on amazon for $50. Maybe it might work?

 

An example of my Vienna lager with gelatin:

 

If you are using gelatin properly you should have no problem obtaining bright beer. Some people argue that gelatin drops too much in fact.

What is your process with the gelatin?

I hesitate to state that your expectations are too high. Gelatin, when used correctly, practically produces Zima.

Cheers.

 

I’m definitely not a brew guru...just spitballing here, but don’t give up.

Are you getting a good hot break during the boil, and cold break when chilling?

How cold is your cold-crash?

Chill haze?
After packaging and conditioning, have you checked to see if there’s a difference in clarity of your beer when it’s room temp versus fridge temp?

Could it be a water issue? I’ve just started learning about water adjustments, so it’s better if someone versed in that chimes in.

Ponder on that batch and maybe something will come to mind that was different in your process; like adding/doing (or not adding/not doing) something out of the norm for you, was there a boil-over, did you get distracted when transferring to the fermentor (letting it rest longer than usual), extract v. all-grain, high sparge temp. Do you usually use a 'house-favorite' yeast that's a low flocculator, unlike Nottingham?


Good luck!

 

Generally if you dry hop, you aren't going to get a crystal clear beer in the short term. After about 3 months in the keg I find my non-hazy ipas drop bright.

Are you talking specifically about DH beers?

 

Yeah, 3 months, hahahahaha! That ship sailed unless it's a imperial.

I bottle condition everything, and while personally I don't care it the beer is Brite or not, I have noticed adjusting my grain mill to produce less flour and more cracked barley kernels did help , as well as dry hopping with no more than 2oz of pellets, 4 with my home grown whole hops.

More than that and it's cloudy.

I use no fining methods, butter on occasion make a very Brite beer.
Go figure

 

Half a packet with ~0.5 to 1 cup of water.