Beer getting clear over time

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by HorseheadsHophead, Dec 5, 2017.

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  1. HorseheadsHophead

    HorseheadsHophead Grand Pooh-Bah (3,732) Sep 15, 2014 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I know there have been multiple threads about why beer get hazy or develop floaties, but what about when a beer goes clear over time? This happened to me just recently with the pack of Rise Up Rye saison from Gun Hill I bought this summer, and it's something I've never witnessed before. When I bought it fresh back in late summer, the entire can was hazy. This is a picture from several months ago.

    [​IMG]


    This is how it looks now:

    [​IMG]

    The entire volume of the can is crystal clear. There is no sediment and there are no floaties. Why did a hazy, unfiltered-looking beer become crystal clear after several months?
     
    #1 HorseheadsHophead, Dec 5, 2017
  2. Zorro

    Zorro Grand Pooh-Bah (3,258) Dec 25, 2003 California
    Pooh-Bah

    It is called flocculation.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flocculation

    The sediment is at the bottom. It can stay fluffy and moving around OR it can form a solid mass at the bottom.

    Essentially this is how Lagering works.
     
    #2 Zorro, Dec 5, 2017
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  3. HorseheadsHophead

    HorseheadsHophead Grand Pooh-Bah (3,732) Sep 15, 2014 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    If that's what happened it must have solidified at the bottom of the can. I completely inverted that can to shake out the last few drops. All 16 oz came out clear.
     
    #3 HorseheadsHophead, Dec 5, 2017
  4. SFACRKnight

    SFACRKnight Grand Pooh-Bah (3,348) Jan 20, 2012 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Floccilation is funny like that. Some yeasts form a brick of a yeast cake that you need to scrape off the bottom of the fermenter, while others are fluffy and floaty and stir right back into suspension with the slightest provocation. There is also a possibility that these two cans are from different points in the canning line, or maybe even filled with different batches. Turbid beer can also indicate infection in rare cases.
     
    #4 SFACRKnight, Dec 5, 2017
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  5. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,375) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Society Pooh-Bah

    Since that beer is a Saison (and I presume brewed with a Saison yeast strain) my guess is that the haze of that beer is proteins from the grain bill. Over time these proteins will precipitate out of solution and create a clear beer.

    Last summer I helped a friend homebrew a Belgian Wit and that beer was 50% raw wheat (which is high in protein). That beer in the summer time was nice and hazy (like the picture of the fresh Gun Hill Saison). This past Sunday I drank a bottle of this Belgian Wit and it was crystal clear (just like the picture of 'aged' Gun Hill Saison). In that Belgian Wit the proteins completely precipitated out of solution. It was still a tasty Wit though.

    Cheers!
     
    #5 JackHorzempa, Dec 5, 2017
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