HOMEBREW TIP OF THE MONTH Chill Haze and Cold Storage


Combat cloudy beer via low temperatures By Matt Steiger


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ottle conditioned beer is crystal clear at room temp, but becomes cloudy when chilled; known as chill haze, it plagues most homebrewers. It’s caused by long chains of proteins (from grain) and polyphenols (from husks and hops) that are soluble at room temperature but insoluble when cold.


The solution is two-pronged. First, use fin- ing agents such as Irish Moss or carrageenan (Whirlfloc is a mixture of the two). Fining agents help bind proteins during the boil and precipitate during cold break, reducing the amount of residual protein in the beer. Second, store the beer in a cold place. A week in the fridge is usually enough time for the protein-polyphenols to come out of solution and sink to the bottom. However, homebrewers can improve the clarity of their beer by using sub-fridge temperatures. Com- mercial breweries cold age beer at -1°C; this gives improved precipitation and speeds aging time to three days. A recent study reported in Essays in Brewing Science indicates that precipitation is increased even more at -2°C and occurs in less than 1 day.


The upshot: if you can hold your beer at just below water freezing temperature (0°C) you will get clearer beer in less time. The presence of alcohol prevents the beer from freezing and the resulting clarity is awesome.


Blackout Beer Tales Continued from Page 1


I had beer & ordered pizza (red fire pizza truck? SO good!) to take home:) Lisa B. M.


Had a nice Upright Brewing Company Rye but after that the beer got warmer and warmer and our neighbors got louder and louder til soon we prayed for power to return! Randy D.


I had a newly tapped keg of Manzanita Brewing Company Rustic Horizon. Had a few of those while I sat in the pool until it was very dark. Finn P.


The fantastic staff at URGE American Gas- tropub was open and serving beer and snacks until it was too dark. The guys were on point to ensure all of Rancho Bernardo had their priori- ties right...save the craft beer! Toon B.


Phileas Foggs Bar & Restaurant did its civic duty when the frightened and confused citizens needed somewhere to gather until they knew what was going on ;o) Served hot sandwiches off the grill and cold beer for as long as we could... plenty people in for bottled water (which we gave free) and food, beer and wine to go... Foggs feeling good about themselves this a.m. (especially now the power is back up!!!) Paul J.


Of course! Growlers of Manzanita, Green Flash, and Ballast Point Jamie G. We were stranded at Pizza Port in OB. The gracious staff wouldn’t let us leave and kept serving until we had enough. It was terrible... I’m glad to be alive. Rob S. We hid inside the safety of the Ould Sod. Just in case the zombies came for us. Amanda W. We sat outside in Kurt’s car listening to the game with a cooler in the backseat. Only a little illegal. Tim S.


Brian at Bottlecraft was kind enough to stay


open until dark. The place was packed! and he did a brisk business. A bottle of La Fin Du Monde was fitting for the occasion. We met the brewer from Lightning and talked about beer. We then lit a bonfire in the parking lot of my photo studio and toasted marshmallows with a nice growler of Hess Ex-Umbris Stout. There were a few other varieties in there like Upright Seven. One of the principal partners of West Coaster safely slumbered on his own private couch in the studio last night. All is good. We should turn the power out once a week so we can socialize more. Sage O. I didn’t drink any beer last night because I’ve had beer every night for the past week, but last night made me realize I might have problems with my disaster preparedness priorities: I had no bottled water but 14 bombers of beer.


And from Twitter: @Gekko4321


Nice block party broke out in Carlsbad. Turns out 2 of my neighbors are home brewers and we all shared our latest creations. @mikebeebe Yes! And lots of it...thanks to @blindladyale. Best blackout ever. @ENDelt260


all of my stories involve beer @essmithSD We work at a sprawling four building campus. Most offices have a mini fridge in them and most have beer. We drank them all. @dwdowning619


Hung out at @MonkeyPawPub til dark then to @QualitySocial before a @StoneBrewingCo 15th at home


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Bottle conditioned beer (left) turns hazy when chilled (right)


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