Wort Won't Clear

[John Sand]

I made an extract/leaf hops batch almost 3 weeks ago, S-04 yeast. It's been in a 61' basement, rose to about 64 when in high ferment. It hasn't cleared, it still has krausen, but I don't think it is very active now. I plan to bottle it soon. I can't cold crash, it's in a BDC. Any thoughts on this? Why might it still be cloudy?

[Dawg LB Steve]

Temp might be too low, might need to wake them little buggers up some. Have you checked the SG to see if it is near being finished?

[monsteroyd]

Was it all barley with no other grains? I'd do like Dawg-linebacker-Steve said and verify the FG. If you have other grains like wheat or oats it may never clear. Otherwise I'd bottle it (assuming gravity is ok) and let it clear in the bottles.

Monty

[mashani]

I've bottled from under krausen many times, although I can't say that it's ever happened with S-04 for me.

Usually S-04 will floc out hard and take particles with it, but who knows. If there are starches or proteins in the wort, IE wheat/oats as monsteroyd mentioned, or you didn't get full conversion in an AG batch that could make it cloudy. If you used fruit and got it boiling and got pectin in the wort that would also do it.

That said, I would not personally stress about the krausen, or clearing in the fermenter if the gravity check is good.

[Kealia]

That said, I would not personally stress about the krausen, or clearing in the fermenter if the gravity check is good.

Ditto. I wouldn't either. I've had a few cloudy beers that cleared up just fine in the bottles.

[duff]

If it's just the kreusen I have bottled a few batches from under that. If the whole wort looks cloudy use a hydrometer to test if it's ready to go I would bottle it. I did have a couple of batches using S-04 that had a layer of yeast stick to the side. I never figured out what caused it but since S-04 is so powdery as it falls it just kinda dusted the sides and stayed there.

[John Sand]

The batch is extract: amber, pilsner, munich. I will warm it up before bottling. I don't like to sample small batches, or BDC batches, often. There isn't much to spare, I don't want to open it, or use the spigot, risking infection or mold. I'll let you know what happens.

[FedoraDave]

If cloudy beer is the worst of your problems, you're doing okay.

If it's reached FG, go ahead and bottle it, and RDWHAHB.

[Yankeedag]

I take it you can't place the BDC into a container, and surround it with a wee bit of ICE to reduce the temp for a few days?

[Beerlabelman]

Do you use whirfloc tablets? They work very good.

[Gymrat]

Do you use whirfloc tablets? They work very good.

I use them during the last 5 minutes of my boil. I break one in half for a 5 gallon batch. And yes they do work good. One caveat is the instructions say to use them in the last 15 minutes of the boil. The manufacturer says that long will denature them.

[John Sand]

Thanks guys. No whirlfloc, it's an extract batch. I bottled it yesterday after a couple of days in the (warmer) kitchen. It had gone from 1.048-1.014 with S-04. It did seem clearer, but that may be because I used a bigger light! In any case, I'm no longer concerned.