Chill-Haze

New2Brew

Hi Guys & Ladies present.
Tonight I have had a first sample of Coopers European Lager.For three months I have been waiting to sample this brew.
Firstly,in the bottle it looks gin clear,poured well,smells good,tastes superb.In the glass it quickly developed "chill-haze".This did not affect the taste of the beer,but made it look cloudy.
Is there a cure for this?,like,keeping the glass at the same temperature as the beer,or is there a more scientific explanation for this?.
As for waiting three months for this brew,i would say yes,but brew it as an intermediate brew if you know what I mean.
Cheers all.
Pete.

HBO_Staff

Hi Pete, it is a great lager and very popular but does take quite a while for the flavours to develop, Muntons have written a guide on chill hazes which is quite useful, it is copied and pasted here:

Most beers will be clear at room temperature but some will develop a haze when refrigerated. This is due to haze-producing proteins and polyphenols (primarily from the malt) suspended in the beer. When the beer is chilled, these react and clump into tiny particles which reflect light. These particles remain in suspension and make the beer appear hazy.

Chill haze doesn’t affect the taste of beer – only the appearance.
It is a common ‘problem’ with home brewers and some beer kits.

Allowing the bottles to warm back to room temperature may reduce the haze. Alternatively, leaving the bottles upright and undisturbed in the refrigerator for a few weeks will allow time for the protein to settle to the bottom of the bottles, and the beer may eventually clear. Other than that, there isn’t anything practical that can be done to avoid it. Commercial breweries and serious home brewers who produce fully mashed beers can eliminate this problem using various techniques. For home brewers who use beer kits the technicalities would become impractical for the hobby.

New2Brew

Hi HBO.
Many thanks for that.Now that I have a better understanding of why this happens,i can live with it.It was just a bit strange that it has happened to this brew.Not had any chill-haze on previous brews.
Many Thanks.
Pete.

HBO_Staff

Hi Pete, glad it helped, it can be strange how some brews are affected more than others, and some not at all, sometimes when they warm back up it goes, but will not affect the flavour, it is just a visual thing