You only get one chance to make a first impression, and unless you’ve brewed some version of wheat beer or a New England-style IPA, a glass full of haze will cloud people’s perception. It’s not fair to be judged by your beer’s appearance, but those visual cues can affect how it tastes. Rather than hide it in a red plastic cup, let’s talk about how filtering can give your beer a makeover. We’ve covered using finings to clear your beer, and that will make a big difference, but filtering takes it a step further. If you only bottle condition your beers, this isn’t worthwhile, but if you already have a keg setup, it’s an easy addition to your process.
Understanding the Problem
The most common causes of cloudy beer are hazes formed of proteins and tannins along with having lots of yeast in suspension. Filtering handles both of these readily.
Starch haze is another possibility, which arises if your mash didn’t finish conversion. If this is a regular problem for you, you should focus on improving your mash process and consider using an iodine test to check for conversion. On the other hand, if you’re only seeing it with wheat or rye beers, that cloudiness comes with the territory.