Stokes' Law!

This was Melanie Krautstrunk's Igneous IPA (6.3% alcohol-by-volume), on draught in the taproom at Hutton & Smith Brewing, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on 30 January 2016.



Me: "How did you get this beer so clear?"

Ms. Krautstrunk: "Time and gravity."

Me: "No filtration?

Ms. Krautstrunk: "No; no filtration. I was patient."

Stokes Law

The rate of sedimentation of an idealized spherical particle in a liquid is directly proportional to the difference in the density of the particle and the liquid medium, the acceleration due to gravity, and the square of the radius of the particle, and inversely proportional to the viscosity of the liquid.

In other words, particles in a liquid settle naturally under the influence of gravity. Left alone for a sufficient amount of time, beer will clarify itself.

Murky is the recourse of the impatient. Beauty is the craft of the brewster.

-----more-----

• More photos of Hutton & Smith Brewery: here.
• Description of Stokes Law paraphrased from a Wort & Beer Clarificaton Manual provided by BSG Craft Brewing.
• For poetic license, I redacted the penultimate sentence after I had first uploaded. ("Murky is the defense of the impatient.") The intent remains the same.


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