Clarity is the state of “brightness” of a wort or beer. Two fundamental forms of “break” (insoluble) material can lead to a lack of clarity in wort, so-called dirty wort. They are hot break, produced during wort boiling, and cold break that forms when wort is cooled. See cold break and hot break. Turbidity in beer can take various forms. Some beers develop precipitates that settle to the bottom of the container. Bits (“floaters”) are large discrete particles present throughout the body of the beer and are frequently caused by interactions between added stabilizers such as foam stabilizer and certain colloidal stabilizers. “Haze” describes inherent dullness that pervades the whole liquid and can be caused by diverse materials, including yeast and other microorganisms, protein, polyphenols, starch, β-glucan, pentosan, and oxalate. Turbidity caused by living organisms is called “biological haze.” That due to non-living entities is called “non-biological haze.” If the haze is present under all conditions it is “permanent haze.” If the haze is present only when beer is chilled to 32°F (0°C) but not when the beer is warmed to 68°F (20°C), it is so-called chill haze. See chill haze. Beers that appear bright but which register a high haze reading (determined by instruments that measure light scattered at 90° to the incident) are said to display “invisible haze” (or “pseudo haze”).

Clarity is an important aspect of the appearance of many beers. Many consumers correlate haze with a lack of quality in beers where haze is not expected, e. g., pilsner. Interestingly, however, the rise of craft beer in the United States has resulted in a regional difference in that regard. Many craft beer consumers in the Western United States are not disturbed by haze in beer; in fact, they see it as a positive sign of handcraft. This does not tend to be as true in the East, where clarity remains expected in most beer styles.

See also haze.