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Fining Agents
Can anyone recommend either Isinglass or Gelatin?
Of minimal help...I used Isinglass one time when I racked over to my secondary...didn't seem to do much to be perfectly honest....I was so unimpressed I've never used it again.
I have heard that the gelatin they use in like jello does essentially the same thing, but I can't verify that or even recommend it....just something I believe I've heard.
cheers
i've been using Irish Moss, im not even sure thats really doing anything. just brewed a batch without it to see what happens
Yes, Irish moss seems to work fairly well....just don't use it with your Hefe's or Wheats...IMO.
Just tried out silica gel the other day on a pale ale. They've only been in bottles for about a week so I haven't checked them out yet, but they seem to have good clarity. I believe it's supposed to help with chill haze too. Usually use irish moss however not sure how consistent my results have been with it.
I've heard of people using isinglass and gelatin. Only known one person who tried gelatin and he was it worked alright. I prefer irish moss (seaweed).
A guy who works at a local brewery said that he has heard of sturgeon bladder being used! NO JOKE! He said it smells pretty rank, but it worked.
Try the others and see how they work out. I'm thinking about trying gelatin.
Isinglass is from fish bladder. I don't know if it's particularly sturgeon, but it's probably not much different. I've used it and it works. Then again, giving your beer some extra time to let things drop out of suspension works, as well as cold crashing the beer.
I usually just use Whirfloc tablets with a few minutes left in the boil. Whirfloc is just crushed irish moss formed into a tablet, works really well.
DT
dmofot, i am asuming that you mean cooling your wort as fast as possible when you say cold crashing, I find that it helps out immensly with chill haze, and to help the break to settle out. In combination with Irish Moss. Also I have taken and chilled my beers down in the secondary after about a week or two, to allow the protiens and tanins to combine and "haze" the beer, then after about a week or so they will settle out of the beer and I bottle still cold before they have a chance to dissolve back into the beer. I do this for beers that I could possibly send off to a competition. Just to ensure that it is clear for judging and I don't get hit on having chill haze.
Whats chill haze?
Thats a new one on me.
Never mind, looked in terms.
"Chill Haze: Cloudiness in the finished beer resulting from undegraded protein and tannins that coagulate at cold temperatures." (Taken from "The Brewmaster's Bible" by Stephen Snyder)
Actually, yes, isinglass is made from stugeon bladder and used as a clarifying agent in beer and wine. It flocculates into a thick, sponge type mass, which settles to the bottom of the beer. While beer itself will clarify to a point, fining agents simply speed up the process. Some better than others.
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