TETB’s Brewdays

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Just doing a gravity check on last week's Brown Ale... well, it sure is brown - and possibly the murkiest beer I've ever brewed: completely opaque.

Aha... just taken a sample from the top (with a pipette) and that looks fine.
So it seems the yeast (Lallemand English-style Ale) is hanging around the lower level of the FV in a big hazy cloud.
It's a bit of a pain because I'd prefer to draw off from the bottom tap.
I'll carry on ramping the temp down to see if I can get it to flocculate a bit better.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Did you ever risk using the Clear-It finings after their use by date? You don't get long after their opened do you

Cheers Tom

OK quick update on the Harris Starbrite finings.
I racked the Vienna off yesterday. After a few days at 4ºc in the FV it was still a bit hazy, so I transferred it into a clean bucket and hit it with 10ml of the Starbrite.
Today it's looking really clear so I'll call that a success - I'll now keg it.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Crikey just look at all the muck it precipitated out of the beer overnight:

Result is beautifully clear

 

[soupdragon]

OK quick update on the Harris Starbrite finings.
I racked the Vienna off yesterday. After a few days at 4ºc in the FV it was still a bit hazy, so I transferred it into a clean bucket and hit it with 10ml of the Starbrite.
Today it's looking really clear so I'll call that a success - I'll now keg it.


View attachment 86291

That's good to hear, I may invest in a bottle. Crossmyloof do something similar too so might get some of that when I order some spare yeast

Cheers Tom

 

[Galena]

Good info just ordered a bottle to see how it goes, seems easy to use anyway.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

seems easy to use anyway.

The instructions say "add towards the end of fermentation and stir gently" but I used my normal procedure: cold crash then rack off and fine at the same time.
In this case I just added the finings to the empty 'bottling' bucket and let the turbulence from the inflow of beer do the mixing ...

 

[Galena]

I was wandering whether to add it to the keg, it does suggest this as a recognised method

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

I was wandering whether to add it to the keg, it does suggest this as a recognised method

They don't, but I'm sure it'd work.

The only issue would be the sediment it would precipitate out in the bottom of the keg.

Not sure if it comes out in the first pic above (#183) but that was a completely clean bucket and all that sediment over the bottom is just what dropped out of the beer last night.
It wasn't even as if the beer was especially murky - just a bit of a fuzzy haze to it

 

[Galena]

They don't

They do here if you read further down the description, but you do need to be an advanced brewer

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

That's good to hear, I may invest in a bottle. Crossmyloof do something similar too so might get some of that when I order some spare yeast

Cheers Tom

According to the bottle the ingredients are just Silicon Dioxide and Water - apparently this combination is also known as silicic acid, silica, or kieselsol.
In any case I'm sure you can get it much cheaper than the 'Harris' version (e.g. GEB have 100ml for £3.45)

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

They do here if you read further down the description, but you do need to be an advanced brewer

Seems to be a cycling video ??

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

This would probably be enough to last you a lifetime: £14 for a Litre (free shipping in the UK)

Kieselsol 30% 1L Fining Agent Wine Beer & Spirit Making

 

[soupdragon]

This would probably be enough to last you a lifetime: £14 for a Litre (free shipping in the UK)

Kieselsol 30% 1L Fining Agent Wine Beer & Spirit Making

View attachment 86296

Says on the label that it "must always be used in conjunction with gelatine or chitosan for effective clarification"
It does sound very similar though.......

This is the stuff that Crossmyloof are selling.

https://www.lallemandbrewing.com/en/united-kingdom/product-details/protosol/
I've just bought a few sachets to try out. Works out a out 5p more per application, they do however have a 250ml bottle for a shade under £17 so would work out cheaper than the Harris product. It sounds very similar in that you just dose the brew and stir, 24/48 hrs later you're good to go.

Cheers Tom

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

must always be used in conjunction with gelatine or chitosan for effective clarification

Yes I’ve seen that mentioned elsewhere too. Apparently they precipitate differently charged particles.
However both gelatine and Chitosan are distinctly non vegetarian (doesn’t bother me, but some of my friends wouldn’t like it). I think Brausol is another alternative.
To be honest for wine it might make a difference, but for this batch of beer just the Kieselsol on its own seems to have done the job just fine :-)

 

[Galena]

Seems to be a cycling video ??

Haha, good job I haven't been watching porn. Lets tray again HERE

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Says on the label that it "must always be used in conjunction with gelatine or chitosan for effective clarification"
It does sound very similar though.......

Just bought 1L of the 30% Kieselsol from Garffen for £14.99 delivered - can't go too far wrong at that price.

The product page does indeed say that for effective clarification it must always be used with gelatine or Chitosan; and also that the liquid must be degassed first as dissolved CO2 will impede it working too .

However as the StarBrite stuff worked just fine with the Vienna without either boiled pig gristle or ground up shrimp bits, in the presence of plenty of dissolved CO2, I can only imagine that either the dosing level (10ml in 23L) overcame those issues or the levels of clarity required in winemaking are much higher!

 

[soupdragon]

Just bought 1L of the 30% Kieselsol from Garffen for £14.99 delivered - can't go too far wrong at that price.

The product page does indeed say that for effective clarification it must always be used with gelatine or Chitosan; and also that the liquid must be degassed first as dissolved CO2 will impede it working too .

However as the StarBrite stuff worked just fine with the Vienna without either boiled pig gristle or ground up shrimp bits, in the presence of plenty of dissolved CO2, I can only imagine that either the dosing level (10ml in 23L) overcame those issues or the levels of clarity required in winemaking are much higher!

When do you reckon you'll be giving it a go?

Cheers Tom

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Hmmm good question.

I’ve got that brown ale cold crashing at the moment, but Garffen is predicting 1wk delivery so it’ll be a bit late for that.

I do need to get another brew on this week though, so prob that one :-)

 

[soupdragon]

I'll keep an eye out for updates

Cheers Tom

 

[Buffers brewery]

Just enjoying a can of 1664 with a Friday night curry and looking at it I think I might have a go at this finings lark. While I thought my ales were clear they are not bright. Probably won't taste better but something new to try.