Beer Finings What are they & what do they do?

[bigal]

:
In simple terms for a beginner,
What are Beer Finings?
What do they do?
When should they be used? :
Regards Al

 

[evanvine]

Beer finings like wine finings clear the wort/must of suspended matter that causes cloudiness.
Normally added at the end of fermentation

 

[bigal]

: Would that be directly prior to bottling or should it be added and left to stand for a while regards Al

 

[evanvine]

I once used finings immediately prior to bottling, bad mistake!
I got little fluffy bits of gelatine in the necks of the bottles, had to filter through a tea strainer each time.
Add finings and leave 24 to 48 hours then bottle.

 

[jamesb]

There are three types of finings

1) Copper Finings - Irish Moss, Whirlfloc or Protofloc. These are added towards the end of the boil to help coagulate the proteins together so you can leave them in the boiler and get a clearer wort.

2) Yeast Finings (can't think of a better way to put it) - Isinglass or Gelatine. This makes the yeast floc together and sediment by means of an electrical charge - leading to a clearer beer. These are added when you rack off to keg or cask. Actually, I think Gelatine is mechanical rather then electrical, but never mind.

3) Auxillary Finings - This is usually a type of plastic believe it or not and is used about 24 hours before racking off, it helps to get excess proteins out of the beer to help stop chill haze etc. It carries an opposite electrical charge to Isinglass and should not be used within 24 hours of it. Most homebrewers don't bother with this.

 

[Aleman]

And normally you use Aux finings before 'yeast' finings

 

[PaleAle]

I used Irish Moss 15 minutes from end of boil and now have a nice bubbling FV.

After primary fermentation has finished and before bottling should I:

1. secondary ferment prior to bottling then

2. use finings after above or will this remove too much yeast prior to priming? or

3. transfer primary into bottling vessel add priming sugar and bottle without finings

 

[PaleAle]

Nudge nudge you all to comfy in the snug :lol:

 

[tubby_shaw]

After primary fermentation has finished and before bottling should I:

1. secondary ferment prior to bottling then

I would leave the beer in the primary for three days after fermentation has finished to let the yeast clean up after itself, don't bother transferring to secondary.

2. use finings after above or will this remove too much yeast prior to priming?

Add finings to the primary after the above time then leave another 48 hours, this will leave the beer fairly clear but with more than enough yeast left to carbonate with.

3. transfer primary into bottling vessel add priming sugar and bottle without finings

You could then if you wish transfer to a bottling bucket, bulk prime and then bottle :thumb:

 

[PaleAle]

Thanks Tubby they were the answers I was looking for :

Which Finings would you suggest

 

[tubby_shaw]

Have a look down the baking aisle in your local supermarket for THIS one sachet dissolved in 100ml of hot (not boiling) water and gently stirred into the beer will fine a beer that has finished fermenting in 48 hours :thumb:

 

[PaleAle]

I'll pick some up next time I do shopping

I bought some 'beer brite' from local HB shop today. Has any body got any comments on this

 

[Bribie]

On the subject of 'auxiliary finings', if you are brewing beer to be drunk cold, such as lagers or pale ales, and want them crystal clear when cold then a great product is "Polyclar" which removes chill haze and is added a couple of days after gelatine etc. It has an opposite electrical charge as noted in a post above and should be added to cold conditioning beer where it electrically attracts the polyphenol molecules responsible for chill haze, to the surface of each granule of Polyclar. It's available from CraftBrewer (top of page) who deliver worldwide. No commercial connection apart from the fact that I'm in the same city so use the company for most of my HB requirements and can recommend.

http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=726

Hint: see my avatar :lol:

 

[PaleAle]

: for that I have bottled up now after using beer brite in primary, left for 24 hours and then racked into bottling bucket, primed with brew sugar and then bottled

I will try your method on AG#2 which won't be long as I think I've been bitten :lol: