Clearing beer - finings and chilling - help needed

[shearclass]

Hi

If I am chilling beer to clear it before bottling, how long does it need to be chilled, and at what temperature? I have the use of a fridge, and can achieve temperatures between -1 and 7 Celsius

I have recently bought some isinglass from my lhbs. However, it did not come with instructions. How do i add this? What quantities? Do i just drop it in, or mix it? How long do i have to leave it to do it's stuff?

If I add isinglass, is their any benefit to chilling the beer as well?

Also, are the answers to any of the questions above affected by whether i am bottling or barrelling the beer? If i use finings, will my bottles still carbonate? I am happy to wait a month or so for carbonation if it means i have near enough sediment free bottles containing crystal clear beer!

 

[Mark1964]

You can use isinglass for finings but personally ive never used it. If you add 15g leaf gelatine dissolved in boiled warm water to your fv 24 hours before you keg/bottle your beer will clear well. Just store beer in a warm room for a week then place in fridge for another week around 3- 8 deg c its your choice really how chilled you like it. :thumb:

 

[shearclass]

Well since i've bought isinglass i might as well use that as the gelatin. Does anyone know the dosage og isinglass?

The chilling beer was about clearing the beer rather than serving it, sorry for the confusion

 

[Talon_Ted]

the isinglass i use is 'magicol 250as' and it works brilliantly.

becaise i don't have a set of scales that measure tiny amounts i add about a third of a teaspoon (not heaped) to my 25L batch.

i cool the beer down to around 5degC in the fridge for a day or so and then add the isinglass and place the beer in the freezer to crash cool it to around 1degC. it is then placed back in the fridge and 24hrs later it is as clear as a bell.

TT

 

[Aleman]

Once the beer has reached a stable gravity, put it in the fridge and drop the temperature to 2C . . .you can leave the beer in here at this temperature for up to 14 days if you like.

Isinglass is a tricky subject, I am assuming that you have bought a made up Ready For Use 'solution' (the dry isinglass powder is a subject in it's own right). What they do in a commercial environment, is run off 6 1/2 pint samples of the beer to be fined and add 1ml 2ml 3ml 4ml 5ml and 6ml to each subsequent glass, stir and allow to settle. The correct dosage rate is the one that produces clear beer, and a compact sediment . . too much (or too little) can produce a loose easily disturbed sediment (fluffy bottoms) and at all costs you have to avoid a fluffy bottom. (Hop and Grape / Brupacks RFU Isinglass is 10ml per gallon)

So having determined the dosage rate you measure this into a jug and add 1/2 a pint of cooled boiled water . . . .mix well . . .add 1/2 a pint of beer . . . mix well . . . add another pint of beer and mix well . . . return this to the FV . . . while gently mixing it into the top layer of beer (try not to disturb the sediment) . . . leave for 24 hours before racking, via a syphon, NOT a TAP, into keg / cask / bottling bucket.

 

[Talon_Ted]

i should have made clear that magicol is a dried powder.

add the amount to a galss of cold water and keep in the fridge for 24 hrs.

then place in a magimix or similar and stir with a dough hook, not a whisk, for 5mins.

add to beer and mix in.

on a few occasions when i first started i had some gel coming out from the cornies on the first pull but it had gone by the next day.

fluffy bottoms are noticeable on occasion but if you have to loose a little more beer in return for a massively clearer and fresher tasting product then so be it.

i am sure aleman's more measured approach to dosage is best but i am too slap dash and go by eye!

TT

 

[WelshPaul]

If you add 15g leaf gelatine dissolved in boiled warm water to your fv 24 hours before you keg/bottle your beer will clear well.

Is this the same leaf gelatine that is sold in supermarkets in the home baking sections?

 

[shearclass]

Thanks for your help.

Do i need to chiill the beer and then add isinglass, or are they two separate ways to clear beer?

My fridge will be taken up with lagering lager for a while, so i won't be able to chill my next brew then add isinglass. I hope isinglass can just be added, in the method described above, to unchilled beer.

Cheers

 

[Aleman]

You don't need to chill the beer at all to use isinglass, although both Isinglass and Gelatine are more effective/efficient below 20-25C.

I crash chill as

1) I can and
2) it is an effective way of stopping the fermentation when I want it - usually within a couple of gravity points of the Final Gravity determined via a Fast Fermentation Test . . . so that I can condition without priming.
3) the colder the beer the longer it can be left on the sediment
4) Crash chilling drops a lot of yeast out meaning the amount of finings I need to use is much lower
5) When its cold I can determine if I need to worry about Chill haze . . . and add appropriate protection/finings to take care of it (Using aux finings or Polyclar Plus 730s . . .before isinglass)

 

[Darcey]

Very interesting, I shall be trying this for my next lager!

You give people free beer and they complain that its cloudy.. :twisted:

 

[shearclass]

Thanks Aleman, excellent advice as always.

I'll keep this post for future reference. I just set away a load of vimto turbo cider for the girlfriend, so i'll use your advice before i come to bottle that in a week or so. I've also got the fiery ginger beer fermenting, but i don't think that's meant to celar (is it?) so I don't know if i 'll use isinglass on that.

My fridge is now taken up with a bucket of lager, and will be taken up for the next month while i lager it, so i won't have the facility to chill my brews before adding finings for a while.