clearing beer

[terminal500]

I'm about to embark on my 5th brew but only my second beer, I was wondering if it is worth buying beer finnings to help clear the sediment this time. All the beer I bottled last time did have sediment in the bottom of each bottle, and it is very difficult to pour without getting sediments in the glass so have taken to cloudy ale. No one so far has complained but it would be nice to have a clear ale, it also may not matter as this next brew is going in a barrel so it will settle, just wanted some opinions really.

 

[PD]

Just make sure your beer has had a good length of time in the bucket before you bottle it. Most yeasts will drop out of suspension especially if you lower the temp slightly'
You will always get a little sediment in your bottles from the priming sugars but if you have used a good yeast this will usually be firm on the floor and will not cause you any problem when pouring.

Time in the bucket....time in the bottle....


p.s. forgot. dont bother with finings unless your desperate.

 

[fermentall]

hi, as PD said plenty of time,personally i never use finings for anything except wine. : ken.

 

[terminal500]

Thanks guys. I suspect the last one was bottle too soon, how long do you normally leave between end of fermentation and siphoning? I think mine was about 4 days or something. Do finnings affect the taste is that why you don't use them, I must admit I was amazed how clear the wine went.

 

[Duncs]

I leave mine in the FV for 2 - 3 weeks and the last couple of days i move it somewhere cool before bottling. It's then left in the warm in the bottles for a couple of weeks, then in the shed for a month or two. Always get nice clear with very little sediment.

 

[kentmark]

You will probably get sediment to an extent as a by-product of bottle conditioning. But, might be worth leaving in the FV for a couple more days before bottling, just to let any more sediment drop out.

Do you move your FV around at all? Mine lives in the bedroom whilst fermenting then gets moved onto the kitchen worktop for bottling. When I move it I leave it 24-48 hours to give any sediment that might get disturbed in the move a chance to settle to the bottom of the FV again.

 

[oldjiver]

I add isinglass finings to the FV the day before I rack into the bottling bucket (which is about 4 days after fermentation stops). I find that this deposits 90% of the yeast leaving just enough in suspension to give a good bottle secondary fermentation.

 

[Robbo100]

From my bottling experiance (which isn't much), I have been able to pour perfectly clear beer (even with sedement in the bottle after being in the FV for only 5 days) by simply pouring it very carefully (I hope that doesn't sound patronising).

It becomes much easier after the beer has been in the bottle for about a month, because the sediment becomes more solid at the bottom of the bottle.

The best thing to do is to make sure you pour in one gradual action, trying to minimise the glugging of air down the neck of the bottle, which will set up a standing wave within the bottle which will then upset the sediment and mix it up with the beer. If it starts glugging too much, just slowly reduce the pour rate until it calms down. If I ever think I might have to pour the beer in two stages (because a large head is forming, or because there is some beer still in the glass), I have a second glass on standby so that I can pour the remaining beer into that glass without having to interupt the pouring process - standing the bottle up with any beer in it will put a nail in the coffin for the beer remaining in the bottle.

One other way that has worked for me, is to put the bottle on its side (with the cap slightly elevated) for about an hour before you open it so that the sediment slides to the bottom corner. When you pour the beer, keep it in the same orientation as it was layed down (with the sludge at the bottom), so that it will only have a chance to mix at the very last minute of the pour.

Finally, when I started using bottles I generally turned on a bright overhead light when I poured, so that I can see the sediment and glugging in the bottle (even with brown bottles), which helped me refine my pouring technique. I can now pour a perfect pint blindfolded (or drunk).

I suspect that I may be mastering my pouring technique, when in fact I should be concentrating on making clearer beer!!! :clap:

Robbo100

 

[robsan77]

I use finings depending on the yeast. Us05 takes ages to clear otherwise but wlp002 and Nottingham drop really well on their own.