Question:
This beer fine stuff came with some malt I just bought to make a Corona clone. I want the beer to be clear, and while boiling the ingredients, I added gypsum and Irish moss. The instructions say add the beer fine after 4 days of fermentation (why? clarifying?). Not sure I need to do this having already added so much other clarifying stuff. Opinions? Jason http://home.earthlink.net/~toospicy/Beer.html
Response:
you bought a kit didn’t you then bought extra stuff I am quessing
Response:
yes. but how much clarifying agent is too much? Since I already used irish moss and gypsum, is using beer fine overkill? Is it bad? Should I NOT use it? Or if I do, will it just be a way of further clarifying the beer? jason – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – you bought a kit didn’t you then bought extra stuff I am quessing
Response:
I would say no, if it only says "beer fining" on it. I personally don’t like putting anything into my beer if I don’t know what it is. cheers, -Alan — — Alan McKay http://www.bodensatz.com/ What’s a bodensatz? http://www.bodensatz.com/bodensatz.html – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Should I or should I not add it in addition to the clarifying stuff I already put in?
Response:
yes. but how much clarifying agent is too much? Since I already used irish moss and gypsum, is using beer fine overkill? Is it bad? Should I NOT use it? Or if I do, will it just be a way of further clarifying the beer?
My own opinion is the less extra junk the better, but that’s me. No, I don’t think it’s "too much" in the sense of "will it ruin the beer". But it’s a personal decision on your part: Do you want to use more additives, for slightly clearer beer? Finings generally do not affect the flavor… Since you didn’t indicate what kind of finings they are (did the package even say?), I’m going to guess that the finings are gelatin. This will get the yeast to sediment out faster than it would without finings — i.e., it speeds up the process which would happen after a few weeks in the bottle anyway. (BTW, gypsum is not a clarifier… it is commonly used to harden the water, when brewing styles of beer which are traditionally brewed with hard water. Like Irish Stout, or English Pale Ale.) —
Response:
Hi Jason, With all the info you got I’m not quite sure if anyone told you to go ahead and put it in, so I will, go ahead and put it in, it can’t hurt. Cheers, Tom – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Should I or should I not add it in addition to the clarifying stuff I already put in? Jason Probably "beer finings". i.e. a clarifying agent. cheers, -Alan — — Alan McKay http://www.bodensatz.com/ What’s a bodensatz? http://www.bodensatz.com/bodensatz.html This beer fine stuff came with some malt I just bought to make a Corona clone. I want the beer to be clear, and while boiling the ingredients, I added gypsum and Irish moss. The instructions say add the beer fine after 4 days of fermentation (why? clarifying?). Not sure I need to do this having already added so much other clarifying stuff. Opinions? Jason http://home.earthlink.net/~toospicy/Beer.html
Response:
Should I or should I not add it in addition to the clarifying stuff I already put in? Jason – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Probably "beer finings". i.e. a clarifying agent. cheers, -Alan — — Alan McKay http://www.bodensatz.com/ What’s a bodensatz? http://www.bodensatz.com/bodensatz.html This beer fine stuff came with some malt I just bought to make a Corona clone. I want the beer to be clear, and while boiling the ingredients, I added gypsum and Irish moss. The instructions say add the beer fine after 4 days of fermentation (why? clarifying?). Not sure I need to do this having already added so much other clarifying stuff. Opinions? Jason http://home.earthlink.net/~toospicy/Beer.html
Response:
yes. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – you bought a kit didn’t you then bought extra stuff I am quessing
Response:
This beer fine stuff came with some malt I just bought to make a Corona clone. I want the beer to be clear, and while boiling the ingredients, I added gypsum and Irish moss. The instructions say add the beer fine after 4 days of fermentation (why? clarifying?). Not sure I need to do this having already added so much other clarifying stuff. Opinions? Jason http://home.earthlink.net/~toospicy/Beer.html
I’m going to guess that this was a Brewferm Mexican kit? It is isinglass to help drop out the yeast. — ALABREW Homebrewing Supplies http://www.mindspring.com/~alabrew Birmingham, AL Home Beer and Wine Making Specialists
Response:
Probably "beer finings". i.e. a clarifying agent. cheers, -Alan — — Alan McKay http://www.bodensatz.com/ What’s a bodensatz? http://www.bodensatz.com/bodensatz.html – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – This beer fine stuff came with some malt I just bought to make a Corona clone. I want the beer to be clear, and while boiling the ingredients, I added gypsum and Irish moss. The instructions say add the beer fine after 4 days of fermentation (why? clarifying?). Not sure I need to do this having already added so much other clarifying stuff. Opinions? Jason http://home.earthlink.net/~toospicy/Beer.html
Response:
yes. but how much clarifying agent is too much? Since I already used irish moss and gypsum, is using beer fine overkill? Is it bad? Should I NOT use it? Or if I do, will it just be a way of further clarifying the beer?
This might clear up some of your confusion: 1.) Gypsum/Burton Salts is not a clarifying agent. Both raise the hardness of the water to approximate the well water used by certain English breweries. Burton salts contain both potassium and calcium chloride, if I recall correctly. This is desirable in pale ales since it lends a crispness to the overall flavor. 2.) Irish Moss (carageen seaweed) assists with protein coagulation during the "hot break" in the brew kettle. Basically, it allows the proteins in your boiling wort to collect in larger flakes so that they settle out faster and/or are easier to filter out. The less protein dissolved in your wort at the start of fermentation, the less a likelyhood of "chill haze" once the beer is bottled and cooled for drinking. 3.) The stuff you have, if it’s a whitish color, can be either polyclar or gelatin. Polyclar is an inert plastic powder that attracts yeast and other sediment into clumps so that it can settle to the bottom. Gelatin is mostly used for settling out yeast with poor flocculation (clumping) tendencies. There’s also the off chance that it might be a fining called isinglass, which performs a similar function. Both gelatin and isinglass should be reconstituted in hot boiled (not boiling) water and allowed to cool to room temperature before addition to a fermenter.
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