# Is It Worth Using Polyclar?



## BPH87 (7/8/12)

I am about to transfer from fermenter to keg is it worth using polyclar? I have a few mates that recommended using it.


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## fraser_john (7/8/12)

BPH87 said:


> I am about to transfer from fermenter to keg is it worth using polyclar? I have a few mates that recommended using it.



Do you have a chill haze issue with your beer? If not, don't bother. Besides which, you don't want polyclar in your serving keg........blech


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## BPH87 (7/8/12)

It is my first brew of beer, both are ales


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## Crusty (7/8/12)

fraser_john said:


> Do you have a chill haze issue with your beer? If not, don't bother. Besides which, you don't want polyclar in your serving keg........blech



Same opinion here. I wouldn't use it in the keg, forget about it.


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## Logman (7/8/12)

What are they recommending it for, to get beer without chill haze or just to get a clear beer i.e. no sediment? If you're just worried about getting clear beer you can whack some gelatine in your keg if it's pouring a bit chewy for your liking  . You'll just have to leave it a couple of days and toss the first glass or so.


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## fraser_john (7/8/12)

BPH87 said:


> It is my first brew of beer, both are ales



Just keg it up and see how it is first. You may not need it, some brewers do, some don't.


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## QldKev (7/8/12)

Unless your doing a hefewiezen and have already used something like brewbrite in the boil of an AG, I would


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## DKS (7/8/12)

Something seems abit askew there Kev. Thought a hefe would lend itself to a tolerable amount of cloudiness. Anywho,however.....

Would a crash chill help before kegging? There's a few threads here on AHB about crash chilling, or you could go to secondary but I am not a fan of that unless you are an experianced brewer.Infection issues etc.
From my experiance when Ive had a dirty beer Ive left it on the primary / yeast cake for an extra week then chilled it down before transfer to keg. After that, if it tastes good who cares if its a little dirty? 
Daz


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## QldKev (7/8/12)

QldKev said:


> Unless your doing a hefewiezen and have already used something like brewbrite in the boil of an AG, I would






DKS said:


> Something seems abit askew there Kev. Thought a hefe would lend itself to a tolerable amount of cloudiness. Anywho,however.....
> 
> Would a crash chill help before kegging? There's a few threads here on AHB about crash chilling, or you could go to secondary but I am not a fan of that unless you are an experianced brewer.Infection issues etc.
> From my experiance when Ive had a dirty beer Ive left it on the primary / yeast cake for an extra week then chilled it down before transfer to keg. After that, if it tastes good who cares if its a little dirty?
> Daz



Unless your doing a hefewiezen OR have already used something like brewbrite in the boil of an AG, I would


fixed :icon_cheers:


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## DKS (7/8/12)

Fair enuf Kev.
Some times I think we worry too much about how clear/clean a beer looks, instead of what it tastes like and if we like it. 
Back to OP Question. At this point I still think a good chill for a day or two would help before transfer to keg.
Daz


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## Liam_snorkel (7/8/12)

fraser_john said:


> Besides which, you don't want polyclar in your serving keg........blech


this happened to me the other week. Cold conditioned at 2deg for a few days, Polyclar in the fermenter prior to racking, but the valve on my filter broke so I didn't filter, resulting in Polyclar going in the serving keg (and noticably floating around after force carbing). It took a few days to settle now its clear as day. So if the serving keg isn't going to be moved around I can't see a problem IMHO.


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## dougsbrew (7/8/12)

i luv polyclar, 5.2% ag pils, no chill haze. :icon_cheers:


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## Bribie G (7/8/12)

The main point about polyclar in the keg is that it shouldn't be in the keg. The idea is to use it in cold conditioning beer (as with the instructions) and THEN after settling out, transfer the clear beer off the lees into the keg. 

Lurve it as well, but nowadays I use it in the form of BrewBright in the kettle. However if using it as stand-alone Polyclar at cold conditioning time, it should remain in the vessel not the keg, as stated.


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## Parks (7/8/12)

Bribie G said:


> Lurve it as well, but nowadays I use it in the form of BrewBright in the kettle.


I have been using brewbright for a while and it is absolutely the ducks nuts. I have been a filterer, now there's no need.

Unfortunately my belgian wit is also very clear, maybe I meant to make a "krystal" or whatever they call it


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## Barley Belly (7/8/12)

Bribie G said:


> The main point about polyclar in the keg is that it shouldn't be in the keg. The idea is to use it in cold conditioning beer (as with the instructions) and THEN after settling out, transfer the clear beer off the lees into the keg.
> 
> Lurve it as well, but nowadays I use it in the form of BrewBright in the kettle. However if using it as stand-alone Polyclar at cold conditioning time, it should remain in the vessel not the keg, as stated.
> 
> View attachment 56314



How much you been using and when do you add it?

Been using two teaspoons in a slurry at 10mins to go in the boil and still gettin a bit of chill haze.


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## Maheel (7/8/12)

i am about to cold condition a LFPA (i just turned the stc to 9 and tomorrow i drop it to 2) 

doe this mean i need to drive to craftbrewer tomorrow to get some polyclar 

as although i dont care if it's a bit cloudy my guests prefer clear beer....


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## hsb (7/8/12)

I find cold condition for 1 week and some time in keg always gives bright clear beer, but I do use kettle finings - whirlfloc.


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## Maheel (7/8/12)

hsb said:


> I find cold condition for 1 week and some time in keg always gives bright clear beer, but I do use kettle finings - whirlfloc.



i normally do that as well, will polyclar make it even brighter / clearer ?


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## dougsbrew (7/8/12)

well, most likely.. 

not only can it make your beer clearer it can give your brew flavour sytability. 
as in is it going to be drunk in a couple of weeks or will you still be savouring it in a couple months time. 
heres a link with some polyclar info http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=726


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## Liam_snorkel (7/8/12)

Maheel said:


> i normally do that as well, will polyclar make it even brighter / clearer ?


Do your beers look hazier when you first pour them compared to when they warm up a bit?
If so, that's chill haze.


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## BPH87 (7/8/12)

Here is the diagram that a few of my mates are working off of, they brew fresh wort kits that they buy somewhere in Brisbane (not from Craftbrewer).
View attachment 56321


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## wraith (7/8/12)

+1 to polyclar, great product, beer clarity greatly improved since using it, My routine is: 10g in 200ml recently boiled water (for a 25ish Litre batch), agitate for 10-15 mins (carry it around with me shaking it as much as I can) and add it to cold beer (I'll drop the batch to cold conditioning the day before), leave for minimum 3-4 days to settle out and bottle. 

In saying this I'm curious about brewbrite, polyclar and whirlfloc in one, will be trying when I run out of whirlfloc.

Wraith


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## Bribie G (7/8/12)

Barley Belly said:


> How much you been using and when do you add it?
> 
> Been using two teaspoons in a slurry at 10mins to go in the boil and still gettin a bit of chill haze.



This can be a problem with BrewBright, it can go a bit "slack" after a few months. I have found this with a couple of tubs I bought last year in August. By April, it wasn't as effective. 

Fortunately I'm moving down near my supplier and will just buy by the single tub and keep it fresh - a well heaped teaspoon in a slurry does it for me, and not at 10 mins, try at flame out then allow 20 mins to settle before sending to the cube or the chiller.


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## Phoney (7/8/12)

^ After it goes slack, can you up the dosage to achieve the same results or is it useless?


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## sama (7/8/12)

keeep it real i say!


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## Wolfy (7/8/12)

BPH87 said:


> Here is the diagram that a few of my mates are working off of, they brew fresh wort kits that they buy somewhere in Brisbane (not from Craftbrewer).
> View attachment 56321


Most people find they make more than acceptable beer by going directly from the first ("FERMENTATION") to the last ("CARBURIZING" _sic_carbonation)) steps, often doing nothing at all extra, sometimes letting the beer 'condition' at cold temperatures for a few days/week.
If you are new to making beer, I'd suggest skipping the "CLEARING" and "FILTERING" steps indicated on that .pdf, until you have brewed a few beers and are sure you need/want to include those steps - especially if brewing an ale that might not be served very cold.


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## altstart (8/8/12)

Bribie G said:


> This can be a problem with BrewBright, it can go a bit "slack" after a few months. I have found this with a couple of tubs I bought last year in August. By April, it wasn't as effective.
> 
> Fortunately I'm moving down near my supplier and will just buy by the single tub and keep it fresh - a well heaped teaspoon in a slurry does it for me, and not at 10 mins, try at flame out then allow 20 mins to settle before sending to the cube or the chiller.



Gday Bribie I am still useing the Brewbrite I bought in 2010 with no loss of performance. I vacumn sealed it in oxygen proof bags in 200 gram lots and keep in my yeast fridge. I use 40 grams in 80 to 100 litre lots and am still drinking clear beer.
Cheers Altstart


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## Parks (8/8/12)

altstart said:


> Gday Bribie I am still useing the Brewbrite I bought in 2010 with no loss of performance. I vacumn sealed it in oxygen proof bags in 200 gram lots and keep in my yeast fridge. I use 40 grams in 80 to 100 litre lots and am still drinking clear beer.
> Cheers Altstart


That's a lot higher rate then recommended on the pack I got from Craftbrewer. It was 4g per 23L which I roughly stick to and get exceptional results.


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## Liam_snorkel (8/8/12)

Parks said:


> That's a lot higher rate then recommended on the pack I got from Craftbrewer. It was 4g per 23L which I roughly stick to and get exceptional results.


pack says 5g-10g per 23l.


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## Batz (8/8/12)

:lol:


altstart said:


> Gday Bribie I am still useing the Brewbrite I bought in 2010 with no loss of performance. I vacumn sealed it in oxygen proof bags in 200 gram lots and keep in my yeast fridge. I use 40 grams in 80 to 100 litre lots and am still drinking clear beer.
> Cheers Altstart




I've had mine for ages as well, it's in the air tight container that MHB supplied it in. Still seems to be working fine without any performance loss.
I rarely use polycar these days, and I've got ship loads of the stuff :lol:


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## Parks (8/8/12)

Liam_snorkel said:


> pack says 5g-10g per 23l.


We are currently talking about Brewbrite http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=4396


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## Liam_snorkel (8/8/12)

oops, pardon me.


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## Thirsty Boy (9/8/12)

i use brewbrite and like it a lot - but I dont think its a panacea.

Because it combines your regular kettle finings (carageenean) with PVPP - you cant tailor the dose of one without also adjusting the other. I find that in my brewery, to get the haze stabilisation effect I want from the polyclar part of the product, I am often using enough of it that I am over-fining the carageenean portion.

Its a little niggle, and at the end of the day it really just costs you a small amount of final volume and/or some time, but its enough so that I tend to use the product mainly because I think its a fantastic kettle finings, at the low end of the recommended dose and often lower - which makes it something that improves rather than eliminates chill haze.

If I really want the beer completely chill haze free, sometimes I need to take extra action on top of the brewbrite.


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## dougsbrew (9/8/12)

Thirsty Boy said:


> I find that in my brewery, to get the haze stabilisation effect I want from the polyclar part of the product, I am often using enough of it that I am over-fining the carageenean portion.



TB, couldnt you just add some polyclar to the brewbrite to get desired blend. 
i use kettle agent then polyclar after ferment, i was wondering with the brewbrite added in kettle, 
your beer gets yeast thrown at it, goes through a couple of weeks of ferment and possibly dry hopping, 
temperature changes, could any of these factors put haze into your beer after the kettle?


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## felten (9/8/12)

Will crushing up some whirlfoc and mixing it with some polyclar achieve the same results in the kettle as brewbrite? I'd be interested to see if anyone has been playing around with that.


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## Thirsty Boy (10/8/12)

dougsbrew said:


> TB, couldnt you just add some polyclar to the brewbrite to get desired blend.
> i use kettle agent then polyclar after ferment, i was wondering with the brewbrite added in kettle,
> your beer gets yeast thrown at it, goes through a couple of weeks of ferment and possibly dry hopping,
> temperature changes, could any of these factors put haze into your beer after the kettle?



All sorts of things can add haze - remember, PVPP (polyclar) ONLY works on chill haze, so if things add haze after the kettle, PVPP added at any point, before or after the kettle, wouldn't effect them anyway.

Could maybe add extra PVPP to the kettle i guesss, see below.



felten said:


> Will crushing up some whirlfoc and mixing it with some polyclar achieve the same results in the kettle as brewbrite? I'd be interested to see if anyone has been playing around with that.



I know Spillsmostofit was adding polyclar to his kettle for a while along with a regular old whirlfloc addition. It was having an effect along the lines of brewbrite and I have no doubt that you could work out your own mix if you tried hard enough. A lot of how well this stuff goes depends on how finely the particles are ground though, and polyclar VT, which is what we mostly buy for adding post ferment, is ground quite coursely so that it will settle out - i believe that the stuff in brewbrite is ground (along with the carageenan) much more finely, working on the assumption that it will end up bound up in teh break material and that will make it sink.

I've used different grades of PVPP that are meant to be filtered out, much finer, that would probably be more appropriate for someone trying to whip up a homemade brewbrite sub.... still, hardly worth it. I just use a little less brewbrite and sub in some extra polyclar at the end if it turns out to not have been enough.

Recently I'm using Brewers Clarex (same stuff as whitelabs Clarity Ferm) and its working spectacularly. I dopnt think its easily available for homebrewers atm, but might well become so in the future.


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## MHB (10/8/12)

Thirsty Boy said:


> Snip
> Recently I'm using Brewers Clarex (same stuff as whitelabs Clarity Ferm) and its working spectacularly. I dopnt think its easily available for homebrewers atm, but might well become so in the future.



Been meaning to ask how that test is going
M


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## Batz (10/8/12)

Mark what is the life of Brewbrite? Does it deteriorate over time?


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## fraser_john (10/8/12)

Thirsty Boy said:


> <snip>
> Recently I'm using Brewers Clarex (same stuff as whitelabs Clarity Ferm) and its working spectacularly. I dopnt think its easily available for homebrewers atm, but might well become so in the future.



I would be very interested in trying some of this clarex stuff when it comes available.


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## MHB (10/8/12)

The shelf life of BrewBright if kept dry (why we add a desiccant) appears to be nearly indefinite.
Clarax is interesting been experimenting with it, unfortunately the raw stock is frightfully expensive like $3K for a minimum purchase, it get diluted hundreds of times and as a retail product isnt too badly priced if you have a few $K to spare on a new product that might be accepted in the market place.
Mark


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