Brew Brite - 2nd Attempt Worked A Treat

[SJW]

My first crack with Brew Brite I added it to cool wort and it just sent it cloudy, FAIL.
This time I mixed with a little water and added with the 2min hop additions. WOW, crazy stuff, instant coagulation of crap. It was ashame to turn the pump on when I put the chiller in (the Braumeister) as the pump just shedded it all up. Either way, the trub settled out a lot quicker than using whirfloc anyway, once cooled.
Its hard to beat simply throwing in half a Whirlfloc tab at 5 min, but the Brew Brite is very good stuff.

I used it in my Brewbuilder Endeavour Pale Ale brew.

Steve

 

[Phoney]

Yeah, it pays to read the instructions.

 

[QldKev]

I tried a couple of experiments, mixing with hot / cold water etc. These days I just chuck it in dry to the wort at 0mins and give it a stir. Works everytime, and as easy as whirfloc.

QldKev

 

[fraser_john]

It's weird, I get no difference between whirlfloc or brew brite in my brews! No obvious floc'ing in the hot wort when I put it in.

 

[sim]

Using BrewBrite i'm noticing "briter" beer than before with Irish Moss, at about the one month mark (unfiltered). Great stuff.

 

[Wolfy]

It's weird, I get no difference between whirlfloc or brew brite in my brews! No obvious floc'ing in the hot wort when I put it in.

Are you buying the same stuff from the same vendor as the others who get different results?

 

[DJR]

I add mine to a small (250mL) water bottle half filled with filtered water and shake the crap out of it for a couple of minutes. Then add just after I add my immersion chiller to the boil and it gets back up to boiling. I can see the break forming almost instantly but where it really makes a difference is in the fermenter after a couple of weeks - very clear.

 

[SJW]

It's weird, I get no difference between whirlfloc or brew brite in my brews! No obvious floc'ing in the hot wort when I put it in.

Like I mentioned, I added while it was still boiling, but as the Braumeister only does a gentle boil it was like John Palmer describes hots break, Egg Drop Soup, within about 10 seconds.
But at the end of the day between Whirlfloc in the boil and gelatine in the keg, I get crystal clear, bright beer anyway once kegged for a couple weeks. It was jsut a cheap thrill to see the Brew Brite work so well.
I guess I will just use whatever Mark supplies with the Brewbuiler Brews.

 

[philski]

I love the stuff. Been using it for my last 4 brews and they are all a lot clearer than before using irish moss. It really helps settle out the proteins etc in the boil and also in the bottle after a month or so. I've been mixing with some cold water (so it doesn't coagulate) then adding 10min before the end of the boil. Give it a whirlpool at the end with the mash paddle and watch that stuff settle out.

Great stuff!

 

[carniebrew]

Sorry for dragging up an old thread, but I have been contemplating using irish moss or brew brite for a while now. I understand it's used towards the end of the boil, and 'coagulates the proteins causing them to drop out of the wort'. But what I'm curious about is....are you then supposed to leave these coagulated proteins in the kettle? I brew in a large pot without a tap, so tip my beer from the pot into the FV. If I pour the lot, am I negating the whole point of using the finings by adding the coagulated stuff back into the wort? Or does using finings in the boil mean these proteins et al will also drop out during fermentation, leaving them in the trub, rather than in suspension?

 

[felten]

Sorry for dragging up an old thread, but I have been contemplating using irish moss or brew brite for a while now. I understand it's used towards the end of the boil, and 'coagulates the proteins causing them to drop out of the wort'. But what I'm curious about is....are you then supposed to leave these coagulated proteins in the kettle? I brew in a large pot without a tap, so tip my beer from the pot into the FV. If I pour the lot, am I negating the whole point of using the finings by adding the coagulated stuff back into the wort? Or does using finings in the boil mean these proteins et al will also drop out during fermentation, leaving them in the trub, rather than in suspension?

Not sure there's a point to using a kettle fining if you aren't going to separate the kettle trub before fermenting.

You should look in to using a siphon/siphon tip, or even drilling a hole and installing a ball valve instead.

 

[Liam_snorkel]

Sorry for dragging up an old thread, but I have been contemplating using irish moss or brew brite for a while now. I understand it's used towards the end of the boil, and 'coagulates the proteins causing them to drop out of the wort'. But what I'm curious about is....are you then supposed to leave these coagulated proteins in the kettle? yep. I brew in a large pot without a tap, so tip my beer from the pot into the FV. If I pour the lot, am I negating the whole point of using the finings by adding the coagulated stuff back into the wort? you can still pour it, but you will able to leave some of the hot break behind much more easily as it has sunk to the bottom. Or does using finings in the boil mean these proteins et al will also drop out during fermentation, leaving them in the trub, rather than in suspension? yes. even if you get some hot break into the FV, it will drop out during fermentation.

Brewbrite has a 2nd function which is to drop out the proteins which cause chill haze.

+1 to what Felten said, consider getting a siphon. there is a product called "EZ-siphon (or something like that) - look into it.

 

[kahlerisms]

I think there's still some benefit. After your secondary/keg you'll still have clearer beer. I agree with Felten though that you're undoing most of the work that the brewbrite has just done for you.

 

[carniebrew]

That's what I suspected. I guess if I poured carefully I could leave some behind, but not sure I'll bother until I get some kind of siphon or tap going. Thanks for the replies.

 

[felten]

That's what I suspected. I guess if I poured carefully I could leave some behind, but not sure I'll bother until I get some kind of siphon or tap going. Thanks for the replies.

If you want the polyclar effect on your beer without using brewbrite in the kettle, I have a hardly used 90g bag of polyclar VT here that I don't use anymore.

 

[CosmicBertie]

Sorry for dragging up an old thread, but I have been contemplating using irish moss or brew brite for a while now. I understand it's used towards the end of the boil, and 'coagulates the proteins causing them to drop out of the wort'. But what I'm curious about is....are you then supposed to leave these coagulated proteins in the kettle? I brew in a large pot without a tap, so tip my beer from the pot into the FV. If I pour the lot, am I negating the whole point of using the finings by adding the coagulated stuff back into the wort? Or does using finings in the boil mean these proteins et al will also drop out during fermentation, leaving them in the trub, rather than in suspension?

I use brew brite in all my beers. After whirlpooling, the wort is crystal clear. I do, however, transfer everything into the fermentor. You'll find that the break material settles to the bottom. I've experienced no adverse effects with doing this.

 

[carniebrew]

Ok, great response thanks.....you use a fining agent in the kettle, but don't try to leave behind your break material while transferring to the fermenter? When you say "the break material settles to the bottom"...are you referring to the kettle or fermenter there...I think the latter?

 

[breakbeer]

Been using Brewbrite for the last 4 or so brews & it worked really well. Used it yesterday (thrown in with 10 mins left on boil as usual) & it sat on the surface, I stirred it through but there was still quite a few white clumps that wouldn't break up. I fished 'em out & the wort was still quite clear.

Should I be dissolving it in future? The only instructions on the label say "4 grams at 10 mins before end of boil"

 

[NickB]

Yep, dissolve in cold water prior to use. I generally go with 4-5 g for a single batch, and up to 10g in a double depending on how turbid the wort going into the kettle is.

Cheers

 

[CosmicBertie]

Ok, great response thanks.....you use a fining agent in the kettle, but don't try to leave behind your break material while transferring to the fermenter? When you say "the break material settles to the bottom"...are you referring to the kettle or fermenter there...I think the latter?

It sinks to the bottom of the fermentor. I use it so that it causes the break material to clump together so that it drops out. I use a hop sock, so I end up with no trub cone forming, just a layer of break material. I once measured how much I was leaving behind at it was around 5L. I couldnt be bothered to let it separate out overnight, so I decided to see what happens when everything goes in.

If I use no fining agent, I get cloudy beer, and I dont like cloudy beer. I guess after a while it might drop clear, but I dont really want to wait that long (months).

Most people scoff and chuck an eppy when I say everything goes in, but from my experience (and not word of mouth) my beer turns out great.