Fining Without A Fermentation Fridge

[Joe Palooka]

Hi.
Is there a way to get low flocculating yeast strains out of beer, if I don't use a fermentation fridge?
I notice the gelatine wiki says to pitch it into chilled beer.

I have been making all grain pale ales with Windsor, and after 3-4 months they are clear as a bell. But its sad when I make something too good to wait for, and it's gone before its cleared

Thanks!

 

[buttersd70]

You could try using finings, but it probably won't be very effective if not cold. The other option is to filter the beer prior to bottling. This will give an immediate solution, and will still leave enough yeast for bottle conditioning. You will still have visible yeast in the bottle (after carbonation), and it will still take a while for that to settle, but it will be a lot less than not filtering.

edit - I'm referring to the 1 micron absolute cannister type filters as sold by craftbrewer, and not sheet or depth filters, which are an entirely different animal.

 

[Joe Palooka]

Well...thanks!

For now I will live with cloudy beer and patience

 

[Bribie G]

Personally I would give Isinglass finings a go at cool (below 15 degrees) as opposed to cold. You could probably achieve that with frozen pet bottles around the fermenter and wrap in doonah whatever. Isinglass is the finings put in the traditional cask with UK cask conditioned ales, the cask is agitated (by the ancient method of very burly men chucking it off the back of the dray onto a car tyre next to the pub cellar trapdoor then rolled down the ramp and installed in the pub cellar to clear.) Traditionally served around 12 degrees.

Gelatine I would agree with Butters, although I have had success at winter room temperature here (18) but did end up with lots of swirly stuff in the bottom quarter of the bottle that didn't settle out too well, so in the jug after decanting a full bottle it was back to square one. I have great success with gelatine used cold.

 

[Darren]

Gelatin at ferment temps will work a treat. Doesnt matter for yeast if its cold or not. Chill haze is a different beast requiring polyclar at cold temps.

cheers

Darren

 

[drsmurto]

Yup, agree with Daz on this one.

Bill from Brewmaker sold me finings back when i was a kit brewer at uni and reassured me that you simply dissolve in warm water and dump in the fermenter a few days before you plan on bottling. My beers may have tasted like warm VB but man they were bright!

 

[Bribie G]

Yup, agree with Daz on this one.

Bill from Brewmaker sold me finings back when i was a kit brewer at uni and reassured me that you simply dissolve in warm water and dump in the fermenter a few days before you plan on bottling. My beers may have tasted like warm VB but man they were bright!

Interesting.

The 'warm finings' experiment I referred to above was when I added the dissolved gelatine at the same time as bulk priming... "here we go, chuck in the required amount of dissolved sugaz, then the dissolved gelatine, stir and bottle.
Could explain the swirly stuff in the bottles.

When cold fining, I add the dissolved gelatine to the cold beer in the secondary vessel, wait for two or three days then add the polyclar. Different kettle of fish entirely.

As an experiment, as my next six AG brews will be identical as far as possible I'll do a brew-off and cold gelatine one batch then for another batch add the gelatine immediately on racking to secondary at ferm. temperatures then after three days crash chill before polyclar, and will post results (about Jan)

Doesn't matter to me personally at what stage I fine, but may be of assistance to forum members who don't have chilling facilities but looking to fine.

Will bump.

 

[lagers44]

Hi Joe

I agree with the Daz & smurto's posts, i've been using gelatine in ales for years at room temp ( 16 - 22C ) & they all clear fabulously within a week. It's possible that chilling works better or faster but it still works at higher temps.
I rack to secondary with gelatine wait a week then bottle or keg , the beer is clear & there is next to no yeast left in the keg or bottles .

Lagers

 

[monkale]

To drop the temp all I do is after racking to the secondary. spare barthroom fill bath with nice cold tank water throw in fermenter water sits at 17-18 degrees ends up finnishing out nice and clear no fridge yet thats my easy fix

Cheers

 

[Joe Palooka]

To drop the temp all I do is after racking to the secondary. spare barthroom fill bath with nice cold tank water throw in fermenter water sits at 17-18 degrees ends up finnishing out nice and clear no fridge yet thats my easy fix
Cheers

Thanks for the great discussion!
Just for now, I think I will look for alternative ways to crash chill the secondary. This saturday I have to rack an English brown ale. I have had the fermenter stored at an angle to leave a bit of the bottom clear(ish) of yeast
Maybe I will spend the next days freezing water, get a plastic garbage bin from Bunnings, and just chill the cube as low as I can get it.

I must admit I kind of enjoy all the faffing about with powdery yeast. I think I will eventually get to glass fermenters so I can properly watch it working.

Thanks again.