Finings And Racking, A Newbies Tale Of Rack Exploration

[mattcarty]

hey

i will start this post in the usual fashion....sorry if this Q has been asked before.

I currently have a JSGA in the fermenter, I am thinking I will rack this brew (my first rack :icon_chickcheers: ) and then keg.

when should i add finings, before rack, after the rack or in the keg? is it worth fining more than once, say in the the rack and then the keg or is this overkill or likely to cause any unwanted flavouring in the brew etc

also any tips on the best time to rack would be appreciated as in after how many days etc and also your opinion on whether its worth racking at all.

also is it wrong that I am at work at 7am, thinking about knocking off so i can go to my LHBS, cause if it is then baby i dont wanna be right!

thanks in advance

Cheers
Carty

 

[Screwtop]

hey

i will start this post in the usual fashion....sorry if this Q has been asked before.

Yes it has, try a search for lots more info

when should i add finings, before rack, after the rack or in the keg?

search using "Gelatine" chill the beer in the fermenter then add the gelatine to the keg and rack to the keg, carb and serve after 24 hrs, toss the first glass of gelatine and crud

is it worth fining more than once, say in the the rack and then the keg or is this overkill or likely to cause any unwanted flavouring in the brew etc

overkill

also any tips on the best time to rack

11am :lol:

your opinion on whether its worth racking at all.

Just rack straight from primary fermenter to keg once fermentation has ceased (search on this) after chilling the beer for a couple of days to drop the yeast.

is it wrong that I am at work at 7am, thinking about knocking off so i can go to my LHBS, cause if it is then baby i dont wanna be right!

So you haven't started waking through the night wondering these things, you haven't got it real bad yet :lol:

 

[mattcarty]

So you haven't started waking through the night wondering these things, you haven't got it real bad yet :lol:

not yet although i am controlling the temp of my brew by keeping my fermenter in a tub of water and adding iceblocks to the tub to try and keep it at a nice 18-20 degrees and there have been several moments over the past couple of nights where i have gotten up to check the temp, early shift today, so sleepy but my beer is the right temp so life is good!

a fermenter fridge is on the list :beerbang:

cheers
carty

 

[zabond]

just emptied my fist keg of racked /gel finned brew no crud in keg I added gelatine to primary after sg reading was stable for 2 days, rested for 3 days,racked into secondary & cold cond @ 4* for 3 days then transfered to keg,very clear brew,read the "how to geletine post"at the top of this forum very helpful
Russ

 

[buttersd70]

fining in primary or secondary, to me, depends on whether or not I'm doing a secondary....I don't do a secondary purely to fine. If you are doing a single stage fermentation, ie you are going to let fermentation completely finish in it's primary vessel, then you have the option to rack to cold condition or to keg straight away. If you are going to condition in a cube, fine either in primary or in the cube. Either way, the yeast has finished its fermentation, and is ready to floc. If you are going to rack prior to the end of ferment to a second vesel for completion of fermentation in secondary fermentation, you would fine in secondary at the end of fermentation. Let your fermentation schedule rule when you fine, not the other way around. The timing of finings is based on the life cycle of the yeast, it's added at the flocculation stage.

Be aware that fining is best done cold; the colder the better. And only fine once. Over fining will actually have the opposite effect, and make the beer very hard to clear. Finings work by negating the charge of the yeast, making them electrically neutral and therefore able to floc better. Add too much, and it will reverse the charge of the yeast, and they will repulse each other again. Once the beer is fined, and the yeast has settled, it wil come back into suspension if roused. However, as it is now easily floccing, it will drop back out again quite quickly.