Finings: Necessary?

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ldw553

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Hey there, first brew has been in the fermenter for a week now, I plan to leave it for 14 days as per suggestions - but have just read about finings. If I'm leaving the brew for 14 days and bottling straight from the fermenter, how necessary are finings? I'm also wary of the fact that they seem to be made of gelatin which would mean my vegan sister wouldn't drink the beer.

If I were to use finings, is it just a case of opening the fermenter on the 14th day, add the finings and leave for a few more days before bottling?

Thanks for your help guys!
 
I ferment in the primary for a week ... then add (1/2Tbsp gelatine with 1Tbsp of raw sugar (or any sugar) in 1 cup of hot water) to the primary
Then decant to a secondary fermenter for another week... then bottle...

You can add finings to the primary... then wait a few days... then bottle... but try not to disrupt the fermenter much while you bottle...
14 days in the primary is overkill for a new brewer imo...
 
Overkill how? Can't do any harm surely? I'd rather bottle earlier but I was told by others to leave it 2 weeks. It's bubbling like once every 30 seconds at the moment.
What's the benefit in moving it to a secondary container?
 
And if I add finings to it a few days before bottling won't the air affect the wort?
 
Some folk like to leave it in the primary until ready for bottling others, like to rack into secondary, I used to leave mine and bottle from the primary but I now use a secondary and leave for a couple of weeks sometimes longer it will clear without finings depending on the beer, if you are going to use finings gelatine is the easier one to use, but all the choices are yours to try and then see what you prefer to do.
 
Finings are not necessary.
Clear beer is not necessary.

Was it all grain or kits?
14 days is not overkill.
 
Do you have a spare fridge?

Moving the fermenter into the fridge helps the yeast settle down tot he bottom of the fermenter. If you keg, you're already at a cold carbonation temperature to turn the co2 on straight away.
 
ldw553 said:
my vegan sister wouldn't drink the beer.
Mate if she was like my sister I wouldn't let her drink the beer!! In fact I would put signage around saying it had meat products in it!!
I still have visions nightmares of how bitchy my sister would get after being on the fire-water the night before, believe me hell was like heaven compared to her ..... not pretty :(
 
14 days in the primary gives you complete assurance with a kit brew that primary fermentation is complete and you have almost zero risk of exploding bottles. New brewers - myself included - are keen as to bottle and try it and can misinterpret inactivity as "time to bottle".
I've added finings once and couldn't tell a difference. Do a few more batches and if you're unhappy with the beer's appearance, think about it then.

My advice would be keep it simple for the time being. Most brewers don't use finings and still end up with clear beer.
 
Finings are not needed, in my kit days I tried them once and never noticed a difference. 14 days in the fermenter will give plenty of time for gravity to do the job of clearing the beer. As said, if you can get the fermenter in a fridge once the fermentation is finished then even better, even just keeping it as cool as possible will help.
 
Can cold crash in an esky too. That works well.
 
Finings work really well to clear your beer up quickly. There are other ways of clearing beer, but if you want it really clear in a few days, finings will do it.

I've been using gelatin lately and even though I once said I'd never use it, the results are so good that I'll continue to use it.

Once fermentation is done, chill the beer for a day or several.

I dissolve 1 teaspoon of gelatin in 100ml of boiled water, that I've allowed to cool to 75deg, stir with a sanitised spoon until completely dissolved.

Gently pour into your fermenter and keep it chilled for another couple of days.

As for vegan issues, the gelatin drops to the bottom of the fermenter and is discarded with all the other waste, it's not like it remains in the beer.
 
What about the poor little yeasts that have given their life for your beer. They were living things too. Is your sister concerned about them in your beer?
 
Finings are useful in the fermenter or cold conditioning vessel, in fact I'm going to add some today to a double batch that's sitting in a 60L FV to help the yeasts settle out more quickly so I can keg.

When I add them to the FV I give a squirt of CO2 into the headspace then clingwrap again.

However gelatine finings are not a good idea into the keg itself or into bottles. The beer clears out quickly but you tend to get "fluffy bottoms" that swirl up on the slightest movement and completely negate the reason you used the finings in the first place.
 
with patience, finings do little that good cold conditioning cant do... a week or so at 1'c does wonders to clear a brew.

Ive got Vegan friends too and have never used gelatine for this reason, if it drops to the bottom or not isnt the point, if it's been in contact with the beer I honestly couldnt serve it to them without telling them it's had it in it.
 
Depends on how strictly they interpret the diet and how much research they put into it but most would object and most I've known are pretty serious about the efforts they make to know where their food comes from. FYI: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock-free_agriculture The point for a vegan is not just about whether they personally consume animal products but to avoid it being used anywhere, at all in the production.

Gelatine in beer is in no way vegan friendly and no OP you do not need it. Leaving your beer for a decent amount of time to finish fermenting and condition also gives yeast some time to drop out and is a smart idea. Cold conditioning mentioned by Yob is also a good idea if you can do it.
 
Hey just checking my hydrometer, it's very hard to understand - or maybe I'm an idiot haha- approx sugar grams per Litre is around 26?
 
http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/77565-new-to-brewing/

Try that thread. Teaches you how to use a hydrometer.

Like others have said, chilling your beer down in the FV for a few days before you bottle/rack does help a great deal. Makes the yeast drop out and sort of stick the the bottom of the FV, rather than being transferred into your beer.

Doing the same thing once its in the bottle also works wonders too - put the beer in the fridge a few days before you plan to drink it. the longer the better really. but even putting your friday arvo beers in on tuesday morn rather than friday morning does help - trust me.
 
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