Finings

[Vlad the Pale Aler]

Any one tried egg whites, I worked in a brewery that used egg whites and it seemed to work ?They even thru in the egg shells.WTF? Apparently it was a secret Alco ginger beer recipe.SHHHH I didnt say a thing.
Anonymous

Yes, I used to use them in winemaking, can't tell how it turned out though, it was early on in the home brewing journey.

 

[chappo1970]

Nope. I have enough protein haze without giving it a helping hand! :lol:

But Dad and I were only discussing how my grandmother used to make her ginger beer. She used to use an egg white to clear it up apparently. I thought he must be wrong but by the sound of it I owe him a "you were right Dad"?

Damn it!

 

[whitegoose]

In short yes it helps to brighten/clear your brew. Finings are generally just your garden variety gelatine. I buy the 5 sachet packs from coles, woolies etc... Not worth buying the stuff in the HB section as they gerally don't have enough gelatine in the there IMO plus 0.99c each vs $2 for 5. I buy the sachets so I don't forget reseal the packet. Brains like a bag of bricks yada yada.

Boil the jug and sanitize a measuring cup. Add gelatine sachet, boiling water and stir with a fork until dissolved. Pour into secondary fementer/vessel and rack brew on top. Let sit for 24, 48 and so on. You can crash chill afterward to clear the beer further. The gelatine clumps the yeast together and drops to the bottom of the fementer. From memory the gelatine is negatively charged and yeast is positive so they attract become dense and drop to the bottom, I am sure I will be corrected if wrong.

As for the kits and bits I can assure you it will clear up some. All my k&B's started that way and then dropped bright. Anyway search GELATINE and I am sure you will find some simular posts to helpyou out.

Thanks for the info - but can I use gelatine without racking to secondary? As in can I just dissolve it, add it to my primary fermenter once fermentation has finished and gently stir in? I don't have a second fermenter (yet).

 

[chappo1970]

Thanks for the info - but can I use gelatine without racking to secondary? As in can I just dissolve it, add it to my primary fermenter once fermentation has finished and gently stir in? I don't have a second fermenter (yet).

Yep same as above just cover cup in glad wrap and whack it into the freezer for 30mins and then pitch it in. Just be sure to be clean and sanitized. I have a spray bottle on hand always and would spray around the lip of the fementer. But I am infection paranoid at the best of times.

 

[proudscum]

Any one tried egg whites, I worked in a brewery that used egg whites and it seemed to work ?They even thru in the egg shells.WTF? Apparently it was a secret Alco ginger beer recipe.SHHHH I didnt say a thing.
Anonymous

Good way to reduce the number of customers you have by killing em off with food poisoning via the egg shell.On that note in the past before hydrometers to make a good mead you had reached SG when an egg would float in your unfermented mead.....hmm tastie.

 

[proudscum]

Question about finnings.

Can you use gelatine and polycar at the same time as they both work on different electrical charge to do the jobs they do best?Would save time and money on not having to buy/clean a filter set up.The other point would be what you take out is what you may lose in perceived taste/flavor?

 

[cdbrown]

Do them a few days apart, polyclar first.