Isinglass Question

[0M39A]

Hi all,

I have a bottle of isinglass solution (i know now that its better to get it powdered, but oh well)

says on the bottle for 25L to mix 30ml into 500ml of beer then stir in and leave a couple days, then bottle.

does this sound right? does it have to be mixed with 500ml of beer first, or can i just stir (gently) into the beer?

also, isinglass works best as cold as possible doesnt it? got the ferment fridge set to 4C atm to help clear.

cheers

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

Hi all,

I have a bottle of isinglass solution (i know now that its better to get it powdered, but oh well)

says on the bottle for 25L to mix 30ml into 500ml of beer then stir in and leave a couple days, then bottle.

does this sound right? does it have to be mixed with 500ml of beer first, or can i just stir (gently) into the beer?

also, isinglass works best as cold as possible doesnt it? got the ferment fridge set to 4C atm to help clear.

cheers

Yes Issinglass works best at colder temps HERE.IMHO I think the reason they say mix with 500ml of what ever (could be distilled H2O)is that you need to get a good diluted homogeneous mix to start with.Mate as long as you dont introduce O2 into your brew while mixing in the issinglass I would recommend a vigours mixing action.Are you bottle conditioning ? as this may defeat your purpose.
GB

 

[MHB]

Let me guess, is it a Brewcraft branded product?

They have 3 different labels that they appear to use indiscriminately, each label has different instructions and the contents of the bottles are so variable that I have given up stocking that product, and now carry the dry form of Isinglass.

People have reported very mixed results with the Brewcraft product, some get great results for others its been a complete flop.
I think part of the problem is that when they are packing it they dont mix the contents of their big drum, so the first few bottles has all the good stuff and the rest are mostly water.

If you have one of the good bottles, you only need 10 mL in the brew and it will work a treat, just pour it over the surface of the brew, maybe spread it around with a spoon and just like any other fining. If you got a bottle thats low in Isinglass you will need a lot more, the good bottles have about 10mm of heavy white sediment in them, shake well and away you go.

Isinglass works well at brewing temperatures but it has the advantage over gelatine that it also acts on Chill Haze, which gelatine wont, so it can be used to speed up the clarification of Lagers.

This has lead to the misconception that the beer needs to be chilled, it doesnt if you just want to remove yeast, in fact Isinglass is routinely added to the cask when cask conditioning ale.

If you are chill stabilising your beer then yes the beer will have to be cold enough for the chill haze to form before the Isinglass can act on it (ideally -1 to +1 C).

MHB

PS
After reading back over what I just wrote, yeah Im a bit pissed with Brewcraft, I hate selling inconsistent products.
If any of the locals have tried the Brewcraft product and been a bit underwhelmed, call in and I will give you some of the dry Isinglass to try.

M

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

Isinglass works well at brewing temperatures but it has the advantage over gelatine that it also acts on Chill Haze, which gelatine wont, so it can be used to speed up the clarification of Lagers.

This has lead to the misconception that the beer needs to be chilled, it doesnt if you just want to remove yeast, in fact Isinglass is routinely added to the cask when cask conditioning ale.

If you are chill stabilising your beer then yes the beer will have to be cold enough for the chill haze to form before the Isinglass can act on it (ideally -1 to +1 C).

MHB


M

Mark You may want to check your Isinglass temp info, mine clearly states Isinglass is denatured above 15C.
GB

 

[0M39A]

Not sure what brand it is, its just a 250ml bottle that a local tasmanian homebrew shop repackage, so probably is brewcraft.

its got a decent amount of sediment when left to settle for a couple hours. not quite 10mm, but at least 5mm so hopefully is alright.

I was hoping to get rid of some chill haze, as my last few brews have been suffering from it a bit. crystal clear in the bottle, but as soon as you stick them in the fridge for a couple hours then pour, cloudy

says on the bottle its a 1% solution. probably should have mentioned that in the first post

 

[SJW]

I have had a crack at both forms of this product and it has not worked well for me at all. Both kegs I ended up adding Gelatine to them after a week to clear em up. I know all the theroy behind why Isinglass should be better, but for me Gelatine gets my beer crystal clear every time.
The only thing I would want to try next would be that Kopafloc stuff instead of Whilfloc, I hear its good stuff.

Steve

 

[0M39A]

ok, just added the finings to the beer then @ 4C (dont like pushing the fridge much harder...)

might have had a slight problem...

lesson: never free pour might have hiccuped and poured a little extra in. was going to go with what the bottle said and add 30ml, but it would have ended up being more like 50-60ml

i assume that this wont cause any problems bar wasting more isinglass than i should use... right?

[edit]

beer tastes farking awesome though

just a basic apa/ipa

2.5kg light dried malt
500g wheat dried malt
150g medium crystal (110ebc iirc)
50g carapils
50g chocolate malt

35g pacific gem @ 60min (around 15% aa but is 07 crop)
30g amarillo @ 20min
30g amarillo @ flameout
handfull amarillo @ dry hop after ferment finished

s-05 yeast @ 17C

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

ok, just added the finings to the beer then @ 4C (dont like pushing the fridge much harder...)

might have had a slight problem...

lesson: never free pour might have hiccuped and poured a little extra in. was going to go with what the bottle said and add 30ml, but it would have ended up being more like 50-60ml

i assume that this wont cause any problems bar wasting more isinglass than i should use... right?

If you add to much the isinglass will not form a compact layer, but will be a fluffy layer on the bottom= harder to filter..Should be ok though.
GB

 

[0M39A]

looks like its working well already, noticed a nice thick trub on the bottom of the carboy, and the beer is looking clearer than normal.