Dried Issinglass (Cracked It?)

[Graham]

Dunno if they still do it though.

I'll have to ask them next time i'm there. Oddly enough of all the times i've been in there they've never to my knowledge actually been brewing

Friday is traditionally cleaning day. Might all be made at Marstons or Wychwood these days, of course.

I wouldn't mind knowing whether the pumps for their fish-tail sprays run continuously or just for fifteen minutes every two or three hours these days.

It strikes me that a big pump doing a 15 min on, 2 hour off cycle or a small pump going continuously would do the same thing. Home brewers, for example, can't be expected to make a box to do the cycling, although some time switches might do it. A piddly little pump running all the time would be cheaper and easier.

[Graham]

They definately still brew there, if you recall I mentioned they skimmed the yeast for me today. If I understood them correctly last time, they rouse the yeast for 15 mins in the hour. Just my luck I was there for the 45 mins when they weren't running when I blagged a quick look round

(the spray heads aren't very big, you've seen the pics?)

I've seen the heads, or at least the old ones, and I've seen the ones at the Black Sheep brewery recently. Just need to get a bit of air into the wort to keep the yeast happy. A timer is safer, but I was just looking for a home brew way of using Ringwood yeast. I guess that the established way of a good rousing in the morning and another in the evening will have to do. It seems to work.

[Graham]

That's what I do. For the first day or two it gets a bit of an aerating too (you're to blame for that).

That is why the fish-tails spray horizontally across the fermentor, to pick up plenty of air before it cascades into the beer. It wasn't my idea - you can't blame me for that. You'd have thought of it eventually.

It works for me but I don't seen to get the same thick creamy white yeast head that they do. It starts off foamy then thickens up but becomes darker in colour. Still the reults are good imho.

Some of that is probably our small vessel depth compared to theirs.
They might skim the first head to take out the muck.
Darkening is probably surface oxidation of the yeast. We haven't got the same volumes of CO2 coming up as 6-foot+ fermenter has.

[brewzone]

I bought a bag of dried isinglass from the local Bangladeshi food store for something like 75p a few months ago.

It comes in strips or fronds and seems to be good quality.

I asked what it was used for and was told It is used as a gelling agent in Halal jelly.

The lady asked Me what I would use it for and I told Her it was for beer making. She asked whether it could be used to clear gingerbeer and was pleased as punch when I said it probably could.

I have yet to try it out but hope to do so soon.

I'll let you know how I get on with it.

[johnmac]

So how did you get on with it?

[JackA]

This is a two year old thread!

Btw, based on the methods found in this thread (to save people reading it all), this is how I make up dried isinglass:

• Boil 500ml of water and cool
• Rack off chalk sediment into sanitised pyrex jug
• Add 1ml of CRS
• Add a teaspoon of isnglass
• Blitz using stick blender for 2 mins
• Leave in fridge for at least 4 hours (best to leave overnight though)
• Blitz again for 2 mins

Doesn't actually take very long and works well every time 500ml is good for two cornies!