Best way to "fine" beer - the vegetarian way?

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yashicamat
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Best way to "fine" beer - the vegetarian way?

Post by yashicamat » Sat Nov 01, 2008 7:32 pm

I'm looking for the best way to clear a beer, but keeping it vegetarian. There was a vegetarian fining available until recently but they're out of business now. :(

I'm currently drinking a beer that has been conditioning for close to 3.5 weeks now and it's still not completely cleared:

Image

While it is relatively clear, there is still a haze there. Now on this fairly dark bitter (that's a 1/2 pint glass) it isn't a problem really, but I am brewing AG pale ales now and am looking at a way to improve the clarity even further.

My latest brew I've thrown in 1/2 tsp irish moss for the last 10 mins of the boil and am using Safale 04 instead of my usual Wyeast Brit Ale to see what gives, but are there any other techniques for helping a beer to clear better?

My current schedule usually in the fermenter for 10 to 14 days, then condition for 2 weeks minimum.

Thanks. :)
Rob

POTTER BREWERY (mothballed 2020)

Fermenting: nowt (sadly). Drinking: still a few bottles of my imperial stout knocking about . . . it's rather good now

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inthedark
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Re: Best way to "fine" beer - the vegetarian way?

Post by inthedark » Sat Nov 01, 2008 7:48 pm

You might want to look at conditioning for a bit longer. This also improves the beer in my opinion because it has a chance to mature too.

I normally condition for at least 4 weeks for an average 4 - 4.5% abv beer and longer for stronger. I read somewhere that a week for every 1% abv is a good rule of thumb.

Finally, temperature should help - after the first week of conditioning, get the temperature down and the beer should clear naturally.

Having said all that, my current two brews were almost clear when they went into the kegs - I added the step of racking into a secondary container after hitting FG to get it off the yeast cake and allow more to settle out. I'm told there will still be enough yeast for conditioning, but I'll soon see!

kevthebootboy

Re: Best way to "fine" beer - the vegetarian way?

Post by kevthebootboy » Sat Nov 01, 2008 7:57 pm

im not sure about finning the beer but using agar- ager flakes is a good vegge alturnative to using geletine to help the yeast form a firm deposit to avoid clouding when despensing, as Jim would say, ive tryed some in my last brew but its its maturing, hope this helps,
cheers, kev

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Re: Best way to "fine" beer - the vegetarian way?

Post by charlie » Sat Nov 01, 2008 8:58 pm

patience
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subsub

Re: Best way to "fine" beer - the vegetarian way?

Post by subsub » Sun Nov 02, 2008 12:11 am

Hitler was a vegetarian by all accounts :lol:

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yashicamat
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Re: Best way to "fine" beer - the vegetarian way?

Post by yashicamat » Sun Nov 02, 2008 12:13 am

subsub wrote:Hitler was a vegetarian by all accounts :lol:
There's always one. :lol:
Rob

POTTER BREWERY (mothballed 2020)

Fermenting: nowt (sadly). Drinking: still a few bottles of my imperial stout knocking about . . . it's rather good now

kevthebootboy

Re: Best way to "fine" beer - the vegetarian way?

Post by kevthebootboy » Sun Nov 02, 2008 12:36 pm

subsub wrote:Hitler was a vegetarian by all accounts :lol:
that wasnt a dig at me was it?

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Re: Best way to "fine" beer - the vegetarian way?

Post by charlie » Sun Nov 02, 2008 2:41 pm

kevthebootboy wrote:
subsub wrote:Hitler was a vegetarian by all accounts :lol:
that wasnt a dig at me was it?
Why are you Hitler?

I thought he died in South America.

You must be getting on a bit.
Brewing in the badlands between Arnside and Milnthorpe.
Cumbria

Northern Brewer

Re: Best way to "fine" beer - the vegetarian way?

Post by Northern Brewer » Sun Nov 02, 2008 2:45 pm

Greetings from the other side of Kendal Charlie!

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crow_flies
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Re: Best way to "fine" beer - the vegetarian way?

Post by crow_flies » Sun Nov 02, 2008 3:25 pm

yashicamat wrote:I'm looking for the best way to clear a beer, but keeping it vegetarian. There was a vegetarian fining available until recently but they're out of business now. :(

I'm currently drinking a beer that has been conditioning for close to 3.5 weeks now and it's still not completely cleared:

My latest brew I've thrown in 1/2 tsp irish moss for the last 10 mins of the boil and am using Safale 04 instead of my usual Wyeast Brit Ale to see what gives, but are there any other techniques for helping a beer to clear better?

Thanks. :)
As well as what others have said, a good vigourous boil combined with protofloc in place of irish moss, then cooling quickly with copper coil will get much of the proteins out of solution. \other than that as others have said time and temperature....

good luck!

/CF
Drinking:Bottled Hobgoblin clone
Drinking:Bottled Black sheep clone
Drinking:Casked Amarillo ale
In the FV: nought

kevthebootboy

Re: Best way to "fine" beer - the vegetarian way?

Post by kevthebootboy » Sun Nov 02, 2008 7:19 pm

charlie wrote:
kevthebootboy wrote:
subsub wrote:Hitler was a vegetarian by all accounts :lol:
that wasnt a dig at me was it?
Why are you Hitler?

I thought he died in South America.

You must be getting on a bit.

did i say i was?
was asking a simple question mate.

mysterio

Re: Best way to "fine" beer - the vegetarian way?

Post by mysterio » Sun Nov 02, 2008 10:51 pm

Easy lads!

Polyclar (PVPP... plastic granules) is an effective clarification agent, drops out of the beer completely and you can rack the beer off the lees, it's allowed in the German Reinhesgebot and they're pretty strict with these things...

subsub

Re: Best way to "fine" beer - the vegetarian way?

Post by subsub » Sun Nov 02, 2008 11:15 pm

kevthebootboy wrote:
subsub wrote:Hitler was a vegetarian by all accounts :lol:
that wasnt a dig at me was it?
Nope chill out Kev :D

hoppingMad

Re: Best way to "fine" beer - the vegetarian way?

Post by hoppingMad » Sun Nov 02, 2008 11:53 pm

crow_flies wrote:
As well as what others have said, a good vigourous boil combined with protofloc in place of irish moss, then cooling quickly with copper coil will get much of the proteins out of solution. \other than that as others have said time and temperature....

good luck!

/CF
I agree with all this, these are the fundimental steps to clear beer. ( I use irish moss)
I assume you keg so I can't offerr too much else as I'm a bottler. If you can be bothered racking to a secondary vessel after your fermentation is complete, at the point where you would normally keg, and drop the temp down to 4-6 C for ales and 2 C for lagers for 1-3 weeks, this is the best way I know ( veg or non veg) to clear the chill haze from beer. It works, and works well provided the steps CF mentioned were done properly on brew day.
Of course the other way ( for bottlers ) is not to cold secondary at all, but to bottle, wait for full cabonation, then store at the above given temps for the stated times. You should achieve the same thing. In this instance there will be quite a bit more sediment in the bottles.
The cold temp simply speeds up the process enormously and will settle out most material, except chill haze, which really needs the cold treatment.

fivetide

Re: Best way to "fine" beer - the vegetarian way?

Post by fivetide » Mon Nov 03, 2008 10:35 am

I don't use any finings as a rule, but I have used Condessa - it's a veggie fining (maybe the one you said went out of business tho...) and it does work.

Like others say, protofloc / whirlflock when the cooler goes in 15 mins from end of a good boil works well. But you can't beat 10 days primary and 7 days secondary before racking a relatively clear beer followed by a month in a cool place.

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