Storing liquid isinglass finings

[guypettigrew]

Anyone know the right temperature for storing liquid Isinglass? I make mine up from Magicol AS supplied by The Malt Miller. It's supplied by Murphy and Son as far as I know.

On the Murphy and Son website in the 'technical articles' section these two phrases can be found on the same page;

"At temperatures below 4° C (39° F) liquid finings are stable for at least six months. Slight deterioration may occur after 12 months."

"At no time during mixing or storage should the temperature be allowed to exceed 14° C (57° F) or fall below 10° C (50° F)"

Have Murphys got muddled, or am I missing something?

Mine are usually stored in the 'fridge and work well.

Guy

[Robwalkeragain]

Magicol is dried so just keep it cool/cold. I use ready mixed and most brewers i know keep it in a fridge. It never used to have a date on, just don’t let it get warm or it’ll denature.

[FUBAR]

Anyone know the right temperature for storing liquid Isinglass? I make mine up from Magicol AS supplied by The Malt Miller. It's supplied by Murphy and Son as far as I know.

On the Murphy and Son website in the 'technical articles' section these two phrases can be found on the same page;

"At temperatures below 4° C (39° F) liquid finings are stable for at least six months. Slight deterioration may occur after 12 months."

"At no time during mixing or storage should the temperature be allowed to exceed 14° C (57° F) or fall below 10° C (50° F)"

Have Murphys got muddled, or am I missing something?

Mine are usually stored in the 'fridge and work well.

Guy

How do you get this to mix properly?,whenever I have tried mixing dried isinglass no matter how long I spend mixing with a stick blender it just will not mix.In fact all that happens is the water gets to hot from the mixing.

[HTH1975]

Your post sounds about right from what I recall reading on the Murphys website. At work we store isinglass in our cellar which is set for 11-12C.

As an alternative, I use Brausol at home and actually prefer it over isinglass. It’s also not fussy on storage (room temp is fine).

[guypettigrew]

How do you get this to mix properly?,whenever I have tried mixing dried isinglass no matter how long I spend mixing with a stick blender it just will not mix.In fact all that happens is the water gets to hot from the mixing.

I use the blender attachment on my Kenwood Chef. 250ml water, 1.5g Magicol. Stir it a bit to wet it, then give it a 5 minute blast at medium speed. Rest it for 30 minutes in the 'fridge and repeat.

In the 'fridge overnight and repeat the mixing the following day. By then the Isinglass has just about all gone into solution/suspension. There's still some bits floating around, but nothing significant. Add a tiny amount (about 0.05g) of sodium metabisulphite to keep it bug free, job done.

One final thing. I discovered some while ago reverse osmosis water works better than tap water. Don't know why, and neither did Murphy when I asked. My local aquarium shop sells it at 14p/litre.

Hope this helps.

Guy

[guypettigrew]

Your post sounds about right from what I recall reading on the Murphys website. At work we store isinglass in our cellar which is set for 11-12C.

As an alternative, I use Brausol at home and actually prefer it over isinglass. It’s also not fussy on storage (room temp is fine).

from the replies it seems either 'fridge or cellar temperature is OK for storing made up isinglass. Thanks.

Hmm, Brausol sounds interesting. I'll give it a go. Is there any point in using auxiliary finings with it? I suspect not!

Guy

[PeeBee]

… "At temperatures below 4° C (39° F) liquid finings are stable for at least six months. Slight deterioration may occur after 12 months."

"At no time during mixing or storage should the temperature be allowed to exceed 14° C (57° F) or fall below 10° C (50° F)" …

Never seen that! It does contradict itself almost in the same breath. But I keep the mixed stuff in the fridge (well below 10C) and don't trust it after a month, let alone six.

… I use the blender attachment on my Kenwood Chef. 250ml water, 1.5g Magicol. Stir it a bit to wet it, then give it a 5 minute blast at medium speed. Rest it for 30 minutes in the 'fridge and repeat.

In the 'fridge overnight and repeat the mixing the following day. By then the Isinglass has just about all gone into solution/suspension. There's still some bits floating around, but nothing significant. Add a tiny amount (about 0.05g) of sodium metabisulphite to keep it bug free, job done.

One final thing. I discovered some while ago reverse osmosis water works better than tap water. Don't know why, and neither did Murphy when I asked. …

Pretty much what I did, but rested for 6 hours, not 30 minutes, and never did the repeat after leaving overnight. Interesting what you say of RO water: I've not had problems mixing in tap water, but my tap water is <120ppm dissolved solids. I use Harris Beerbright now, more expensive but a lot less hassle mixing (mixed just minutes before use), but have some Brausol to try as a replacement for isinglass (Vegan fish guts?).

[FUBAR]

How do you get this to mix properly?,whenever I have tried mixing dried isinglass no matter how long I spend mixing with a stick blender it just will not mix.In fact all that happens is the water gets to hot from the mixing.

I use the blender attachment on my Kenwood Chef. 250ml water, 1.5g Magicol. Stir it a bit to wet it, then give it a 5 minute blast at medium speed. Rest it for 30 minutes in the 'fridge and repeat.

In the 'fridge overnight and repeat the mixing the following day. By then the Isinglass has just about all gone into solution/suspension. There's still some bits floating around, but nothing significant. Add a tiny amount (about 0.05g) of sodium metabisulphite to keep it bug free, job done.

One final thing. I discovered some while ago reverse osmosis water works better than tap water. Don't know why, and neither did Murphy when I asked. My local aquarium shop sells it at 14p/litre.

Hope this helps.

Guy

Thanks, will have another try using that method.

[McMullan]

I found the premixed stuff had a shite shelf-life at fridge temperature and I ended up throwing a lot out. I've been using Magicol for a while now, which is much better - mixing it up when required and using it fresh. Being dehydrated, it'll last for yonks. I think MaltMiller is the only place selling it in home-brew quantities.

[HTH1975]

Hmm, Brausol sounds interesting. I'll give it a go. Is there any point in using auxiliary finings with it? I suspect not!

Guy

No need to use auxiliary finings - it’s a one-stop shop. Also gets rid of chill haze. Great stuff.