Beer Finings

[DrZiggy]

Went to me local Wilco's today and brought some EDME Stout and Bitter, also picled up a sachet of Beer Finings. I've Never used it before ( was only cheap) qeustion is, is it worth using on the bitter ? I never normally have a problem with me Ale being cloudy ... also (probably a stupid question ) do i still need to add sugar when bottling if I use this stuff. thanks for the help

[Jim]

It depends on the type of finings- for example gelatin is not a good fining to use when bottling as the deposit is unstable, making it difficult to pour. The bottom line is, if you're having no problems, why complicate matters?

[wetdog]

And yes, you would still need to prime your bottles

[andywood]

hmm interesting. I have jus bought some finings, planning to use the after i had siphoned out the beer into a different ferm barrel after fermentation had fininshed (hope that makes sense). Then leave it to settle again, then bottle it.

I thought this would lead to a beer with little sediment. Am i right to do this? I havnt brewed beer since i was 15 ( a half lifetime ago) so jus returning to it.

cheers

[Jim]

hmm interesting. I have jus bought some finings, planning to use the after i had siphoned out the beer into a different ferm barrel after fermentation had fininshed (hope that makes sense). Then leave it to settle again, then bottle it.

I thought this would lead to a beer with little sediment. Am i right to do this? I havnt brewed beer since i was 15 ( a half lifetime ago) so jus returning to it.

cheers

Yes, you're correct. It should only cause a problem if you add the finings to the beer then bottle it immediately. It's not a problem with a keg, as you don't have to tip the keg up to get the beer, out!

[andywood]

hmm interesting. I have jus bought some finings, planning to use the after i had siphoned out the beer into a different ferm barrel after fermentation had fininshed (hope that makes sense). Then leave it to settle again, then bottle it.

I thought this would lead to a beer with little sediment. Am i right to do this? I havnt brewed beer since i was 15 ( a half lifetime ago) so jus returning to it.

cheers

Yes, you're correct. It should only cause a problem if you add the finings to the beer then bottle it immediately. It's not a problem with a keg, as you don't have to tip the keg up to get the beer, out!

ah! but if i leave it for a few days post finings then all should be well?

[Jim]

hmm interesting. I have jus bought some finings, planning to use the after i had siphoned out the beer into a different ferm barrel after fermentation had fininshed (hope that makes sense). Then leave it to settle again, then bottle it.

I thought this would lead to a beer with little sediment. Am i right to do this? I havnt brewed beer since i was 15 ( a half lifetime ago) so jus returning to it.

cheers

Yes, you're correct. It should only cause a problem if you add the finings to the beer then bottle it immediately. It's not a problem with a keg, as you don't have to tip the keg up to get the beer, out!

ah! but if i leave it for a few days post finings then all should be well?

In theory you should be OK, as all the finings should be left behind in the secondary. However, I don't know if I'd risk it with gelatine myself.

[arturobandini]

So you're planning to siphon into what people normally call a "bottling bucket" from your primary fermentation vessel? Adding the priming sugars to the bottling bucket and also finings to settle the sediment at the bottom of your bottling bucket and then siphon off to bottles? If this is done will this not eliminate most of the yeast required for bottle conditioning and leave a flat , if clear and pretty, beer? I thought the quandary with homebrew was....

i) Having sediment in the bottle and having a nicely "organically carbonated" brew

or....

ii) Using a keg to prime and using finings to create a solid sediment that won't lift during serving and having less "organic carbonation" and needing some Co2 injection to be able to draw a certain percentage of pints.

or....

iii) Eliminating all sediment from your brew, you intend to bottle, using finings and siphoning leaving a flat beer which can not be "organically carbonated" and "force carbonating" via a Cornelius Keg or some other such device.

I'm quite a novice homebrewer but I've read a hell of a lot of posts on these forums since I got into this (Thanks Jim, DaaB and others...) and this is what I seem to have understood.

[andywood]

thanks Jim

Yes i was siphoning into a 'bottling bucket' but wasnt going to bottle it until a couple of days after the finings. My theory was that after 2 days the finings would have done their job and the priming sugar would still give carbonation in the bottles.

edit - to change to 'bottle it'

[arturobandini]

Ah I see.

Well as I said I'm a bit of a well read novice now but a novice nonetheless. My feeling was that the carbonation wouldn't take place in the bottles without having yeast in suspension within the brew. I also think that the finings would settle the yeast that is being held in suspension and therefore leave a brew which has been sweetened for priming yet with no yeast to use those sugars and carbonate therefore leaving a flat sugary beer? I also think that sediment is largely a result of yeast actively working within a brew so even if finings didn't settle all the yeast in the bottling bucket then any yeast working in bottles would leave fresh sediment no? Somebody who knows for the certain the answers to these questions please step in because I'm also very interested in the issue of sediment!

Cheers