sparkaloid powder and other clearing stuff.

I'm making a Rasberry red ale this weekend and it was suggested I get something to help clear it up once we goto a secondary.

I bought some sparkaloid powder at the store yesterday and was told to drop it into my secondary after finishing racking it. 2 Table spoons.

I'm not doubting his methods as he's on the board of a large club here in California, the Maltose Falcons.

My question is could I use this for my pale ale that i'm using right now that I was considering racking to a secondary in a few days?

The kit I used, didn't come with anything so I'm assumeing it's not needed and would just take longer to clear up. Hence me wanting to drop it in secondary in a few days and adding this powder if needed.

Is this optional in brewing or only for certain styles of beer?

thanks
jake

I use whirlfloc sometimes at the end of my boil and it helps get a lot of stuff out. Then I cold crash for a few days if I want something really clear. However, I don't honestly care if my beer is crystal clear. I'm brewing it to drink it and a little haze makes no difference to me. But I'd say give it a shot. I mean why not?

Where in CA are you? I met some of the Maltose Falcons guys at the SD fair this year.

I'm in Canyon Country just north of "the valley".

Those guys/gals in the Maltose Falcons are very cool and knowledgable. We went to one meeting but that weekend I had my daughter with me so we didn't stick around long.

I'll give it a try.

I'm still waiting till the yeast have fully dropped out and then I'll rack it for a week. I had this idea that while gravity indicates being done... the majority of the yeast dropping indicates a point where It would be ok to remove to secondary if I wanted.

Our first brew was in primary for two weeks and is now in bottles and it is very clear, but we used that whirlfloc in the last 20 minutes of the boil too.

hmmm i'll get my method down sooner or later. I'm still learning how to perfect my process.

thanks
jake