how so i use isinglass?

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kjones

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I ordered some isinglass to use this weekend. It came in a pouch and is kinda jelly like. Do i just dump it in or do i have to mix it with water?
 
Assuming that it works like Whirlfloc and Irish moss, toss it in the boil in the last 15 minutes.

I can't really tell you how much to use. I use Whirlfloc tablets, which is just Irish Moss in compressed tablet form. I use 1/2 the manufacturer's recommended amount, and it works great. They say to use one tablet per five gallons, but I use one per 10.

EDIT: Now that I read up on it, it seems like isinglass is a fining that is used post-fermentation. So forget what I said before. I would guess that you add isinglass (made from fish bladders, mostly Cod these days) to your beer post-fermentation while it is conditioning. I'm not certain about that.
 
You want to use that stuff when you rack to secondary. It works better if you use it after the beer is chilled. It will remove any protein haze well.
 
I use it at the very end of my wines, about a month before I want to bottle. You want to use about 2 ounces per 5 gallons. Isinglass is a positively charged fining agent- it will work to remove negatively charged particles like tannin, phenolics, anthocyanins, yeast, and bacteria. I've never used it in beer (is that what you're using it for?) but it should work just fine. You should have directions on your package.
 
I use it at the very end of my wines, about a month before I want to bottle. You want to use about 2 ounces per 5 gallons. Isinglass is a positively charged fining agent- it will work to remove negatively charged particles like tannin, phenolics, anthocyanins, yeast, and bacteria. I've never used it in beer (is that what you're using it for?) but it should work just fine. You should have directions on your package.

yah, i am gonna use it in beer, i read about it in the current issue in byo, it says something about mixing it with warm water and all, but teh package i have it just some gel looking stuff. and it has no directions.
 
Isinglass is very difficult to use properly.

Optimally, isinglass is dosed proportionally in line during transfer/racking in the packaging operation, an process homebrewers are very rarely equipped to perform. By adding them to the primary before racking, or racking onto the finings in the secondary, however, good results can be obtained.

A number of factors affect isinglass performance. The dose rate is important; too little and the beer simply does not clear. If isinglass rates are too high the sediment will be fluffy and voluminous. Typical fining rates are between 0.25 and 0.5% of beer volume.

For optimum performance, beer must be fined at the coldest point in the process. If the beer is cooled post-fining, fining performance will be poor, due to formation of chill haze after the fining action has taken place. If the chill haze is present prior to isinglass addition, then it is readily removed by fining.

Yeast count and quality will also affect isinglass performance. Observations have shown that providing yeast counts are maintained within reasonable limits, (0.5-3.0 x 106 cells/ml), satisfactory fining performance is obtained. Very low yeast counts
can result in poorly developed light flocs which are easily disturbed. It should be that noted neither dead yeast cells, wild yeast nor bacteria respond to finings.

Isinglass finings are also sensitive to pH and temperature during storage, but that's only really applicable to your situation if you plan to either use powdered isinglass or store it for a long time.

(Some of the above taken from the Brewers Supply Group website.)

May I presume you're using this product:

isinglass.jpg


If so, I still think you should do the following:

Chill fermented beer to as cold as possible. The colder the better.

Mix the sachet of Isinglass into 500 ml of pre-chilled de-ionized/distilled water or beer. I recommend beer, primarily for the pH issue (isinglass likes a low pH).

Mix with a blender for a few minutes. Do a little mixing at a time then return the the fridge to re-chill. Never let the solution exceed 60[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular]°F[/FONT] - this will denature the isinglass!

As a rule of thumb, add 250 ml of the above solution per 50 L of cold beer. Mix very thoroughly with a sanitized stirrer. Don't worry about stirring up the sediment; it'll settle down in a couple of days. You can store the remainder of the solution in the fridge for up to three weeks. If you find your dosage rate is too low to promote good clearing, you can try re-dosing.

Remember that, as a positively-charged fining agent, some haze-inducing particles might be left behind. You'll need another, negatively-charged fining agent for that. But that's another thread! :D

Cheers,

Bob
 
you guys are over-thinking the isinglass thing... Chill the beer; rack onto 45ml (1.5oz) of Isinglass/6gal; keep it chilled (33F) allow to work for 2 weeks; rack into kegs or bottling bucket; carbonate and enjoy!
 
This happens far too often. I don't get it, do people not notice the date or think they can actually contribute to a thread that ended 3.25 years ago?
 
This happens far too often. I don't get it, do people not notice the date or think they can actually contribute to a thread that ended 3.25 years ago?
What does it matter... It was already in the database.. would you rather someone start a new thread about the same thing, just to slow the site down some more. ? Any input is good input, no matter if it's a year or 10 years from now, We are here to be helped and to help... Not worry about when a post was.. To the guys above.. thanks for your input, It answered my questions..
 
That's the whole point of a forum, no? The real problem are people that hijack threads. i.e. posting about the date of the disscussion vs. posting about the actual topic.

As a professional brewer with 13 years experience using Isinglas, I posted in this thread bc I felt that I could contribute to the subject for later searchers.

The person complaining about the post being old is probably one of the first people to complain about someone not using the search function.
 
That's the whole point of a forum, no? The real problem are people that hijack threads. i.e. posting about the date of the disscussion vs. posting about the actual topic.

As a professional brewer with 13 years experience using Isinglas, I posted in this thread bc I felt that I could contribute to the subject for later searchers.

The person complaining about the post being old is probably one of the first people to complain about someone not using the search function.
That's exactly why I was offended, and said something about it.. That same person is probably the same one that post on new threads, saying search the forums, that this has probably been discussed before.. Anyhow back to the subject.. haha .. Has anyone noticed any ill effects from isinglass or gelatin ? i.e. off-flavors, lack of carbonation, loss of head retention ? also Whats the recommend way to introduce isinglass to your brew?
 
That's exactly why I was offended, and said something about it.. That same person is probably the same one that post on new threads, saying search the forums, that this has probably been discussed before.. Anyhow back to the subject.. haha .. Has anyone noticed any ill effects from isinglass or gelatin ? i.e. off-flavors, lack of carbonation, loss of head retention ? also Whats the recommend way to introduce isinglass to your brew?

I've not noticed any ill effects at all from Isinglass, so long as the product is properly used. I suspect any ill effects would be noted by the thousands of British cask-ale brewers who continue to use Isinglass on a daily basis. ;)

As for a recommended way to use it, read up. I think you'll find my post dated 09-06-2008 pretty comprehensive.

Which leads us to the other portion of your comments. This topic had been discussed before and an answer with precious little if any room for argument given. My image response was because the necro-post was an unnecessary, worryingly over-simplified response to a comprehensive recommendation. What I detailed isn't over-thinking, any more than any other detailed response to a technical question about a brewing ingredient or technique. My advice is given not only as a professional brewer of no small experience - I still consult widely - but as a experienced brewer of traditional English ales who used Isinglass on a daily basis, still uses Isinglass periodically, and who consulted the recommendations of the manufacturer of the Isinglass commonly sold through homebrew supply channels before synthesizing that information into his reply.

If that's over-thinking, all I can say is, "Guilty as charged." ;)

Cordially,

Bob :tank:
 
Thanks for the info guys! I did a Google search and because of your postings learned something!
I actually just used Gelatin, on a light beer I just brewed.. Here's a video of my homebrew wed. and I pour one at the end.. Clear as ever.. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgMBp5pHoLg&list=UUtD12vV4tD3W1j3Ii391UmA&index=1&feature=plcp]Home Brew Wednesday !!! - YouTube[/ame]
 
Over thinking or not I bought some isinglass today to use on a Kolsch I'm planning to enter in our club's upcoming competition. I've never worried too much about clarity and depending on the beer have had varying results. I want this one bright and the info here helps. Thanks!
 
Let me ask this (5 months after) does Isinglass not work well if the beer is 68F in the secondary?
(I dont use a secondary, I was hoping to dump it in my Primary 2 weeks before bottling. But the temperature is 68, not 60 or below)

If I cent get the temperature down to 60, should I use Polyclar instead?
 
I appreciate your post regardless of the date. I was looking for some info on this subject and found your post beneficial. There is the original questionee who will start the thread but the information will live on after they have gone for others, like myself, to benefit from.
 
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