Clarifying Question

[amrmedic]

Ok, when do you add a clarifying agent and what agent do most people use to clarify beer? Any recommendations when to add it to the beer?

Thanks

 

[iijakii]

I personally don't use anything. Just coldcrash and my brews come out clear. But then again I mostly brew darker beers.

I'd say Irish Moss in the boil is the most common. Gelatin in the fermenter works wonders from what I've heard.

 

[jhamilt]

when I've used irish moss I rehydrated it in warm water and added it at 15 min. Pretty sure those were the manufacturer's instructions.

 

[duboman]

I use Irish moss and just throw in at the last 15 minutes of the boil. Works with coagulating proteins and they drop out withe the cold break, works well

 

[AiredAle]

Irish moss/whirlfloc in the kettle at 5 minutes, time and cold are what I use. A few days at 35 F will work to clarify most beers.

 

[amrmedic]

Anyone have any experience with polyclar or gelatin?

 

[JPFuller]

Cold and time is the best option, but if your in a hurry, gelatin has worked great for me in the past. Lots of threads on how to prepare it, just try to cool your beer down as much as possible about a day or to in advance.

 

[bobbrews]

I toss a whirlfloc pellet in at 15 minutes left in the boil. I brew IPAs mainly via 50% grain 50% extract and they come out quite clear. I let my wort/beer - ferment/condition for 3-4 weeks before bottling. Patience/time is key.

There are numerous measures that may increase clarity such as using refiners, cooling the beer quickly after the boil, cold crashing for a week, racking to secondary, etc. Though you can skip all of this if you are careful with your siphoning and if you avoid agitating the carboy. You can cold crash all you want, but if you move the carboy after cold crashing, then you're negating much of the benefits by stirring up the yeast. I suggest setting your carboy at counter height to avoid this so you can siphon without moving the vessel and agitating the yeast cake. Wrap the racking cane with a nylon mesh bag to provide even further clearing.

 

[afr0byte]

I use a couple of large pinches of irish moss or a half-tablet of whirfloc, for kettle finings. I'll occasionally use biofine clear when I transfer to a keg.

 

[dannedry]

I do 1 Whirlflock tablet at t=10 minutes. Then a quick cool down with my immersion chiller while whirlpooling... Then I also crash cool for 72 hours before I keg. My brews have gotten VERY clear as of late. And better too, I feel, because of it.

 

[afr0byte]

I do 1 Whirlflock tablet at t=10 minutes. Then a quick cool down with my immersion chiller while whirlpooling... Then I also crash cool for 72 hours before I keg. My brews have gotten VERY clear as of late. And better too, I feel, because of it.

As a heads up...if you do 5-6 gallon batches...a 1/2 a tablet should work just as well (according to More Beer and Midwest Supplies).

 

[brooksy]

The clearest beers I've ever brewer were fined with gelatin. A few days before bottling I put half a pack of knox unflavored gelatin into 2 cups of cold water in a small pan, let it "bloom" for about 15 minutes. Then heat it up to about 180 for 5 minutes, and then directly into the carboy. Like I said, clears it up quite nicely, but, I think it takes away from the body and mouthfeel a little. So when I do that I make sure to bump up the caramel malts, or raise the mash temp a bit. Thankfully I have an old fridge dedicated to beer now, I can just cold crash at my convenience, less worrying about nasty infections!

 

[Golddiggie]

Irish Moss towards the end of the boil (either last 10 or 15 minutes) and then time in primary. I keg, so it goes into the fridge to chill/carbonate for two weeks. My lighter colored ales are really clear. My darker ales, and porters, are clear as far as not having crud in them. Once you get dark enough to not see through the glass it kind of doesn't matter so much. I've also found that keeping the brew (in the keg/fridge) above about 38F helps to prevent chill haze. My brew is about 40F on average now, and damned fine.