Do I need finings?

[MazdaMatt]

I've read many discussions on fining agents and fining methods, but I haven't quite found an answer to my question.

Will my beer need fining to clear?

I had a very vigorous boil (had to add a half gallon of water because I boiled down a lot) and my burner starts the boil pretty quickly.
I cooled down to 100F from full boil in 7 minutes, down to 70F in 14 minutes (first attempt at building/using an IC)
I did NOT use irish moss because I'm dumb.
The beer will be in primary for three weeks (1.052 OG) with reasonably stable temp around 70 and US05 yeast.

I just don't like the idea of adding gelatin or isinglass, but I have no real reason why... I have read that I need to cold crash after adding either of those, but I don't have that ability - am I wrong?

 

[unionrdr]

I never use any of those things,& get clear beer. Check my gallery for examples. They sit in primary at least 1 week past matching FG's. This allows the yeast to clean up it's by-products,& settle out more.
When it gets to a slight haze,prime & bottle. Put the bottled beer in cardboard boxes with the flaps closed to keep the light off them. Leave them to condition for 3-4 weeks at room temp. Then chill in the fridge till chill haze settles. You will then have a very clear beer,& the sediment will get impacted on the bottom of the bottle. You can pour more beer this way,without getting trub in your glass.

 

[SD-SLIM]

I've read many discussions on fining agents and fining methods, but I haven't quite found an answer to my question.

Will my beer need fining to clear?

I had a very vigorous boil (had to add a half gallon of water because I boiled down a lot) and my burner starts the boil pretty quickly.
I cooled down to 100F from full boil in 7 minutes, down to 70F in 14 minutes (first attempt at building/using an IC)
I did NOT use irish moss because I'm dumb.
The beer will be in primary for three weeks (1.052 OG) with reasonably stable temp around 70 and US05 yeast.

I just don't like the idea of adding gelatin or isinglass, but I have no real reason why... I have read that I need to cold crash after adding either of those, but I don't have that ability - am I wrong?

Nothing you did would require a fining agent....I rarely use them, the exception would be if I am adding an addition to the boil that may cause a haze. I strongly recommend using a primary for fermentation and the conditioning phase, this would not be the case with fruit beers, but would work for your standard ale like this; 2 weeks for fermentation process and 1 week for conditioning, then cold crash the beer....at this point it will be crystal clear.

 

[MazdaMatt]

Okay, I will stay the course. Next time I will get irish moss just to make a comparison.

My last beer had 3 weeks primary, 3 weeks bottle, 1 week fridge and it was still not clear - that was a Cream of Three Crops (Beirmuncher).

The difference this time is that I have the IC. I will follow the same schedule, which means I'm bottling this saturday morning.

To be clear, I can't cold crash the whole fermenter... unless I magically pull some time out of my a$$ and finish building my temp controller.

Any other input on clearing without irish moss would be helpful and appreciated.

 

[unionrdr]

Using a high flocculation yeast helps a lot too. It clumps up & settles out more.

 

[MazdaMatt]

US05 is high-floc, yes?

 

[nefarious_1_]

I think finings are more for "just in case" scenarios or if you definitely know that your breaks are insufficient. They're also useful with low-floc yeasts but aren't completely necessary. You can make perfectly clear beer without using them if you follow a good fermentation/carbing/bottling routine as some people have outlined above.

It sounds like you had excellent breaks so I wouldn't worry too much. Just let the beer clear up in the fermenter, carb it a few weeks, then finally let it clear again at cellar temps and/or in the fridge for another couple weeks. Golden.

 

[unionrdr]

No,it's medium flocculation yeast. I've been using cooper's ale yeast in a starter. High flocculation,with some little fruitiness. There are other dry yeasts with similar characteristics. Check out the info at Midwest.

 

[MazdaMatt]

Cool... Thanks for all the info. I'm going to ride it out and see what I get, then I'll be sure to use I.M. in my next brew.

Any downsides to isinglass or geletin? Do they actually NEED to be cold crashed?

 

[unionrdr]

I never used those,so someone else will have to chime in on that one...

 

[chaydaw]

I like using gelatin. THe beer must be cold when you add it for it to work properly. Couple days later you have crystal clear beer. Though it is purely cosmetic I do not think I get AS clear of a beer with just waiting for everything to drop out.

 

[MazdaMatt]

Chaydaw, thanks for the input.