Effects of Clarifiers (Biofine clear) vs Clarifying (time) on beer characteristics

[Noob_Brewer]

OK, I am curious as to those of you who use Biofine to clarify your beers as to what beer characteristics benefit other than clarity itself. The biotin description provided by more beer states: "Biofine strips out all remaining yeast in 24-48 hours! Speeds up the aging and clarify process by 2-3 weeks! ... Biofine brings out maltiness and accentuates esters produced by yeast." So other than clarity can anyone speak to the enhanced maltiness? Rather than comparing biotin to other clarifiers such as gelatin, please provide the comparisons to simple cold aging i.e. time. I am intrigued more on the "brings out the maltiness" component. My own anecdotal "evidence" for simple cold aging over a few months is that my Altbier I brewed last year, clearly brilliantly AND the maltiness popped more as a result. Again, Im not sure if this is just my own bias or not, but when I kegged my altbier (despite getting clear wort in the fermenter with near zero trub) it was pretty cloudy as I used the Dusseldorf yeast which is a poor flocculator. After about six weeks in the keg sitting in a keezer at 38F, it cleared VERY well and I sensed the malt pop much more which I am simply assuming it was due to the yeast flocking out. So no clarifiers on my altbier, just time to cold condition. Pics aren't the best but shows the clarity of the altbier from this past January.

Fast forward to today, I now have my first lager (Czech dark lager) kegged now for a week. I used the Urkel yeast from Imperial. While its not as cloudy as the altbier began with, it definitely has a chill haze type look to it. So I am curious as to the benefits of using a clarifier such as biofine compared to patience/time to let it lager (Im not truly lagering it as its sitting in my keg and keezer at 38F) and clarify/condition. Again, I got clear wort into the fermenter with zero trub (see pic in hydro tube) so Im assuming that the majority of the "haze" is due to yeast still in suspension. If any of you can attest to the benefits of using biofine in a beer such as this other than clarity, I would be eager to hear. I have seen @Dgallo and @wepeeler speak to using biofine before, but if anyone else can speak to this, much would be appreciated.

FWIW, Im actually going to be entering this Czech dark lager into two comps in august: the first will be judged on 8/11-12 (~6 weeks after kegging) and the other will be judged 8/24-25 (~8weeks after kegging). Obviously I will also be bottling sooner than that based on drop off dates.

EDIT: the only things I have used thus far in my beers is Whirlfloc (5minutes left in boil) and Brewtan B (Mash and boil).

 

[wepeeler]

I can't give you anything else other than Biofine Clear clears out my beer in a few days to a week. It's absolutely amazing, and I have not experienced good luck with Gelatin. I had to search for other alternatives, and Biofine Clear came highly recommended by a local brewer/brewery.

As far as it bringing out maltiness or accentuating esters, I can't honestly say with any certainty that it does either. You'd have to do a side by side. I will say that it adds no off flavors to the beer. I brewed up a West Coast-ish Pale ale June 16th, kegged (with Biofine Clear) on June 29th, and it was pure mud for the first 2 days. Brilliantly clear by Friday July 1st, and I shared 2 64oz growlers today for the 4th, and it was a hit. I'm my own worst critic, and this beer is definitely in my top 5, maybe top 3 of brews I've made. Probably not all the Biofine Clear's fault, but it helped!

 

[Noob_Brewer]

Appreciate the insight. I am curious about the "brings out the maltiness" part. I am assuming that the maltiness might pop more after using it (just like if you were to cold condition for a long while) because it drops out remaining yeast thereby bringing the maltiness (or hops) to the forefront. It intrigued me that the manufacturer mentioned this part of the maltiness though - perhaps a marketing strategy though. Thanks for your insight again though.

 

[wepeeler]

Appreciate the insight. I am curious about the "brings out the maltiness" part. I am assuming that the maltiness might pop more after using it (just like if you were to cold condition for a long while) because it drops out remaining yeast thereby bringing the maltiness (or hops) to the forefront. It intrigued me that the manufacturer mentioned this part of the maltiness though - perhaps a marketing strategy though. Thanks for your insight again though.

Honestly, I think it would make every flavor "pop" sooner than straight cold conditioning. That's probably the claim to fame. Turning a beer around in 2-3 weeks vs 5-6 weeks is proof in the pudding for me. Obviously doesn't work for every style, but it certainly produces clearer beer way sooner than regular cold conditioning.

Side note - I don't turn every beer around in 2-3 weeks, but I was on crunch time trying to get something ready to share today, and it worked perfectly.