JuanMoore
Getting the banned back together
Careful pod selection, a coarser crush, low steeping temps, and using bentonite clay as a fining agent are the things I've been using to minimize tannins, but I'm interested in any other things I can do. I wonder if other fining agents are better at removing tannins, or if using a combination of fining agents would work better? It sounds from the link posted above that blood might be a better fining agent for tannins. That's something I wouldn't have considered adding to my beer, but it sure sounds cool
Mesquite is very susceptable to the mold that contains aflatoxins, just like peanuts. Without expensive lab tests, there's no way to know if the pods we harvest have aflatoxins in them or not. According to my friend who works as a toxicologist (who is also the author of the zymurgy article), using bentonite clay as a fining agent should remove most of any aflatoxins present, as well as many of the tannins. It does seem to help a lot with the tannins, and while it's highly unlikely that aflatoxin poisoning could become an issue from drinking mesquite beer, bentonite seems to be cheap insuarance against it. That's why I've been using bentonite, but I think maybe I'll try some additional fining agents as well.
Mesquite is very susceptable to the mold that contains aflatoxins, just like peanuts. Without expensive lab tests, there's no way to know if the pods we harvest have aflatoxins in them or not. According to my friend who works as a toxicologist (who is also the author of the zymurgy article), using bentonite clay as a fining agent should remove most of any aflatoxins present, as well as many of the tannins. It does seem to help a lot with the tannins, and while it's highly unlikely that aflatoxin poisoning could become an issue from drinking mesquite beer, bentonite seems to be cheap insuarance against it. That's why I've been using bentonite, but I think maybe I'll try some additional fining agents as well.