The session at downtown joe's

[beltbuckle]

Yeah I'd also disagree that gelatin is a "terrible" fining agent. I think it works great. I'd just like to try the Biofine product because I am lazy and it seems easier than gelatin.

[beerocracy]

Has anyone found the hop article Colin mentioned in the show? I believe it was by someone at Sierra Nevada.

[andy77]

I've been using gelatin on every beer for more than a year now, and have always been amazed at it's effectiveness. Colin said it's superior to gelatin. Even if it's only equal in it's effectiveness, I'm sold because it would save me the prep work of gelatin and still get the job done.

My bottle should arrive just in time for me to keg up last weekend's trippel.

[beltbuckle]

Well I tried Biofine Clear A3 for the first time. Dissapointed. I brewed JZ's Cal Common, and put in 16mL (middle of the range they recommend) of Biofine Clear into a 12 gallon batch while I was bringing the temp down to crash after fermentation. I let it sit with the Biofine Clear for 2.5 days, as the beer got into the low 40s. Transfered it into kegs and it was not clear at all.

I'm not going to give up on it, and will try it in the bright tank (keg) on my next beer. I was hoping to avoid a second keg-to-keg transfer. With gelatin I could add it to the fermenter and it would settle everything out.

[andy77]

Well I tried Biofine Clear A3 for the first time. Dissapointed. I brewed JZ's Cal Common, and put in 16mL (middle of the range they recommend) of Biofine Clear into a 12 gallon batch while I was bringing the temp down to crash after fermentation. I let it sit with the Biofine Clear for 2.5 days, as the beer got into the low 40s. Transfered it into kegs and it was not clear at all.

That looks like the lower end of the recommended amount. This from the manufacturer's description:

Use can be as little as 1/4 Tbsp (1/10th fluid oz. or 3 ml) to as much as 2 Tbsp (1 fluid oz. or 30 ml) per 5 gallon batch of beer or wine.

I'm not trying to punk you, I'm just hoping this stuff is as good as recommended. By the description, this stuff sounds like fining nirvana and I'm secretly hoping you're wrong.

[garbs]

I took a small soda bottle sample of my latest batch that I kegged with 1 tbsp of biofine clear (5 gal batch). It did a great job clearing the beer (2 days), but didn't really seem to compact the sediment on the bottom. If I moved the bottle even just a little bit, you could see the yeast starting to swirl around.

I noticed this exact complaint on the probrewer boards (http://probrewer.com/vbulletin/showpost ... ostcount=5).

I haven't poured any from the keg yet so I'm not sure if the majority of sediment will be removed in the first couple pours like it is with gelatin. Once I try some, I'll report back.

[beltbuckle]

Well I tried Biofine Clear A3 for the first time. Dissapointed. I brewed JZ's Cal Common, and put in 16mL (middle of the range they recommend) of Biofine Clear into a 12 gallon batch while I was bringing the temp down to crash after fermentation. I let it sit with the Biofine Clear for 2.5 days, as the beer got into the low 40s. Transfered it into kegs and it was not clear at all.

That looks like the lower end of the recommended amount. This from the manufacturer's description:

Use can be as little as 1/4 Tbsp (1/10th fluid oz. or 3 ml) to as much as 2 Tbsp (1 fluid oz. or 30 ml) per 5 gallon batch of beer or wine.

I'm not trying to punk you, I'm just hoping this stuff is as good as recommended. By the description, this stuff sounds like fining nirvana and I'm secretly hoping you're wrong.

Yeah it is at the bottom-end of the middle. But it is such a large range. 0.6mL per gallon to 6mL per gallon. So for a 12 gallon batch we're looking at 7.2mL to 72mL. I wanted to start lower and only use what was needed... but from the amount I used it looks like I didn't use any fining agent at all.

I'm not giving up on it, but it will require experimentation. I'd recommend using the top half of the dosage range and see how it does. My local brew store is ordering a liter of it for me so I'll give it a fair shake.

[dstar26t]

Colin says he's using 800mL per 217 gallons so scale that to your batch size and go from there. Works out to 1/4 tablespoon per gallon of beer. Also, the product comes sterile so no need to pasteurize, just make sure it gets mixed in.