BioFine Clear & Isinglass

[andy77]

Midwest supplies suggests "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," so I split the difference at 4 teaspoons.

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/biofine-clear.html

Please do post those pics.

Do you have experience with gelatin? If so, I'd be interested in your comparison.

[popihead]

No gelatin here. I have used pvpp in the boil, with whirlfloc, and keg but sometimes it leaves particulate behind which is not good at all. I want to avoid filtering and have been looking for new finings. I recently ordered some Fermaid and once it gets here, I will use that in the next brew. It's supposed to reduce haze and added at krausen. Has anyone tried it?

My big push is to try and get some of my beers to clear faster. Mostly the strong golden Belgians, because their haze lasts a long time. Also, if I can get clearer beer faster, they can be drunk faster. Not that a hazy beer ever stopped my drinking

Robert

[andy77]

Robert, try gelatin. Per my previous posts, most of my beers are clear (like read a book through it) in a week, and all are clear in 2. I danced around gelatin for a long time. I tried Super Kleer, isinglass packets, and filtering before trying gelatin, and now tried Biofine. None of them has matched gelatin. The other finings weren't nearly as effective, and filtering was as effective as two weeks with gelatin, but a much more involved process. It does all the things you described in you last post, and quickly.

For the record, I am not affiliated with the gelatin industry in any way.

[beltbuckle]

Have my second experience to share. The first time, I added the biofine clear to the fermenter like I do sometimes with gelatin during the cold crash.

This time I added the biofine clear to the keg just before transferring from fermenter to keg. I used near the max dose, about 25mL per 5gal keg.

The beer was a Scottish 70/- from BCS. I noticed during transferring into kegs that it was already fairly clear, but not bright. After the transfer to kegs, I shook the kegs to get it mixed in (and speed up carbonation).

5 days later I am drinking a very nice, clear, and carbonated scottish 70/-. I poured out the first pint or two. I don't really have a strong conclusion at this point, other than to say the first time (at a low dosage) in the fermenter it didn't fine worth a crap, and this time around I am getting better results but the beer wasn't that cloudy to begin with. The first beer I tried it with I did a side-by-side with Biofine Clear in one keg and gelatin in the other. Gelatin cleared much better and faster, I could not discern any taste difference.

So at this point I'd say it is no magic bullet, and if you do try it, try it near the max dosage to get any results... I think gelatin ultimately does a better job but I will continue to experiment until my 1 liter of Biofine Clear is gone.

[popihead]

SO here is the images from the Biofine Clear tests. Pic 1 after a few hours, pic 2 after 24 hours, pic 3 after 4 days. Well as far as I can tell, either a Strong Golden Belgian is not the right beer to test with the fining or it's not so great. This beer usually clears up on its own after a few months in the fridge but the Biofine CLear didn't seem to make any difference in the clarity.

[Cliff]

That looks like a some of the Maad I've seen.

[popihead]

I just wanted to add that the next batch of beer I brew, well the one after next since I am brewing a Wit on Tuesday, will use White Labs Fermaid to see how that product works and helps in the wort clarification process. I may rebrew this beer, just so that we have apple to apples comparisons.

[Cliff]

Well I bottled it.

It looks pretty damn good.
A touch of protein haze but for the most part it's great.
Dosage was Two Table Spoons to 6 gallons.
I re-pitched the same yeast with 3.5 OZ of sugar a few days before bottling.
I may do it again boosting the dosage this time to see if it will go after the protein.

http://s1002.photobucket.com/albums/af1 ... =anAle.jpg
I'm sipping it now.