Can you use bentonite before fermentation, or must it be used after fermentation? This source says you can use it before pitching yeast. https://winemakersacademy.com/bentonite-clarify-wine/ Some kit manufacturers (such as Winexpert) have you add bentonite in the very beginning of the wine making process, right before the yeast. That is so the bentonite will start clarifying the wine as it’s fermented. This is one of the only fining/clearing agents that can be added pre-fermentation. It sits on the bottom of the …
I currently have a Belgian Blond in primary that I'm planning of transferring to a secondary vessel in order to dry hop. I usually do a gelatin fining when transferring my beer to the bottleing bucket but this time I thought about doing another fining between the primary and the secondary, I'm hoping that this process will decrease the yeast sediment on the bottom of my bottles. Is there any merit in doing gelatin fining twice (or more for that …
For various reasons I have done a series of test fermentations with various types of ginger powder in the mix. The control was a solution of sugar in water (OG 1.040) with some tartaric acid, boiled for 20 minutes, then cooled, aerated and fermented with a bit of yeast nutrient and some rebate white wine yeast. Other versions were the same but had additions of various ginger powders added but were otherwise the same. The versions with the ginger powder …
Attempting my very first homebrew and was wondering if anybody has used or had any thoughts on using Turbo Clear to help with clarifying your beer? Planning on bottle priming when the time comes. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm starting a Mexican Cerveza kit from Brewhouse just for information. Thanks in advance.
Can you use bentonite and Sparkaloid to clarify at the same time? Can they be used in the primary fermentation bucket or must they be used after racking? How long does each require to work?
I'm brewing my first batch of brew and I bottled almost two weeks ago. I've been super anal about keeping everything sterilized, clean, and at the correct temperature during fermentation and bottling. I've "swirled" each beer bottle as recommended by the kit I have and I checked it last night and the beer is still cloudy with small amount of "stuff" (Im' assuming sediment/yeast/etc). I'm getting ready to finally try it out this weekend for the first real taste test, …
Related I've got a batch of cider that has just finished primary fermentation. My last batch come out with a lot of sediment and yeasty flavors which I'm trying to avoid with this batch. Like the OP in the related question, I don't currently have any secondary / racking equipment and I'm trying to avoid purchasing too much more equipment right now. The accepted answer to the question recommends against bottling from the tap on the side of the fermenter …
Does using gelatin effect aromatics or flavor appreciably? I was reading this post about using gelatin. I have one keg that I use as a cold conditioning vessel (sort of like secondary), and I was going to try experimenting with gelatin for a few beers to see if I liked the results. Thoughts on the negative, if any, impact of gelatin.
I've got a beer that, for aesthetic reasons, I'd like to make more hazy. I've used torrified wheat in the mash, and tried adding flour to the boil. Those do make the beer hazy at first, but it tends to settle after a week or two in keg. Is there any way to obtain a more stable haziness? I've seen pectin mentioned as a source of hard-to-get-rid-of haze, but there's no fruit in the recipe, and I'm not sure how …
Since I started brewing I've ALWAYS transferred to a secondary after about 2 weeks. This was how I learned and what many recipes say to do so I always did it. And I felt that this was a fantastic way to really remove that yeast cake and trub at the bottom out of your fermenter, ultimately providing less of a risk to stir it up and have it in your bottles or keg. Many discussions here and entries in books …
I'm brewing a batch using WY2565 Kolsch which mentions that is low-flocculating and that it "remain in suspension post fermentation. It requires filtration or additional settling time to produce bright beers." I was planning to rack to secondary and add finings as mentioned in another post (I did not mention the yeast I was using). In one response, it was brought up that using fresh and healthy yeast mitigates the need for these extra measures. In my case, I had …
I have a mead in secondary right now. It's been there for about three weeks. It spent two weeks in primary. I was given the impression from my source material (The Compleat Meadmaker by Ken Schramm) and limited experience that it would clarify in about a month. It's my first 5 gal batch and I wasn't planning to age it for months on end in the carboy, simply bottle it when it cleared because I want to make a sparkling …
So I am sort of new at this. I ordered some hop bags as an add on item but have not yet used them. In the past I always dropped my hop pellets right into the boiling wort. But I plan to make a really clean and light colored hoppy ale. I plan to use Citra in both the boil and dry hopped. In the past (without using hop bags) I have noticed a substantial ring of hops in my …
I'm not new to wine making (many, many years) and have been making beer for only a few years, generally gelatin fining with bottle conditioning and having good results. Clear beer, good flavor, head, etc. I just made a Session IPA, it started at 1.050 and finished at 1.015, within the recommended range. After seeing some posts and videos on line, I decided to try Super Kleer vs Gelatin for fining (use it for wine with great success), on this …
I am brewing my first homebrew an American cream ale. Was just reading into secondary fermentation. In the directions and books I've read it seems to suggest doing this. But as I search online and read more into it, it seems many say to avoid this and allow the beer to sit in the primary until complete and ready to move to a bottling bucket. I was just curious if leaving it in the primary then going right to bottling, …
I've been in the winemaking industry for over a decade, but this is only my second homebrew, and only the first that I have fermented at home. You would think I'd be more patient working with a product that takes two years for completion, but alas...here we are. Primary fermentation was slooow. I split the batch with a friend and he was done in a week. Mine was a touch colder and ran closer to two. After the gravity stopped …
The Question Will cold crashing after a beer is bottled (and waited 2 weeks for the carbonation) give you the same clarity as doing it in the fermenter prior to bottling (assuming you pour your beer carefully given the extra sediment that will exist)? Are there different rules to follow if you bottle cold crash vs fermenter cold crash? The Background: I brewed an Irish Ale. Everything turned out great except I wish I tried cold crashing it prior to …
Often the advice with beer is to store it somewhere cool for a while before bottling for various reasons such as taste and clearing and removing chill haze.I'm currently brewing a Wit Beer from BrewFerm and it has the generic instructions for all its beers to store the beer before bottling.I'm thinking for a wit beer, I kind of want to keep it cloudy/hazy, If I store the beer will the majority of the yeast fall out, but still remain …
we are fairly new to brewing and are attempting to make a Raspberry Tart Ale (based on a wheat DME). The beer has been in the carboy for 8 days now and is very, very murky and there aren't any bubbles in the airlock. Is this normal? This brew is kit based and the instructions say that we should be thinking about bottling in the next few days, but other brewers I have spoken to said something about secondary fermentation.... …