Fining & Packaging

An overview of your options for fining and packaging your beer, presented by James Wilson at our February (2024) online meeting

Transcript

1. Fining and Packaging
2. • Remove haze and clarify • Shelf Stability • Accelerate conditioning • Reduce chances of gushing/foaming Why fine?
3. • Protein + Polyphenols/Tannins = haze • Protein in most malts, Excessive in wheat/oats or adjuncts derived from them. • Polyphenols from grain husks • hop Haze – polyphenols from dry hops • Chill Haze - temperature, but can become permanent • Yeast - particularly low flocculation strains like WIT/hefeweizen, but also can include us-05/Chico Common Causes of haze
4. Less common Hazes • Calcium deficient worts • Inadequately modified malt (starches) • Infection • Damaged or overstressed yeast • Lubricants, or other foreign material in the beer • Clean new (or not used for a while) Equipment before use • Excessive finings • Stick to the recommended dosage rates
5. Fining Types • Two kinds of finings: copper/Kettle finings and post fermentation finings • Copper/Kettle finings generally go in the end of the boil • Removes proteins from beer that can cause beer stability issues • Post Fermentation finings are usually added before bottling, racking to cask or kegging • Accelerate conditioning • Clarify beer
6. Copper finings • Boil 5-10 minutes: • Carageenan • Irish moss • Protofloc/whirfloc tablets • PVPP • Polyclar BrewBrite (Carageenan + PVPP) • BrauSol Special • End of boil or dose on way to fermenter
7. • Isinglass • Very effective in conjunction with auxillary finings • Tricky to make up and does not store well once made up • Not vegan • Gelatin • Highly Effective, cheap, easy to make up • Not vegan • Enzymes • Clarity Ferm/NBS Clarity • Only works on Chill haze, not yeast • Claimed effective in gluten reduction • Brausol Special • Liquid silica • Add in-line on transfer or before filling keg/bottling bucket otherwise it doesn’t mix in • 7-9ml for 20 litres seems effective • All work best with chilling • Papain/Bentonite – for winemaking Fermenter finings
8. A quick guide to using gelatin Any powder or leaf gelatin will do – not vege-gelatin 1. Chill your fermenter • as cold as you can without freezing for 24-48 hours 2. Sanitize a glass jug 3. Put 150-200ml water into the jug 4. Add a teaspoon of powdered gelatin (or a small sheet you have soaked) 5. Heat in microwave gradually to 65C giving an occasional stir • Do not exceed 70c unless you want jelly. 6. Stir into cold beer and leave for 24-48 hours.
9. What else can you do? • Right mash ph (5.2-5.6) • Avoid grain in runnings • Strong and long boil • Cool quickly (?) • Lagering • Time • Cold • Filter – hard to do, messy, danger of oxygen exposure • Centrifuge – Too big/expensive for microbreweries, let alone home brewers!
10. What can go wrong? • Pick one copper fining and one fermentation fining • Mixing can counteract each other • Overdosing - Too little is preferable to too much • Don’t fermentation fine too early • Yeast may need to finish up • cold crash/lager in particular • Small danger of infection
11. I’m scared of fining because… • “Hazy beer is ok – it’s about taste” • We drink with our eyes – clarity can add to the appeal • “Fining reduces aroma” • It does. Only very Slightly if you try side by side in a young beer. • “There won’t be enough yeast to carbonate” • False. You can have visibly clear beer with 1 Million Cells/ml of yeast. Belgian breweries aim for around 300k cells/ml for bottle carbonation • “Brewery X doesn’t fine” • They may still filter or centrifuge. • Cask beer is usually served at 12C – too warm for chill haze
12. Packaging
13. Packaging Options • Bottling • Canning • Pressure Barrel • Mini kegs • Corny kegs • Sankey/commercial kegs
14. Small Pack • Bottling • Cheap! • Just need a capper, or use swing/screw tops, and a tap/siphon • Crown caps absorb oxygen • Cleaning bottle is time consuming • Tips: • Clean bottles as you get them • Minimise headspace before capping • Bottle from the fermenter • Canning • Expensive can seamer required • Cans are use once, and take up space being stored • Cans are almost indestructible for shipping • They look cool • Big opening invites oxygen for uncarbonated beer.
15. (Cheap) Kegs! • Pressure barrel • Great starter option • S30 valve allows you to inject CO2 as you go with a sodastream cylinder adapter • Change the rubber seals every couple of years (getting hard to find these) • Mini kegs • 5 litres • Gravity pour is best as the taps aren’t good • …but that means drinking 5 litres quickly • Kegland Oxebar • They all need chilling!
16. (More expensive) Kegs! • Steel mini kegs • 5/10 litres • Needs tapping head • Can naturally carbonate then use tap and mini CO2 bulbs • Good as a mobile option • Cornelius type kegs • Generally 19 litres, but you can get 9/12 litres at the same cost • Occasionally found cheap • Nice big opening to clean through • Lots of seals to look after • Sankey/Commercial kegs • Bigger sizes • Can take a lot of pressure and abuse • Needs special tools (spear removal tool, coupler) • Small opening
17. Filling kegs • Pre-purge • Fill with sanitiser, then push out with CO2 • Or use fermentation to purge • Add keg finings before filling • Fill either: • Straight through big opening • Via liquid port (may need pressure) • Scales are useful when you can’t see what’s happening!