Labels:text | font | black and white | number | screenshot | paper | document OCR: Newsletter ness produced by the hops (although the quality of the bitter flavor will be yeast sediment in the bottled beer or keg. By William Moore more well rounded and seemingly fuller in taste at a lower, calcium-produced Gelatin and isinglass work by having a pH) positive charge, while brewing yeast Beer Clarification Irish moss is a form of dried seaweed generally has a negative charge. Once in the beer, gelatin and isinglass tend Gravity is a wonderful thing. Unlike added to the boil in addition to gypsum to attract and stick to yeast cells, in commercial beers which depend on cen- to help coagulate unwanted proteins. trifuges and filtering for clarity, home When subjected to boiling wort, the gel- creasing their size so they settle out readily. brewed beers depend on gravity to settle atin-like carrageenan in the moss dis out the excess haze-producing proteins solves, and attracts protein particles as Yeast settling agents such as gelatin or and yeast cells. Although not as strong it is flung through the hot tossing wort When the wort cools, the heavier carra- isinglass work best at temperatures of as the artificial gravity created with a 55 to 70 degrees F. Temperatures over huge beer centrifuge or as thorough as geenan-protein particles settle to the 70 degrees F. will cause the fining action a fine filter, gravity has the great advan- bottom of the boiling kettle. Irish moss to be greatly diminished. Also, beer tage of being free and omnipresent. To is easy to use - just add 12 teaspoon of best harness the power of gravity in the flakes halfway through the boil. temperature must be stable for effective fining action. If the beer temperature is beer clarification, brewers for centuries dropping or rising considerably, the fin- have used fining agents: compounds After the boil, the wort is cooled and the ings will not be effective. The beer must added to beer, like rain falling through coagulated protein and hop fragments also be relatively clear before fining, as dirty air, that gather unwanted proteins settle to the bottom of the pot to form a too high a concentration of yeast cells and yeast cells as they drop. sediment known as trub (pronounced will largely eliminate the fining affect of 'trueb"). This trub should be left behind Protein removal in the boil in the boiling pot and not allowed into gelatin or isinglass. Some brewers transfer their beer to a secondary before the fermenter for the clearest, cleanest fining, as this helps eliminate excess The first step towards a clearer beer is tasting beer, Siphoning with sanitized yeast that can overwhelm the fining ac- a cleaner wort. Boiling additives such as tubing is the best way to transfer the tion. There is no need to worry that the gypsum and Irish moss encourage the wort while leaving most of the trub be- fining action will remove all the sus- coagulating of unwanted, unstable pro- hind (it is very light and some invariably pended yeast needed for natural carbon- teins from the wort in the boil. It is im- will go up the siphon tube). To start a ation. portant to remove as many of the siphon without mouth contact, sanitize soluble, milky proteins as possible, to it and fill with water. Putting one end in the wort while lowering the other end Gelatin, made from the skin and bones assure a clear finished beer with a stable will start the flow. More dilute boils in of animals, is an inexpensive yeast set- shelf life. This coagulation of proteins, known as the hot break, can be easily larger pots (6 gallons and up) also min- tling agent. To prepare, mix two tea- imize wort loss, as the more dilute trub spoons in 1 cup of hot water on a pan seen: take a sample of wort with a shot glass when the boil first starts, and an- left behind will contain less malt sugars. and heat to 180 degrees F. (do not boil). When hot, stir until the gelatin is com- other after 50 minutes. The first sample pletely dissolved and then stir into the will be murky with suspended protein top half of your beer. Allow 4 days for matter, while the thoroughly boiled sam- Yeast Settling Aids the gelatin to settle out before bottling ple will be sparklingly clear, littered or kegging with flecks of coagulated proteins and After the yeast is added and fermenta- hops. The hot break will usually occur tion has largely finished, gelatin and Isinglass, produced from fish swim blad- naturally after about 50 minutes of vig- ders, is more effective than gelatin in orous boiling, but can be heightened by isinglass, two yeast settling fining agents, can be added, to minimize the harnessing the power of gravity to settle the addition of gypsum and Irish moss. Gypsum adds hardening calcium, facili- Clarifying Agents tating the clumping of soft protein com- pounds in the boil, allowing them to settle easily once the wort cools. Gen- Product Wort Protein Yeast Chill Haze erally, one to two teaspoons of gypsum are added to the boiling kettle before Gypsum 6 2 1 the malt extract, while for mashed Irish Moss 10 0 1 beers, the same amount of gypsum is invariably added before the mash to fa- Gelatin 0 6 0 cilitate enzyme activity and does not need to be added again later. The addi- Instant Isinglass 0 10 0 tion of water hardening gypsum also Silica Gel 0 2 9 helps the yeast settle out later in the brewing process, and reduces the pH, The higher the number, the more effective the product is in removing proteins in which decreases the amount of bitter- the boil, yeast in the fermenter, or chill haze causing proteins after fermentation. 28
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