Clearing a brew, "naturally" (As per German Law)

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Badbrew

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Good morning gents.

I have been building up to brewing a german style lager for a while now and have been busy asking questions to all on the forum.

I understand that Copper Fining and Gelatin are two ways in which you can look to clear a brew to give it a clear finish.

If I am right in understanding.. this would be against the purity laws in place in Germany. My question therefore is:

What is the "natural" way to clear a brew? It is the result of an extremely long time lagering in a secondary? In modern brews, is it commercial filtering systems? Whilst I personally plan on trying both Copper Fining and Gelatin at some points i'd also be interested in trying the traditional way to see the effect it has on the brew.

Any advice would be most appreciated!

Cheers

Darrin
 
You wont find many on here who use clearing agents, after 2 weeks in FV take off the yeast , into a clean FV. Leave two weeks sealed with airlock in this time the yeast will clean up the off flavours and smells (lager tends to stink sometimes) and clear, you now have two options, again put into another clean FV and lager in the cold for your required time , then add your carbonating agent and yeast back to the brew when bottling to carbonate. or bottle from the second FV and just use your chosen carbonating agent and bottle condition in the cold for a few months. I have just bottled a Mexican Cerveza dry hoped with liberty and will bottle condition, i have a Oktoberfest into its 3rd week fermenting , and will brew a Munich Helles dry hopped with Halletau this week
 
Badbrew said:
Good morning gents.

I have been building up to brewing a german style lager for a while now and have been busy asking questions to all on the forum.

I understand that Copper Fining and Gelatin are two ways in which you can look to clear a brew to give it a clear finish.

If I am right in understanding.. this would be against the purity laws in place in Germany. My question therefore is:

What is the "natural" way to clear a brew? It is the result of an extremely long time lagering in a secondary? In modern brews, is it commercial filtering systems? Whilst I personally plan on trying both Copper Fining and Gelatin at some points i'd also be interested in trying the traditional way to see the effect it has on the brew.

Any advice would be most appreciated!

Cheers

Darrin
Click to expand...

Having just bottle a Coopers European lager which had fermented out the sat at 3 degrees for 6 weeks in the brew fridge. it was crystal clear when first bottled.

I have read and indeed did add back a small glug of the yeast sediment to the bottling bucket to make sure it would carb up ok. but there wasnt much to be honest. it went from the FV to a secondary to dry hop and then into the lagering bucket for 6 week.

Its now carbing for 2-3 weeks before being stored in the cool ready for the drinking
 
As others have said, time and lagering/cold conditioning will clear it naturally. I started using gelatin recently because it only takes a few minutes to do, and while a little haze doesn't bother me personally I know that clarity is usually the first thing people check when you hand them a glass of home brew. The gelatin definitely speeds the process up.
 
Tested my Bavarian Smoked lager at the weekend. It's been in the brew fridge 'lagering' now 6 weeks at 1 deg C. It's clear and clean tasting. No clearing/cleaning stuff used at all. I'll keg & bottle it tomorrow.
 
Removable finings are allowed in German beer laws as they fall out of the beer taking proteins with them so they do not count as part of the final beer.

I use compaq CG/protofloc tablets in the kettle and have tried auxillary finings (if you want to clear quickly) but beer will clear itself if cold and left long enough so I stopped using the auxillary finings.

Following a short (24hour) diacetyl rest I take the temp down to 3°C and leave for 3-5 days until clear. Very rare that beer does not clear for me in that time. Even if hazy I proceed to bottling after racking into a bottling bucket. After secondary fermentation in the bottle the beer will clear again at low temp in a few days BUT will mature in the bottle if left longer. You can have quick ,clear beer or slower clear and mature beer.

My second beer fridge kept at 3°C is my secret to clear beer very quickly without aux finings ,gelatin or isinglas.
 
Badbrew said:
What is the "natural" way to clear a brew?
Click to expand...
Very simple answer- irrespective of whether it's a stout or a lager the principle is the same.
Temperature - low temperature will encourage the yeast to become dormant, and so stop working
Time - the longer your beer is left to clear, the clearer it becomes, as the yeast cells finish what they have to do and/or become dormant
Gravity- yeast cells, although micron size will settle by gravity, although some yeasts settle better than others
Finings merely cause the yeast cells to flocculate and due the resultant larger particle size they settle quicker.
 
Your lager yeast mostly sits on the bottom of the FV so it should come out of primary pretty clear. Mine sit downstairs in the cold over the winter months, brewed in November or December, by the time they come out of the bottle from March onwards they are absolutely crystal clear
 
Thankyou every one for your replies. With regards to adding the yeast back to the bucket before priming. I this time: where should I store the yeast (if I'm taking it from the FV) and, how much of it?

If I need to add additional fresh yeast, what yeast should I use and again, how much? With regards to this, does adding yeast at this stage not muddy the brew again?

Thanks in advance everyone, you've been very helpful :)
 
Badbrew said:
Thankyou every one for your replies. With regards to adding the yeast back to the bucket before priming. I this time: where should I store the yeast (if I'm taking it from the FV) and, how much of it?

If I need to add additional fresh yeast, what yeast should I use and again, how much? With regards to this, does adding yeast at this stage not muddy the brew again?

Thanks in advance everyone, you've been very helpful :)
Click to expand...

I've read, unless your lagering for more than 2.5 months you dont need to add more yeast.
 
Badbrew said:
Thankyou every one for your replies. With regards to adding the yeast back to the bucket before priming. I this time: where should I store the yeast (if I'm taking it from the FV) and, how much of it?

If I need to add additional fresh yeast, what yeast should I use and again, how much? With regards to this, does adding yeast at this stage not muddy the brew again?

Thanks in advance everyone, you've been very helpful :)
Click to expand...
The trick is to allow the beer sufficient time to clear, yet still have enough in suspension to carbonate your beer, although it may well look clear. So that means a few weeks before you package rather than months. That should avoid the need to re-introduce yeast.
My suggestion is that you now actually get stuck in armed with all of this information.
You will learn by experience and find what suits you best. You may make a few mistakes along the way but that comes with the territory. Be assured you will not brew perfect beer first time round, but it should be something you can enjoy and will provide a spring board for you to improve your technique.
 
Like many others on here I don't use any additives to clear apart from Profloc in the kettle. I want to say that my beer is good for vegaterians so don't want to add anything that might contain animal extracts. Also as noted here leaving it for long enough in the cold makes clear beer in my experience. I ferment in primary for three weeks, move to a bottling bucket for up to a week or so, then carb for two weeks and then move to the garage. I usually find it is clear after a few days in the bottle anyway but if not the garage does its magic using the cold in there!
 
Razor said:
I was recommended Bentonite to use for clearing brews. I haven't had to use it yet has anyone else tried it?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

yes i have used it to clear wine but dont recommend it, get it wrong and you will end up with a bucket of blue grey coloured sludge , in my opinion theres far easier things like gelatine than bentonite. its better in its Crystalised form . faceted and set in a ring.
 
Tanzanite said:
yes i have used it to clear wine but dont recommend it, get it wrong and you will end up with a bucket of blue grey coloured sludge , in my opinion theres far easier things like gelatine than bentonite. its better in its Crystalised form . faceted and set in a ring.
Click to expand...



Thanks Tanzanite. Maybe I'll give using it a miss.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
MyQul said:
I've read, unless your lagering for more than 2.5 months you dont need to add more yeast.
Click to expand...

Coopers Lager:
o Started 23rd August 2016 with 950g Golden Syrup and 50g of Fuggles pellets.
o Youngs lager yeast pitched at 23 degrees.
o Fermenting at 21 degrees in fridge.
o Racked to second FV on 1st September 2016.
o Lagering at 10 degrees from 1st September to 8th November.
o Bottled in flip-tops 8th November 2016 with no added yeast.

Photograph taken on 7th January this year. Flat? I think not! :whistle: :whistle:

PS

I have never used Finings in beer. Time and gravity do a great job. :thumb:

Lager after.jpg
 
I would love to taste a real home brewed lager, I don't have a fermentation fridge so only stick to ales. Mainly IPA's but I'm partial to the odd porter or stout. I'm blown away how I can make things that are far better than most commercial brews, in my opinion anyway. Is it really worth the extra effort to make lagers. Not a criticism a honest question
 

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