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Fining question

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J

JohnS

NewBee
Registered Member
Nov 11, 2011
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planet earth
I would like to bottle a braggot in a few days, or a week. It was Brewed about 3 months ago and I have used Benoite last week. After mixing about 2.5 teaspoons with very warm water and making a nice slurry, it was pitched in the carboy.

After looking at it today, I noticed that there seems to be a layering effect in the patch. There are 3 layers that are visibly showing. The first layer is dark. The next layer is lighter, and the lees, on the bottom is the lightest of the three layers.

My question is how do I get the rest of the patch to clear like the top layer? I think I used D47 with this patch.

At the moment I am thinking about adding more Benoite and see if it does anything. My second option is to use another fining agent, maybe sparkloid or something else.

I guess the last option would be just to wait and hope it clears.

Any ideas, or comments would be much appreciated.
 
I agree, that it's separating out means it's working, just not on YOUR schedule... the layers will likely compact over the next days/weeks then you'll be able to rack off it. When my JAO batches clear it usually starts with a clear layer on top and then over the next week or so the level of the clear layer moves down until all that's there is the clear layer and the lees.

My bentonite package recommends soaking it overnight before adding it, so it's possible it didn't do its job as quickly as it maybe could have... Stirring it back up again MIGHT make it clear faster OR might put you right back to where it was when you added the bentonite last week, but all the guys' stirplate experiences seem to indicate that the more stirring, the faster it clears...
 
thanks guys. I will just wait until it clears and then rack it into bottles. I have did stir it 2 or 3 times and I just will be patient with it. I just bought a wine corker and I guess I was a little impatient to use it. Also the reason for the post was because I was unsure about the use of barley grain in the batch. I was not sure if a different fining agent would work faster or if there was another way to get it to clear. Also with the Benoite I used it came with no directions. The only directions I used was with what I found on the Internet. The vendor had no directions posted on the portal. I know its soon to rack into bottles, but after tasting a small snifter, it appears to be drinkable. Never the less, I plan to age it to drink in the future.

On a side note, I was thinking about adding a bit of carbonation (not much). Would this crate bottle bombs? My opinion is it would. This Braggot taste more like beer than wine. I think that it would taste a bit better if I added a little bit of corn sugar. What is the consensus on that?
 
If you plan on carbonating it I would suggest capping instead of corking. Or those plastic champagne corks with the wire thingy to hold it in place. I'm from the better safe than sorry school of thought and if it's carbonated you don't use standard corks.
 
JohnS said:
On a side note, I was thinking about adding a bit of carbonation (not much). Would this crate bottle bombs? My opinion is it would. This Braggot taste more like beer than wine. I think that it would taste a bit better if I added a little bit of corn sugar. What is the consensus on that?
Click to expand...

Always, always, always (did I mention ALWAYS) use bottles that are rated for carbonation even if you only want a little, either beer bottles or bottles from sparkling beverages. Safety first. And if you use sparkling wine (or juice) bottles that aren't screw tops, you'll want to make a wire cage to hold your corks in because even if the bottle's rated to hold that kind of pressure, regular corks aren't. You might be able to find plastic mushroom-shaped champagne corks, those would be ideal if used with the wire cages.
 
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