For under 3 USD..."Clarity Ferm is an enzyme that is effective at preventing chill haze. It increases shelf-life and product consistency, does not alter beer flavor or aroma, and has no effect on head retention." http://www.whitelabs.com/other-products/wln4000-clarity-ferm Anyone use this product?
got a free sample, but haven't used it yet. looks like a great product though if it does what it says.
Whirl flock in the kettle settles break materials. Clarity ferm works on proteins so chill haze is not a problem. http://www.whitelabs.com/other-products/wln4000-clarity-ferm
"In addition to eliminating chill haze, Clarity-Ferm significantly reduces the gluten content in beers made with barley and wheat. A Clarity-Ferm treated beer made from barley or wheat usually tests below 20 ppm of gluten, the current international standard for gluten free. White Labs offers gluten testing for beers, this test will allow brewers to know the gluten level of the beers it produces, but brewers are not allowed to use this value on their labels until the FDA completes its validation. The TTB has issued interim labeling guidelines for beers made with gluten containing grains, and it states: "TTB will allow use of the statement 'Processed or Treated or Crafted to remove gluten,' together with a qualifying statement to inform consumers that: (1) the product was made from a grain that contains gluten; (2) there is currently no valid test to verify the gluten content of fermented products; and (3) the finished product may contain gluten." TLDR: Probable with wheat and barley. Does rye, rice, corn etc have gluten in it?
But isn’t “break materials” to large measure proteins? If Irish Moss/Whirlfloc aid in settling break material (proteins) doesn’t that settle the chill haze proteins? I solely use rehydrated Irish Moss in my homebrewing and I have never had a batch of homebrewed beer that suffered from chill haze. Cheers!
I think Irish moss helps, but remember that you still have proteins in the beer that give body and form the head on the beer and can react wiyh the polyphenols and cause haze. Lagering at cold temps helps the beer be clear.
“ ..but remember that you still have proteins in the beer that give body and form the head on the beer and can react with the polyphenols and cause haze.” Well, FWIW after 312 batches of beer that has never happened to me. Rehydrated Irish Moss ‘works’ for me. I received a free vial of Clarity Ferm at the NHC in Philly, I am reserving that vial to maybe make a gluten reduced beer someday (my wife has a friend whose son is gluten intolerant). Cheers!
The malt used has an influence, as does procedue. I have had some beers that got knocked for chill haze in comps. Gluten is a protein BTW.
A response from White Labs: To whom it may concern: I am looking at one of your products, WLN4000 Clarity-Ferm, and I am wondering if this product will make beer more digestible for my friend with a gluten allergy. Am I reading into this correctly that this effectively removes gluten from beer? Thanks for the clarity on the Clarity Ferm. Sorry for the pun. Sincerely, Chris Hi Chris, It's true that the Clarity Ferm enzyme seems to make beer safe for people with gluten intolerance to drink, but different people have different levels of sensitivity so start with a small amount of beer to see if they react, and if not then you can increase the amount until you're sure. I'd hate for someone to get sick over a beer, but so far I have had very good experience with it and have heard many stories of it working for other brewers, professional as well as home brewers. Cheers!
[Grumpy old man voice]: In my day, we couldn't just dump some additive in the carboy if we wanted clear beer. You had to work at it. If you had chill haze, you had to address the problems in your brewing process that were causing it. You kids have it too easy. Now get off my lawn!
I dose every single one of my beers with Clarity Ferm due to my girlfriend's Celiac disease. Those beers have turned out great and both she and at least 2 other individuals with gluten issues have consumed multiple bottles in a session without issue. I primarily use CF for the gluten reduction properties, but I will say that my beers clear more quickly in the bottle since using the product. I've also noticed that it reduces the amount of krausen produced during my fermentations.
Would you say it affects the flavor at all? I would imagine that if you're putting it in every batch, the impact is negligible, but....
From memory alone, there have been no perceptible differences in the final product since discovering Clarity Ferm. That said, I haven't split a batch to do a specific comparison. If memory serves, someone over on HBT may have done that experiment.
I have a friend who is severely allergic to gluten, and I've been thinking about brewing a batch with Clarity Ferm to see if he could tolerate the results. For people who've done this before, did you have to change anything about your brewing process? I'm assuming all the gluten will fall to the bottom of the fermenter, at which point you'd need to be pretty careful about not picking up any trub when you transfer to keg or bottling bucket.
