Fining agents

Not sure those will help with astringency..

What beers are you having the problem with?

 

I've used biofine clear in kegging and had good results. This won't fix astringency issues though, only improve clarity.

 

I haven't yet, but here is some general info on finings from my brewing school texts:

Color Removal: Gelatin and Activated Carbon
Tannin Removal: Gelatin and PVPP
Yeast Flocculation: Gelatin and Isinglass
Protein Reduction: Silica Gel and Tannic Acid


So Gelatin or PVPP is the way to go for tannin (astringency) removal

Biofine and Polyclar are both brands of PVPP from what I've read, so they should help to some degree.

Biofine Clear, I believe, is made from Silica Gel so it's just for protein reduction / clarity so that won't help with astringency

 

Was the beer in the keg you added Biofine Clear to cold or room temp? Did you transfer the beer from that keg to a different serving keg after clarifying? If so, was the original clarifying keg standard or did you have a shortened dip tube in it?

I ask because I currently have a refrigerated keg of a mild that needs protein removal (batch sparged and forgot to add the whirfloc) that has a standard length dip tube in it. I've read that usually you add silica gel based clarifying agents to the fermenter, let them flocc, then rack to a keg. So usually it's added to warm beer and not in the serving keg. I'm worried about whether the biofine clear will transfer to the serving keg along with the beer post clarification, since I don't have a shortened dip tube in the keg the beer is already in (and don't want to shorten my dip tubes to be honest). I also wonder if the biofine clear will be as effective in cold beer as warm.

 

To my knowledge, BC improves flocculation (electrostatic characteristics) of yeast as well.

The thing with BC is that it needs to be well mixed to be functional. My procedure is to add 8-12 mL of it to the keg post-sanitization then rack the beer on top of it. By the time the beer is carbed there's a really compact layer of material on the bottom of the keg. It's so compacted it's actually below the dip tube. I can get very clear beer this way.

Finally, I've read probrewer comments, many add it inline from transfer between crashed fermenters and brite tanks. Therefore, it would seem to me that it would be effective with cold beer as well. I know probrewers that swear by it. Try adding some to your keg, purge with CO2, and try mixing the keg up pretty good. Hope it works out for you.

 

Thanks. Knowing that it compacts well enough to probably not get picked up by the dip tube in a keg to keg transfer, I'd probably try the following then:

Add the BC to a new keg
Close transfer my mild from it's current keg into the new keg (for mixing purposes and to prevent oxygen pickup)
Shake new keg a bit
Allow BC to do it's thing while keeping the new keg cold
Either serve from the new keg after the BC has completely flocc'd (toss the first pint or two) or toss the first pint or two and then closed transfer back to the original keg (and serve from it) if I'm really worried about the BC getting remixed into solution over the course of the kegs serving life.

 

Sounds like a plan. You won't need a retransfer. The beer will be clear up until the very last pint you pour. Enjoy!

 

Cool @mattbk how long does it take BC to clarify and flocc in your experience?

 

Typically less time than it takes me to carbonate, I tend to set and forget. I'd guess you were fairly clear after 2-3 days, very clear after a week, and crystal after another week or two. Depending of course, on how much you use and what the state of your beer is when it's added.

 

You dry hopping? How long you keeping the hops in there for? Care to share a recipe?

 

Post your process.. could be something you over looked in your set up.

 

What does your typical hopping schedule look like then?

 

Hops, sparging too hot, and collecting too much runnings can all contribute to excess tannin extraction.

 

If its a 5 gallon batch and you are bittering with a high alpha acid hop like ctz @ 60min by chance, then your 3oz @ 60 min addition is giving you roughly 80 ibus which is about right for a dipa only.....if going with bjcp standards for what ever that is worth.

Any chance you are confusing astringency with overly bitter? Astringency is a sort of harsh bitterness that is mainly characterized by a drying of the mid side palate and back palate.

 

From my perspective the difference between astringency and bitterness is a mouthfeel vs. taste sensation.

Bitterness is a taste while astringency is a mouth puckering sensation. I have read where some folks state that if you eat a non-eating grape skin (e.g., the grape skin of a wine grape) that is a reference point for astringency. For me the epitome of astringency is drinking a non-aged Cabernet Sauvignon wine; I dislike non-aged Cabernet Sauvignon because the astringency issue. I have a buddy who loves non-aged Cabernet Sauvignon wines. To each their own?

Cheers!