I stopped adding finings back when I started to do closed transfers because I didn’t know how to add them. I still don’t know how to add finings while doing a closed transfer from conical to keg. So obviously I have been letting time and gravity do the work for me but find that I don’t have the patience to wait for it to “completely” clear. I like to drink too much I guess.
So, what do some of you guys that also keg do to get finings into your beer while trying to eliminate o2?
I have seen some simple work arounds - the easiest is to put the fining solution into a soda bottle with a carb cap on it and add CO2 under pressure to exceed the pressure of the receiving keg that has been purged. Make up a tube with black QDC’s on each end. Put the one end on the purged keg with a little CO2 to purge the line (you should be able to bleed out the CO2 by depressing the other end at the QDC.) Invert the soda bottle with solution and connect to the remaining QDC that you just purged. The fining solution should flow into the keg. If you want it only introduced at the top of the keg, then on one end of the transfer tubing, you could use a gray QDC through the “in” post.
I may not have it down exactly, but others here can advise if I missed a vital step…Cheers!
After thinking about my first post, I should be able to add finings to the conical before transfer and after cold crash. How about that conundrum?
I’m the most recent Zymurgy, a dude (or dudette) made a device to add a port to the gas in and slowly added it in. Sure, not completely closed but you don’t have to open. (Jan/Feb)
I thought that you were concerned about the closed transfer and O2 introduction. If not, you can add finings to chilled beer in the primary, no problem. Many would suggest that you can add to the conical through any number of ports on the lid, including the blow off tube…
Thanks! Will look at that issue.
I am. I avoid o2 ingress as much as possible after the boil. If Im repitching yeast I don’t even bother with adding o2 for fermentation. So I don’t want to open the vessel at all after fermentation. That is where Im at a crossroads as how to add the finings.
Repitched yeast usually needs O2, more so than initial dry yeast pitch, as well as nutrient.
My initial suggestion for adding finings works well and isn’t overly difficult. Good luck.
See BrewBama’s post on how to introduce finings into a keg without any oxygen exposure:
https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=36110.msg452529#msg452529
+1. That was where I saw it - Brew Bama knows his stuff!
Late to the party. I picked up that idea from another brewer (Scherlinka?) and made several refinements to his approach.
Recently, Richard had a great idea on how to sanitize using the same approach: fill the keg with water, blow it out with CO2 and use the water elsewhere, then jumper a small amount of sanitizer into the purged keg and swirl it around and dump it. Keeps you from having to mix 5 gallons of sanitizer each time.
Ok, I understand now after doing a little google search and seeing with my eyes how its done. Will order the carb caps and try this out!1
Thanks!!
I do something similar to what BrewBama does but on a smaller scale. I use a 20 mL syringe to inject the fining into the gas-in fitting:
More often than not, though, I just open the lid and dump in the fining. I keep it on 1-2 psi of positive pressure when the lid is open in an effort to minimize O2 ingress. Works well.
You could use Clearzyme and add it to the fermenter. https://www.morebeer.com/products/cellarscience-clearzyme-placeholder.html
If you get clear beer into the fermentor then it’s just a matter of letting the yeast finish, flocculate, drop and you again have clear beer. IMO kettle finings and settling time are the way to go.
There’s a thought… I use the floating diptubes though and they won’t pick up all the liquid from the bottom of the keg. Thus there in lies the problem for me…
I def get nice clear wort into the fermentor using a HERMS. I currently practice kettle finings and patiently wait for yeasties&beasties to drop out. My patience has basically run out and I also go through a lot of beer. Between my household and friends I can easily polish off a 5G keg in a week or less. I brew every 3-4 weeks, 15 gallons minimum and sometimes 25 gallons. I was using gelatin and adding to keg with the lid off but have since stopped that practice to eliminate O2 as much as I possibly can. I’m going to try out the advise of a few guys on this post using a carb cap and soda pressurized soda bottle.
Trim the diptube on the keg gas post so it is flush with the inside of the keg. Then to get that last bit of water out flip the keg upside down so the gas post is the lowest point and use a spare gas QD to blow the remaining sanitizer out.
+1. I use floating dip tubes and this works great.