Common Wine and Beer Finings
Finings (pronounced fine-ings) are often used in wine and
beer to facilitate and speed up clearing. All of the particles
clouding up wine or beer have an electrical charge. Positive
charged finings will attract negatively charged particles
and bind with them, making them too heavy to float. Negative
charged finings will attract positively charged particles
producing the same results. They will then sink to the bottom
of your carboy, leaving everything brilliantly clear. Finings
might not work on the first try, or it may take more than
one kind of fining to clear a wine or beer. Polyclar plays
a special role in beer-making. It removes haze caused by
tannin in grain husks without taking too much body and flavour
out of the beer.
Here
is an outline of the most commom finings used in wine and
beer making.
Bentonite
Montmorillonite. Naturally occurring hydrated aluminosilicate
of sodium, calcium, magnesium, and iron.
Fining agent for wine. Also useful when added to a clear
juice must at the beginning of a fermentation to provide
yeast nucleation sites and speed the onset of fermentation.
Use ½ g per litre of wine. Dissolve by blending into boiling
water (for every gram of bentonite use about 25 ml of water:
for a 23 litre batch of wine that is 11.5 g of bentonite
in about 300 ml of water). Allow to stand for 24 hours and
stir thoroughly into wine. Wait two weeks and then rack
wine from sediment. 5 ml (one teaspoon) = approximately
3 grams.
Store in a cool dry place. Using more than the recommended
amount can strip melanoidins (colour and flavour compounds)
from a wine.
Kieselsol
Silicon dioxide. Silica.
Fining agent for beer or wine.Should be used in conjunction
with gelatin. Add 2.2 ml per litre of wine or beer (about
50 ml per 23 litre batch). Use a syringe for accurate measurement.
Stir thoroughly. Wait two weeks and rack off sediment.
Store at room temperature. Do not freeze or refrigerate.
Seal tightly when not in use.
Liquid Gelatin Finings.
100% animal-derived gelatin.
Positively charged fining agent for wine and beer. Can
be used alone or in conjunction with kieselsol. The most
powerful of the organic finings, gelatin will also remove
excess tannins (polyphenolics) and colouring particles (melanoidins)
from wine. Use .66 ml per litre (about 15 ml per 23 litres).
Use a syringe for accurate measurement. Place gelatin container
in hot water to soften contents. Stir into wine or beer
thoroughly. Wait two weeks and rack from sediment.
Using more than the recommended amount will remove too
much of the colour and flavour compounds from wine and some
of the body from beer.
Store under refrigeration
Egg Whites
Positively charged fining for wine. Works similar to gelatin,
removing tannins and some colour. Dosage is 1/5 to ½ egg
white per 23 litres. Gently beat white with 500 ml of wine
and a pinch of salt and stir immediately into wine. Do not
beat stiff, just loosen up the white so it will mix into
the wine. Wait two weeks and rack. This is the only fining
agent used on the great red wines of Burgundy
Gelatin Finings (dried form)
100% animal-derived gelatin
Positively charged fining agent for wine and beer. The
most powerful of the organic finings, gelatin will also
remove excess tannins (polyphenolics) and colouring particles
(melanoidins) from wine. Use 1.5 g per 23 litres of beer,
3 g per 23 litres of wine. Pour 125 ml of boiling water
over gelatin powder, stirring to dissolve. Stir thoroughly
into wine. 5 ml (one teaspoon) = approximately 3 g.
Using more than the recommended amount will remove too
much of the colour and flavour compounds from wine and some
of the body from beer.
Store cool and dry
Isinglass
Sometimes called fish glue.
The shredded, freeze dried, powdered swim bladder of sturgeon
dissolved in liquid suspension. Positively charged fining
agent. Traditionally used for beer but can also be used
for wine. Extremely gentle. Use 1 ml per litre of beer or
wine. Dissolve into 250 ml of water and stir thoroughly
into beer or wine. Wait two weeks and rack off sediment.
Not as strong as any other fining; may fail to clear completely
Store tightly sealed in a cool place.
Polyclar
Polyvinylpolypyrrolidone food grade. Polyclar VT
Stabilising additive for wine or beer. Removes polyphenolic
compounds and oxidised melanoidins. This means that when
used in beer it will remove haze-causing husk tannins and
oxidised compounds that contribute to off flavours. When
used in a finished wine it can help to remove haze-causing
proteins. More importantly, it can remove oxidised flavour
and aroma compounds, making the wine taste fresher while
improving and enhancing the aroma. Also able to gently reduce
tannins. Use ½ g per litre of wine or beer. Dissolve powder
in 500 ml of the wine or beer. Stir into larger amount,
mixing very well. Wait for one week and rack from sediment.
May cause gushing and foaming when added; when in doubt,
add to wine or beer in a container with 25% larger volume
than the liquid inside. 5 ml (one teaspoon) = approximately
1.1 g.
Although Polyclar will remove haze it is not primarily
a fining agent. Using more than the recommended amount can
strip melanoidins (colour and flavour compounds) from a
wine. Store at room temperature
Sparkolloid
Other names: Celite. Calcined diatomaceous earth. Kieselguhr.
Siliceous rock.
Crystalline Silica, quartz aluminasilicate, cristobalite.
It contains colloidal compounds which make it gel, and the
silica is derived from the preserved skeletons of marine
animals found in dry seabeds. Positively charged fining
agent for beer and wine. Noted for working when other fining
agents have failed. Also provides a compact sediment bed,
pressing down other fining agents and increasing yield.
Used as a coating medium for filter pads, to decrease porosity.
To use, stir 25 g of Sparkolloid into 1 litre of briskly
boiling water. Boil for three minutes, stirring well to
completely dissolve. Use 12.5 ml of the prepared solution
for every litre of wine (about 300 ml for 23 litres). Stir
thoroughly into wine, leave for 2 weeks, then rack off sediment.
Store remaining solution in tightly sealed bottle. Will
keep for 6 months or more. 5 ml (one teaspoon) = approximately
1.2 grams.
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