Question to Polyclar users?

[gnutz2]

How much do you use and how long does it take to settle?

Just panicking a bit, i mixed 15g into 150ml of water and left it on a stirplate for a day, i put the slurry in the beer this morning and it's still cloudy (chill haze) even though i can see the polyclar has settled on the bottom .

I usually use axillary finnings and isinglass, this would be pretty clear by now.

I need to get this batch of beer bottled ready for christmas.

[Twistedfinger]

What was the temperature difference between your beer and the polyclar solution. ? If the polyclar was colder it would have sunk straight to the bottom. I mix mine with warm water, give it a good stir and slowly pour it in/on. Because of the temperature difference the polyclar floats in a layer then slowly sinks. Works for me..

[gnutz2]

What was the temperature difference between your beer and the polyclar solution. ? If the polyclar was colder it would have sunk straight to the bottom. I mix mine with warm water, give it a good stir and slowly pour it in/on. Because of the temperature difference the polyclar floats in a layer then slowly sinks. Works for me..

Beer was 2-3c and polyclar was 13-14c so cant see a problem there.

How long does yours take to clear?

[Twistedfinger]

2 month !! well to be honest I did it when the Helles was lagering in the loft in a wine fermenter so it wasn't as if I kept an eye on it.

[gnutz2]

2 month !! well to be honest I did it when the Helles was lagering in the loft in a wine fermenter so it wasn't as if I kept an eye on it.

Sh!t , im talking 24 hours to clear.

Maybe this polyclar just takes a bit more time than isinglass + auxiliary.

[Twistedfinger]

From what I've read 2-3 days is enough. My 2 months was just because I used it at the start of a lagering period, I could have easly used it at the end.

Massive thread on AHB Here post #60 mentions using geletine/issinglass and polyclar.

[Aleman]

I find Polyclar 730 Plus to work within 24 hours.

Of course you have to remember that Polyclar is a 'plastic' so won't actually dissolve, so there is no need to shove it on a stir plate . . . I use a stick blender with cooled boiled water for mine, as 730 Plus has silica added, and I want to get that hydrated . . But a couple of 30 second blasts to distribute it into the water and then it is poured into the fv . . stirred gently Only the top 4" of the beer, and then allowed to settle . . . Beer temp at this point is around 2C.

24 Hours later . . . Clearish beer,as there is still suspended yeast present . . . So out comes the isinglass again gently stirred into the top 4", and allowed to settle.

[gnutz2]

I find Polyclar 730 Plus to work within 24 hours.

Of course you have to remember that Polyclar is a 'plastic' so won't actually dissolve, so there is no need to shove it on a stir plate . . . I use a stick blender with cooled boiled water for mine, as 730 Plus has silica added, and I want to get that hydrated . . But a couple of 30 second blasts to distribute it into the water and then it is poured into the fv . . stirred gently Only the top 4" of the beer, and then allowed to settle . . . Beer temp at this point is around 2C.

24 Hours later . . . Clearish beer,as there is still suspended yeast present . . . So out comes the isinglass again gently stirred into the top 4", and allowed to settle.

Thats the stuff i have, 730 plus.

I read on a data sheet somewhere that it should be mixed for at least an hour, hence the reason for using a stir plate. Anyway i mixed up another 10g and added that last night, i'll check tonight.

I was looking for a better solution over auxiliary and isinglass but i may not have found it.

[Aleman]

Depending on the aux finings you are using . . . most are silica based. . . . The other thing to remember is that 730 Plus is designed to remove Tannins (Silica) and protein fragments (Polyclar). thereby preventing non biological hazes forming . . . it does nothing for biological hazes like yeast . . . so you still require another fining agent for them. . . . i.e. Isinglass

I must admit that I am stunned by the performance of 730 Plus . . . Given that I crash cool to 2C and can then see an obvious chill haze . . . the difference when adding 730 and waiting for it to settle is astounding. . . . I've got some beers stored in an uncontrolled fridge at 0.5-2C (*) and not a hint of chill haze at all . . . it will be interesting to see what the long tern stability of the beers is like as that is one of the prime purposes of 730.


* I do move the beers to the cellar fridge at 10C before drinking

[gnutz2]

Well i used to just cool the beer down, add callabrite wait 5 mins then add isinglass. Like you say this was removing biological and non boilogical hazes.

So if the beer is still hazy 24 hours after tratment with polyclar it must be yeast still in suspension. I had allways assumed when the temps got near freezing that all yeast would floc out.

[darkonnis]

Hmmm, they don't flocculate out per say, they "drop out" because they go to sleep and they just drift to the bottom. (atleast thats my understanding) The reason I make the distinction is because flocculating means they gather together into clumps, which is what floc agents do. Both techniques get the same result but with different methods.... Thus you can use both (as you know)

That is purely my understanding of it of course. I could be wrong.
Quik-Klear is pretty good if you need alternatives

[gnutz2]

I pulled a sample this morning and left it at room temp to see if the haze went, it's still there now so the polyclar probably did its job and its the yeast thats causing me problems.

I've now added isinglass so hopefully i should have clear beer tomorrow and i can get on and bottle. Yeast is Thames Valley 2, never had as much trouble with any other yeast.

Makes great beer though

[paulg]

sorry to jump in on this thread but i have some questions regarding clearing agents
i have never used anything to clear my beers and have always had a slight haze even at 12-14 degrees.
my latest brew was my first with a herms setup and the wort was pretty clear going into the fermenter,today after 10 days fermenting and 2 days at 2 degrees I transfered my beer to corny keg and took a sample in a glass.
it was hazy I allowed it to warm up but it is still hazy ,it may well improve with time as yeast drops out more.
my questions are what effect on keeping times do the polyclar/issenglass type products have
can anyone give me an idea of timescale before the beer would start to have problems as I guess commercial beers that are fined are usually consumed within a shortish timescale after racking

[weiht]

Do u still need to use gelatin if using polyclar? From what I understand, polyclar only targets chill haze?

[gnutz2]

sorry to jump in on this thread but i have some questions regarding clearing agents
i have never used anything to clear my beers and have always had a slight haze even at 12-14 degrees.
my latest brew was my first with a herms setup and the wort was pretty clear going into the fermenter,today after 10 days fermenting and 2 days at 2 degrees I transfered my beer to corny keg and took a sample in a glass.
it was hazy I allowed it to warm up but it is still hazy ,it may well improve with time as yeast drops out more.
my questions are what effect on keeping times do the polyclar/issenglass type products have
can anyone give me an idea of timescale before the beer would start to have problems as I guess commercial beers that are fined are usually consumed within a shortish timescale after racking

Well from what i've read polyclar is a stabilizer so it gives the beer a longer life than if you were not to use it.

From what i understand with isinglass, as long as you rack the beer off it once it's done it's job, i dont think you'll have any problems, I've seen bottles in supermarkets that have beer cleared with isinglass.

Do u still need to use gelatin if using polyclar? From what I understand, polyclar only targets chill haze?

It depends on the yeast. If the yeast drops clear very quickly then the only haze your likely to see will be a chill haze so polyclar will do the job on its own.