Isinglass Issue

[l.herman]

Hi,

I really need help.

So far I have been using Special Auxillary Finings in the FV before crashing for 48hrs and then adding 350ml Isinglass into standard 9 Gal casks before going into the cold store. This has been working brilliantly for quite some time and we've been growing steadily. However, I changed to a different malt and supplier of the finings. Needless to say I am kicking myself for not carrying out new tests to discover the best dosage rates, just got carried away pumping beer out I guess. I am gutted as now the whole stock (across all beer ranges) is cloudy. I've appeased the pubs for now by going there and adding more Isinglass (after completing tests in the brewery with smaller amounts of unfined beer and the old stock that was cloudy) It seems that I now need 60ml more Isinglass in each cask than before as this does the trick.

I would really like it avoid opening all the casks in the cold store and dosing each one as we've had at least one pub call saying the beer is vinegary (probably from loss of CO2 or infection when opening and re-dosing).

1) Is there a way of mixing this beer into a fresh half brew or something and if so at what stage etc!?

2) If not should I just continue to open each cask and add more Isinglass before it goes out the door?

Things were going so well and now all our stock is screwed and I'm gutted so if anyone has experienced this or knows any advice I will lap it up!

Thank you in advance!

[tariq khan]

Isinglass

My vote would be to refine each cask, a major pain in the ass but hopefully you'll never have to do it again! It's a shame landlords can't or won't take care of it like in the old days! At the UK breweries I was at we were constantly opening casks to add flavourings and what not, never had a cask come back vinegary.

I think 350ml/firkin yes is a bit on the low side, My experience was using the aux finings at the end of fermentation just before cooling, then a dose of isinglass in the tank the day before racking as well as brewing syrup solution (sorry can't remember how much) then 400mls per firkin at racking. Rarely had an issue with cloudy casks.

Hope this helps.

T