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Brewing, Mead-Making, Cordial Chat

Started by Magister, May 12, 2008, 08:46:34 AM

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Magister

Ok .. I lied.  Since we tend to get a lot of questions on refining, I'm going to copy and paste this information in to a post.  It's long I'm sorry.  I just don't want the website to go offline and lose such a detailed amount of information.

I did not write this, and take no credit. The author's website can be found here: http://www.homebeerwinecheese.com/fining.html


FINING!

Fining \fine-ing\ vb : to make free from impurities.



A typical white wine regimen:

Post Harvest - Acidulate for pH correction.

Winter - Cold stabilize/reduce acidity.

Spring - Heat stabilize with Bentonite. Reduce harsh tannins & clarify with Gelatin & Kiesolsol.

Summer - Fine tune mouthfeel with Casein and/or Isinglass. Filter & Bottle. Enjoy!

A typical red wine regimen:

Post Harvest - Acidulate for pH correction. Fine with Gelatin to reduce excessive tannins.

Winter - Cold stabilize/reduce acidity.

Spring - Fine tune mouthfeel with Casein and/or Egg Whites.

Summer - Filter & Bottle. Enjoy!

One assumes that you are monitoring SO2, bringing to recommended levels after the end of M/L and maintaining through fining, filtering and then bottling.

BENTONITE: Aluminum Silicate is used primarily to achieve Heat Stability. While it will remove some hazes, its prime use is to remove unseen protein fractions that are unstable at wine pH. Hazes that remain after using 2 lbs./1000 gallons will respond better to a gelatine-kiesolsol treatment.

Dose: 1/2 tsp./gallon = 3 lbs./1000 gallons

SPARKOLLOID: This is a very useful haze removing fining agent. It is a long-chained polysaccharide in an agar base. Possessing a slight positive charge, it forms a microscopic spiderweb, trapping fine colloidal and negative charged particles as it settles. Also tends to collapse bentonite, compacting the lees.

It is simmered in water for 20 minutes to dissolve the agar and is added warm.

Dose: 1 tsp./gal.

KIESOLSOL: Soluble Silica Gel. Has a negative charge which attracts positive charged proteins and tannin-protein complexes. This coagulative process is rapid, uses little silica, and results in compact lees. Add Kiesolsol and then gelatine to remove some hazes. More common is to remove excess tannins with gelatine, followed by Kiesolsol to remove excess gelatine. The resultant coagulant then fines the wine.

Dose: 1/2-1 ml./gallon, with 1/4-1/2 lb. gelatine/1000 galllons ( 1/4-1/2 tsp./5 gallon ).

POLYCLAR/PVPP: Microscopic, insoluble nylon that binds with some phenolic compounds. Can remove color precursors, preventing enzymatic browning/pinking in whites. Not as effective after the fact. Also, may clean-up an imperfect wine's odor/flavor. Can remove anthocyanin (red) color, as in too-red blush wine. Useful for reduction of bitterness (monomeric tannins only).

Dose: 1/2-6 lbs./1000 gallons ( 2 tsp.-8 tbl./5 gallons ).

GELATIN: A protein that attracts tannins, reducing bitterness/astringency. White wines that have a slightly harsh or bitter flavor can be smoothed out with a very small amount of gelatin, followed by kiesolsol.

Hazy whites that have resisted other clarification agents like bentonite will fall crystal clear with gelatin.

Dose: 1/8-1/4 lbs. gelatin/1000 gallons ( 1/8-1/4 tsp./5 gallons ), followed by 1/2-1 ml./gallon kiesolsol.

Tannin was formerly used to settle gelatin, but kiesolsol is preferable. Gelatin will not coagulate and settle out in whites without kiesolsol.

In reds, use gelatin for clarity at levels of 1/4-1/2 lb./1000 gals. For reduction of bitterness in young reds, use 1/2-2 lbs./1000 gallons.

Being rather non-specific, gelatin is often too harsh a treatment for older reds coming out of barrel, so casein or egg whites may be preferred.

To prepare, make a 1% solution (1 gram/25 ml. cold water). Allow to expand. Add hot water to 100 mls. to dissolve.

CASEIN: Potassium Caseinate can improve both flavor and color in slightly oxidized whites. It is more gentle on reds when used close to bottling to reduce astingency. Can also reduce oakiness and slight microbial off-odors.

Dissolves in water, though not easily. Mix 1 volume in 9 volumes water for a few hours. Dilute this paste to be a 1-2% solution. Stir until dissolved. Do not heat. Store in freezer.

Dose: 1/8-1/2 lb./1000 gallons ( 6 grams/5 gallons ). Not over 1 lb/1000 gallons or may impart a milky flavor.

SKIM MILK: A home source of casein. Use powdered skim milk, not whole milk. Caseins flocculate quickly with the wine's acidity, tending to clump before they can react with the tannins. Best to inject in a fine stream with a syringe or baster. Or, add while racking.

Dose: 1/2 pint skimmed milk/5 gallons. Or, 10 grams powdered skim milk/5 gallons in a bit of water.

EGG WHITES: The albumin attracts older, long-chained tannins, slightly reducing astingency and improving mouthfeel in red wines only. Salt is added to solubilize the globulin, clarifying the mixture. It clumps rapidly, so follow the addition advise of casein.

Dose: 1/2 egg/5 gallons = 5-6 eggs/60 gallon barrel. Some use a "pinch" of salt. Or, 2 times the volume of salted water. Salted water = 10 grams salt/1 liter water.

Just wisk the mixture. Do not beat to a fluff.

For dried egg white, use 2.5-4 grams/5 gallons with a bit of warm water.

At The Daume Winery, I use egg whites, a pinch of salt, a wisk and, of course, a copper bowl. Add while stirring the barrel, avoiding aireation.

ISINGLASS: Collagen from the air bladder of sturgeon, "Isinglas is to whites what egg white is to reds". It reacts with older, long-chained tannins to gently improve mouthfeel. Older forms of the stuff were very hard to dissolve and smelled strongly of fish. I have an English form from James Vicker called Drifine that is easy to prepare and is much less smelly.

Dose: 10-30 miligrams/liter.

These fining agents are very useful tools to achieve brilliant clarity as well as a more pleasant and balanced mouthfeel.

Always test first to determine the desired effectiveness and the correct quantity to use. Too much added can take too much out of the wine and may leave excess fining in the wine.

It's important to understand phenolic extraction and developement as the wine ages. Phenols include tannins and color pigments. They come mostly from grape skins, as well as seeds, stems and barrel oak.

As wine ages, phenols link togather, becoming "poly" phenols. Young tannins may taste too coarse. With age, a pleasant dryness/astringency may remain.

Also, remember from the previous discussion of "co-pigmentation" that there is an equilibrium existing between tannins and color pigments. Removal of tannins with protein fining agents can disrupt this equilibrium. The result can often be loss of color stability. It is highly recommended to fine for tannic astingency early in the game before your wine is over 4 months old.

    * Use gelatin to aggressively remove shorter chained young tannins/phenols.
    * Use casein for moderate tannin reduction, removing medium length polyphenols, as well as some excess oakiness.
    * Use isinglass or egg whites to remove long chained, older polyphenols/tannins, improving mouthfeel/astringency.



Reference Books: (All books are available at The Home Beer/Wine/Cheesemaking Shop)

Ough: "Winemaking Basics"; AWS: "Complete Handbook of Winemaking";

Wagner: "Grapes into Wine"; Lundy: "Homemade Table Wines";

Fessler: "Guidelines To Practical Winemaking"; Vine, etc: "Winemaking, From Grape Growing to Marketplace";

Margalit: "Winery Technology & Operations";

Zoecklein, etc: "Wine Analysis & Production"; Margalit: "Wine Chemistry";

Boulton, etc: "Principles & Practices of Winemaking"
Magister
Moderator: Crafting Corner, Buy + Sale + Trade

Hoowil

I finally got around to trying an egg white fining. No kidding it clumps quickly! I don't know if I did somehting wrong, but I added egg white & a salt during a racking, and by the next morning I had a white clump, larger than the egg I added, floating on top. Does this sound right? Its been 4 days since I did this. Any thoughts/concerns?
Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste good with catsup.

Hoowil

Well, I've racked again, and double filtered through coffee filters to catch any sediment that might float up during so. Sampled my 5 pounds to a gallon mead with vanilla, cloves and cinnamon. WOW  :o, strong, smooth, and with a spicy finish. I like it. Color is close to a caramel, clearity isn't as good as my previous batches, but the actual honey content was easy quadruple, so that might be a major factor.Its a little thick and sweet for a summer time drink, but I'll bottle it and let it set until next winter, then serve it hot.
No clue what the end SG was, or the alcohol, as my hydrometer has once again died. The thing sat behind the brew bottle, in its case, in the reading tube, but when I opened it, the thing had a clean snap right in the middle of it  ???. Guess I'll be getting another one when I get my bottles after next payday.

I guess I find out if my egg fining did anything weird soon enough, as I'm having a small glass right now.

Has anyone dealt with cork wax? I plan on bottling this into small bottles, labels and waxed, to get as finely finished a project as I can (also figure color coding waxes by batch will help keep track of what I've got). Just curious if there is anything I should be aware of, and techniques I should know, etc.
Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste good with catsup.

tcindie

Here's what's brewing at my place currently... ought to be ready just in time for MNRF this year, though some will be set aside to age appropriately as well.


From left to right in this photo:

  • 5 gallons hard cider
  • 1 gallon orange mead
  • 4 gallons light amber mead
  • 1 gallon pumpkin pie mead
  • 1 gallon habanero mead (this one's for those daring enough to drink it..)

Recipe's are fairly straight forward.  Though I can't say one way or the other how good or bad they are as these were all started within the past week, with the three one gallon batches having just been started this afternoon.

Hoowil

Pumpkin pie? Thats sounds interesting, hopefully it works out well. My own single attempt at hard cider turned out strange, more like a sparkling apple wine, so I can't wait to hear how yours turns out. Maybe if it works out you can give me a few pointers for fall/apple season when I try again.

I've been thinking of trying to add a few batches of wine to my stockpile. As I'll be using home grown fruit, I have a few months to prepare and hopefully get my questions/concerns out of the way.

First, I've seen mainly wood (oak) presses, but also some small counter-top stainless ones. The stainless has a definite apeal for ease of cleaning. Are there any pros and cons to each?

If I'm doing fruits that I know are pesticide free, are there ary things I need to take into account for cleaning the fruit. I'm mainly thinking plum at the moment (as that and blackberries are what I generally get the most of), aside from pitting, is there any preparations to be taken?

Now to risk sounding very naive, I want to make sure to cover the basics. Once pressed, I sweeten the juice to adjust SG levels, and add yeast. Simple enough. I know that cooking the juice risks clouding, so do I need to do something else to sanitize? Do I bother? Do I add water to increase volume? Or is it a pesonal taste thing?

Well, anyway, as I said, it'll probably be August or later before I can start, so any thoughts, comments, smacks upside the newbie head, etc. would be appriciated.
Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste good with catsup.

tcindie

I'm quite a newb at this whole brewing thing myself, but I think issues with cloudiness are generally handled pretty easily with sparkeloid.. or something like that, not sure on the spelling. ;)

Hoowil

From my own experience, pectin clouding can be cleared with a clearing agent, but it took my strawberry mead batch months to get nice and clear, while my fruitless one took a matter of days. And I've read that bad cases of pectin clouding will never really go away, it pretty much turn your drink into really runny jelly

Also, as a personal note, I'm leaning towards staying away from chemical treatments (except for sanitation) at least for a little while. My one (so far) experiment with egg fining seems to have worked out well enough. I admit that I didn't get quite the clarity that I got in my earlier batches and chemical treatment, but this last batch was a very high honey content mead, made from a dark honey. I'm actually waiting for my corks to soak as I write, so I might be able to have finished pics up in a day or two.
Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste good with catsup.

Jon Foster

Quote from: Magister on May 17, 2008, 05:43:42 PM
Moira:

  Wow... You are the very first person I have ever heard that had a good experience with a "Mr. Beer" kit.  Usually it's a horror story of epic proportions.

  I personally have never tried using Brown Sugar inplace of white.  I knew a guy who used "unrefined" or the natural sugar like you get in the little brown packets at Starbucks.  From what I remember him telling me it didn't make a whole lot of difference to anything.

  I'm curious what the end result would be with an all brown sugar mixture - wine or beer.  If it works like Moira Mr. Beer, or if there are other interactions.  If someone tries it let us know how it goes.

I have the parts from a Mr. Beer kit that was given to me many years ago. The guy didn't like the beer it made either...

As for brown sugar? I had some root beer that was made with brown sugar. You could taste it big time! It was actually very acidic tasting and left a bitter after taste. I don't know if it would do anything good in wine, beer or mead.

Jon.

bellevivre

When making cordials (I think Loki is specifically the almond/vanilla flavor, ad the name spread to any cordial made with EC) what type of bottles do you decant to first? I'm planning on 4 different varieties, all of which will need to steep with solids, so i cant go immediately into my bottles. Do you think plastic tupperware style tubs, etc would be sufficient? Or old juice bottles?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Belle the Kat

Clan Procrastination's Ambassador to the Seelie & UnSeelie Courts

gracefulcarrie

If it isn't something that is going to ferment (i.e. not going to add yeast to it and it isn't going to release excessive amounts of carbon dioxide) which I don't think a cordial will, then any closed container that has been sanitized should work.  The only reason I say sanitized is because obviously you don't want any added nasties stinking up your good tasties.

I would say something that seals well and is as close to the same volume as the liquid/solid mixture that you are having sit in it is best.  That way there is as little air as possible, and no chance for spills.  But juice bottles, tupperware... I think for cordials any of those would work just fine.

Jon Foster

I'm still a big fan of using glass carboy's. We have everything from 350ml, 750ml, 1 gal, 3 gal, 5 gal and 6 gal for fermenting and bulk aging. Add a bung and airlock and you are golden. No nasties will get through a airlock filled with vodka...

Jon.

Hoowil

I've got a collection of 1 gallon glass bottles I got apple cider in. Its pretty easy to find a airlock bung the fits, and you can get it full of juice for cheaper than I've been able to fins most carboys. I actually do most of me brewing in them so as to be able to experiment with small batches and different ideas. The opening is about one inch round, so some solids fit pretty easy, others might need to be cut down a little. I have fit cinnamon sticks in and out (put a thread around one end, tied securely so it can be pulled out by one end straight out the neck) easily enough.
Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste good with catsup.

Hoowil

My sweet mead is aged, and done. I've openning a couple bottles, and the stuff is soooo smooth! I think I'll be making the unsweetened (no extra sugar) sweet meads like that for a while more.
Only thought, this was my first batch I used corks for, instead of capping. I got some particles, clouding off of the cork. It doesn't seem to have a negative effect on the flavor of the mead, but I'm not thrilled about the appearance. Anyone have similar experiences, or suggestions?
Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste good with catsup.