MacGuyvering up some kettle finings?

[Greig McGill]

So, I'm about to have a crack at a Märzen tomorrow (unseasonality noted), and don't have any kettle finings. It's too late to buy any now, and nothing will be open tomorrow.

Is there any common household substitute for Irish Moss in the kettle in the way that gelatin works as a barrel fining?

[JoKing]

No there isn't. But to reduce long chain proteins you can do a 15 minute protein rest at 52 degrees before your saccrification rest. Dont overdo it, so plan your heat infusion beforehand. After fermantation, a lagering period of 2 - 4 weeks at zero(ish) should give you clear beer.

This is the German mash schedule (52, 62, 72) designed to eliminate haze, as kettle finings are against the reinheitsgebot .

This may well be your best opportunity to MacGuyvering a kettle fining.

[Greig McGill]

Awesome idea. I'm not easily set up for multiple infusions, but I'll give it a crack. Might even try decoction.
It will be getting a good 2 month lagering, so that should help too.

[Greig McGill]

Oh, Beersmith does this for me. How handy!

[JoKing]

Be careful though - more than 15 mins and you'll start cutting into your potential head stability. I have realised this first hand!

[Greig McGill]

Yeah, I noticed it recommended 30m. I've trimmed that.

[Greig McGill]

Well, that was a disaster. The protein rest worked really well. Clearest wort I've had in ages. However, I missed my rest temp (undershot) and though I managed to rise it to where I wanted it reasonably quickly, either this or some other factor has caused me to undershoot my target gravity by miles. Was aiming for 1.059, got 1.047. I'm a bit depressed about this as it's a giant waste of a rather complex grain bill. Especially since it's a lager, and will thus tie up resources (fermenter, fridge) for some time.

We live and learn. I just wish I knew why my efficiency dropped from its usual 72-75% down to 62%. Sucks to be me.

[JoKing]

I think you fudged weighing out your grain by a kilo! What was your saccrification temp? I normally mash these beers 52 - 62 - 72 and get regular efficiency.

[Greig McGill]

Target saccharification temperature was 66, I hit 63 and brought it up to around 65.6. I didn't do a mash out this time as I ran out of space in my mash tun.

[JoKing]

You dont really need to anyways... Calibrate your scales much? I know when the batteries are flat, they can be 25% innacurate. The other problem is... how often do you make big beers?

I have noticed a trend with the grist, that when you have a deep grain bed efficiency suffers. Especially with BIAB and Batch Sparging. Having said that, 1.059 isn't that big... and I am still getting 80% efficiency with 1.060... which makes me think it's the scales.

Weigh a liter of water 5 times and see what you get.

[Greig McGill]

That was my first thought. They were accurate. Volumetrically it looked right too. I don't often make beers bigger than 1.050 though, so it could be the deep grain bed thing, but like yourself, I find that hard to believe.

[JoKing]

Maybe you had a brain melt and forgot to tare the container - thats 170ish grams. Could be half a kilo less than what you think you put in...? I cant see how it is possible that you would ger such an instant drop in efficiency... there is more to it.

Why dont you work your efficiency out on beersmith with a kilo less than you think you used and see if it suits your normal numbers?

[Greig McGill]

A kilo of base malt? Hrm, it's lower again, at 1.045. I could massage the weights all day. I dowubt it will matter. I am 99.9% sure that my weights were correct.