Super Kleer - Instructions and Confusion.

[mannye]

If you go on the internet and do research on how to use Super Kleer, you will find all sorts of different wait times for going from the first part to the second part. 1 hour, 10 hours, 24 hours. Even on some retailer's websites.

BUT. If you read the instructions, it DOES NOT SPECIFY ANY WAIT TIME. The instructions say, put the contents of the first half in, stir gently. Dissolve the second half in 1oz of warm water and add, stir gently.

Yesterday I followed the instructions to the letter. I had a sugar wash that had gone very well, (see the "Using Mead Knowledge for Sugar Wash" thread) and I had cold crashed. I transferred the wash to a secondary fermenter leaving a lot of the trub on the bottom, and the result was a milky whitish/clearish wash. It smells good and is even almost drinkable.

I will post pictures of the result. If it works, I should have an almost crystal clear wash.

[NZChris]

It'll be clear after you've distilled it, regardless of how dirty it was when it went in.

[Saltbush Bill]

Why buy or use a clearing agent at all?
Your just putting money in someone's pocket.
Of course those who retail such things will claim you need it.

[LWTCS]

Why buy or use a clearing agent at all?
Your just putting money in someone's pocket.
Of course those who retail such things will claim you need it.

Yessir. I dont get it.
@mannye,
If you put 3 or more fermenting buckets in to service, you will have no need for clearing agents.
Get something started. Have something working off. And have something clearing and you really will be making better use of your investment.
By doing so you really dont have to touch what your doing that much. It's not a big time suck at all.
Save your money for making.......

[mannye]

I have always used finings to clear my fermentables from the very first time I made a batch of beer. But it could also be that it's just the way I've been doing it. Maybe it doesn't matter.

I could just let it sit, and it would eventually clear on its own, but Super Kleer does overnight what usually takes three to four weeks.

It's really just kieselsol and chitosan, and yes, I will admit that at $4 a pack Super Kleer is the most expensive way to get it. It's way cheaper if bought by the quart.

@LWCTS You're absolutely right about the three fermenters, and I have 5 of 'em! But usually three of them are full of some kind of mead or cider slowly fermenting in the freezers. Here in Miami Beach, temperature management is the most difficult thing.

I also think that you guys should try it before you knock it. Unless you have, and noticed it didn't make a difference. I will eventually try NOT clearing. Heck, I'm lazy and it I can omit a step, I will!

But also because I'm lazy, I don't want to spend any more time cleaning my still than I have to. Doesn't putting cloudy wash in the still also get it dirtier when you do a run?

Most of my runs until this first sugar wash have been honey shine or apple shine. I bought my still to save batches of mead that oxidized or didn't turn out well. Since they were actually intended to be mead, or cider they are always cold crashed, cleared and often even filtered. I noticed that these crystal clear "washes" leave pretty much zero mess in my still (an 8 gallon stainless pot still) and it is clean as a whistle after a quick rinse.

[Chauncey]

Its not gonna require much cleaning regardless of the wash clarity. Id say youre wasting time and money over clearing sugar washes.

[LWTCS]

In my situation, fermentation is nearly complete within 3 days.
Give a good stir to degas and enough has fallen out of suspension by the weekend to run without issue.

But also, if you think about bourbon production protocols,,,,well clearly,,,,clearing is a non issue.

[LWTCS]

I mean that's what's on the plates of a bourbon still.....

[seabass]

I use gelatin for every batch of beer. I can't imagine using any kind of finings for distilling. If I'm in a hurry with a single malt, I'll cold crash to get yeast to drop out. Otherwise I wait for them to drop out on their own and run it. That's the most I'll ever do for clearing. My opinion is it's a waste of money. I'm going to separate all of that crap out in the stripping run anyway. My only concern is cooked yeast. I've had single malts with a yeasty flavor and I don't like it.

[mannye]

Old habits are hard to break I guess.

It was the same when I went from beer to mead. It took me a while to let go of the beer "obsessive cleaning" habits and I still cringe a little when I open the fermenter to de-gass or add nutrients.

I'm sure I'll eventually relax with the clearing. Hey, at least I'm not filtering it!

[jonnys_spirit]

I don’t use finings for stillin but I do generally work a couple weeks into my protocol for settling and degassing and rack off the sediment. Usually no big hurry anyway. I might eventually put a thumper together for steam strips and i’d still l ike to minimize sediment in the boiler. The wort/wash is usually fairly acidic so boiling it does a pretty good clean and a spirit run certainly cleans it all out well.

Cheers!
-jonny