Alternative to Gelantine?

[MiniMoose]

I was wandering if anyone knew if Agar Agar would work instead of Gelantin as a fining since i am a vegetarian. for those of you who dont know what agar agar is you can find out here:

http://www.answers.com/topic/agar?cat=health and here is good info also http://www.vegsoc.org/info/gelling.html

It says there that Agar has stronger setting properties, could it actually work better than gelantin?

Cheers

[Chris]

Generally speaking, vegetable derived finings aren't effective in fining beer during/post fermentation. They tend to be effective at temperature for protein, not for yeast dropping.

As a vegetarian, you'd be better of with polyclar.

[Chunk]

I'm vego as well. I don't use any finings in my brews. I wouldn't bother using any alternatives to gelatine based finings.

[gibbocore]

unless you're vegan, just think of gelatine as nail clippings, a by product of a living animal..... like eggs and milk....

[drsmurto]

My beers come out brilliantly clear and i dont use finings.

Secret ingredient? Time in the bottle and a gentle pour.

I have vego and vegan mates and make they are able to drink all of them.

[Lachy]

I'm a vego too, and I've never bothered with any sort of finings. I bottle straight from primary fermentation, so I've come to expect a bit of yeast in the end product, however as a wheat beer fan, this isn't an issue for me. As others have said, a gentle pour will avoid most yeast, however if you want to ensure a greater degree of clarity, racking your beer may help. If you're really serious, you could consider filtering the beer and kegging it, but that's probably taking it too far.

You could also try asking at the HBS for strains of yeast that settle out after fermentation more strongly than kit yeasts.

[drsmurto]

S-04 comes to mind. Shit to a blanket.....

[Iron-Haggis]

You can always use Irish Moss for finings. It's a type of algae, which makes it very suitable for vegeterians.

[Kevnlis]

But for Irish Moss to be effective it must be added to the boil, AFAIK it will not drop yeast.

[chris.]

...

[Chris]

Oh, yeah. I meant sparkolloid.

I've only heard of agar being used as a 'clarifying agent' in winemaking, not as a yeast-effective fining. Don't really know though. Any winemakers on the site?

[Cortez The Killer]

I'd just use the gelatine - it'll drop out of suspension anyway

Does that mean you can't eat sweets where gelatine has been used as a setting agent?

Also means you can't use isinglass as a fining it's made from the transparent air bladders of fish

Cheers