Finings
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Finings1[›] is a substance used to aid the clearing of wine or beer, particularly cask ale. Fining is the process of using this substance.
Egg whites, gelatin, isinglass, diatomaceous earth, blood, milk, bentonite, Irish moss (a type of red alga), and activated carbon have all been used as finings.
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[edit] Wine
Virtually all large wineries now pass wine through bentonite (clay) filters rather than using organic finings.[1]
[edit] Beer
One of the defining characteristics of real ale is that it continues to mature ("condition") after it is brewed. This is achieved by allowing live yeast to remain in the cask or bottle after the beer leaves the brewery, and explains the requirement that "real ale" (cask- or bottle-conditioned beer) not be filtered (which removes the yeast) or pasteurized (which kills the yeast and changes the taste of the beer).
The "secondary fermentation" caused by the yeast remaining in the container from which the beer is dispensed allows a more complex taste to develop. However many people find drinking any recognisable quantity of yeast to be unpleasant - so a mechanism is needed to remove the bulk of suspended yeast from the beer as secondary fermentation comes to completion, and before the beer is dispensed. This is the process of "fining", and it is performed by adding substances ("finings") which gradually settle out, taking the yeast down (and up, see below) to form the sediment which always exists at the bottom of a cask or bottle of real ale.
"Finings" is a thick liquid, usually made from the swim bladders of fish although alternatives exist. Around a pint per 9-gallon firkin is added to the beer, invariably these days at the brewery when the beer is racked into the cask. The finings will begin to act on the beer immediately, but the movement associated with transport will ensure that the yeast remains mixed throughout the cask. Once the cask is placed on the stillage or serving position, vibration and movement will be avoided and the cask can begin to clear.
The way in which fining works is complex - the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) Cellarmanship guide states that it is "partly physical and partly electro-chemical". The process consists of three stages: the solids in the beer first "flocculate" into loose clumps, then the clumps join together into bands or layers, and the layers finally migrate towards the top and bottom of the cask. The band at the top of the beer ("top break") is why the last pint drawn from the cask may be cloudy and have to be thrown away.
If a cask is transported a long way, with many interruptions in which the beer clears as if on the stillage, the finings may become "tired" and cease to work. For this reason, ale brewers selling to large pub companies try to avoid having their casks transported through the same centralized distribution chain as the company's more stable packaged drink supplies, preferring to deliver their beer direct or through a local intermediary. Since around 2004 pub companies have become increasingly willing to consider such arrangements.
It is possible to revive a cask with worn-out finings by adding a fresh batch, but few purveyors (barkeep in American English or landlord in British English) are prepared to undertake this.
[edit] Fining and vegetarianism
In the absence of "animal products used here" labels, many people are simply not aware that finings are an issue for vegetarians. However, most finings are made from animal protein, so the choice of suitable wines and beers may be difficult for some vegetarians, especially those who object to the use of animal products for any purpose, rather than simply not wishing to eat them.
- Strict vegetarians will avoid drinks that are not specifically designated as fit for vegetarians and beers that use swim-bladder finings rather than an alternative such as seaweed extract. This can be difficult, as there may be limited information about production methods at the point of sale and merchants are unlikely to know either. Vegan wine and beer is available, but is not always labeled as such.
- Those less strict adopt the position that the use of animal-based finings is an issue they are prepared to overlook for the sake of convenience, much as they might buy, for example, a suitcase with leather zip-pulls.
- Some vegetarians who only wish to avoid eating animal products take the view that the beer or wine itself can be regarded as vegetarian, since only a small amount of the finings are consumed (the majority falls to the bottom of the cask with the spent yeast).
