[Jeff M]

Anyone have any experience with this product?  I used some in my last APA batch and i am fairly sure it made it water and insipid.  I dont have any non-clarity ferm-ed APA of the same batch ATM, but will do a side by side when possible.

Jeff

[AmandaK]

I used to use it because I am lightly sensitive to gluten or whatever compound it dropped out (e.g. wheat beer / cloudy beer makes my nose very stuffy - big whoop).

It worked fine enough at dropping out whatever it was that I am allergic to, but made the beer slightly more boring/lifeless compared to the same beer w/o Clarity Ferm. IME, it wasn't that great as a clearing agent either.

So I used it about 10 times, and haven't since.

[dkfick]

I have a classic american pilsner that I did 6 gallons with it and 6 gallons without it from the same wort using the same yeast as an experiment... Guess I'll find out next month if I find any difference...

[Jeff M]

Just had a customer come threw the store that was brewing for someone with a sever gluten allergy.  He Said they did tasting with the Allergic person and she had 0 consequences with the Clarity Ferm.  Hes going to send a sample of his next beer of to white labs to check it but they have had good success with it.  I guess for someone with a sever issue, water beer made with barley is better then any beer made with sorghum.

[morticaixavier]

I used it once in a split batch for a celiac friend. I did not notice a huge difference but I also don't think it helped clarify at all. She did not have any problems with the beer so it seems to work for that.

[klickitat jim]

I had a couple batches a year ago that were pretty hazy. Plus a friend has celiac. So I tried clarity ferm. At the time I liked the results. I couldnt find it local so I bought a butt load from B3. Added it every time like clock work. I had decent clarity ever since. But one time I forgot to add wirlflock, and that beer was cloudy even with CF in the fermenter. Eventually I ran out of CF and brewed a few batches without it. My clarity is just fine, and my mouthfeel has slightly improved as compared to the CF batches. My celiac friend never tried any of the CF beer because she got pregnant and now she has moved away, so it doesn't matter.

In my opinion, unless you are looking for a fix for mild gluten alergies, its a waste of money. Wirlflock improves clarity way way more. If I were to fine my beer post fermentation, I think I would try polyclar or gelatin. I've found that good sanitation, wirlflock, and a vigorous ferment is all I need.

[Jeff M]

In my opinion, unless you are looking for a fix for mild gluten alergies, its a waste of money. Wirlflock improves clarity way way more. If I were to fine my beer post fermentation, I think I would try polyclar or gelatin. I've found that good sanitation, wirlflock, and a vigorous ferment is all I need.

Agreed Jim, We didnt use Irish Moss int he batch and its super hazy.  I wasnt using the CF for the clarity problem but more for the gluten problem.  I have a few friends who are sensitive and was gonna use them as guinea pigs thinking it wouldnt change the fullness of the beer.  Sadly it makes the beer slightly insipid and thats kind of a deal breaker.

I will brew with it on request from said friends and split off 5g for them, but it will NOT be going in every batch.

[klickitat jim]

Yup. I didnt notice much change going from no CF to using it. But I noticed a difference when I dropped it. It was slight but noticeable. I will say that it never effected head or lacing for me, but my beers are pretty much always very heady.

[pharmboy]

I wont use the stuff again. Got a batch that was contaminated with some kind of putrifaction organism. Formed a slimy krausen with large filmy bubles smelled like puke ruined 4 5gallon batches before i traced the source of the infection to the clarity ferm after buying all new tubing and plastic equipment.


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[Stevie]

I wont use the stuff again. Got a batch that was contaminated with some kind of putrifaction organism. Formed a slimy krausen with large filmy bubles smelled like puke ruined 4 5gallon batches before i traced the source of the infection to the clarity ferm after buying all new tubing and plastic equipment.


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Did you write whitelabs? I'm sure they would want to know.

[pharmboy]

Naw. Dont have any useful information for them like batch number. One thing to look out for tho if you open one of those ampules and contents are runny like water rather than viscous its surely contaminated. I only caught on because after 4 contaminated brews in a row and sterilizing everything I stopped using the clarity ferm for the next 6 brews and thought my cleaning had finally exorcised the bugs from my equipment. Then lasdt month I did a  5 gal Saison with 4 liter starter of wyeast 3711 and I decided to throw in the last amp of CF. Well BAM! The putrifaction was back. Thats when the lightbulb went on.
BTW I Saved that batch after 24 hours of putrid fermentation by reboiling the wort and pouring it over a German Lager Yeast Cake. The fermentation threw out tremendous volumes of foul smelling sulfurous gases and got rid of any vomitous flavors.

[klickitat jim]

All of my CF has been exactly like water in look and smell. So thats not it

[a10t2]

We used it for several months in a production setting and it worked as advertised (and anecdotally, seemed to help out gluten-sensitive folks) but led to extremely loose bottoms that made yeast harvesting impractical. I assume they'd still be using it were it not for that.