The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/all/20041209053226/http://www.leeners.com:80/finingagents.html
 
FINING AGENTS
Fining agents are used to clarify wine and beer before bottling or long-term storage. Fining (pronounced fine- ing) agents work on the principle that all of the particles clouding up wine or beer have an electrical charge. As the saying goes, opposites attract, so a positively charged fining like gelatin will attract negatively charged particles and bind with them, making them too heavy to float. They will then sink to the bottom of your carboy, leaving everything brilliantly clear.
  • CHEMICAL ADDITIVES
  • FINING AGENTS
  • STABLIZERS
  • CLEANERS & SANITIZERS
  • ABOUT FINING
  • ABOUT SULFITES

  • BENTONITE
    8 oz. $1.10-
    1 lb. $1.95-
    Naturally occurring hydrated aluminosilicate of sodium, calcium, magnesium, and iron. Also useful when added to clear juice must at the beginning of a fermentation and to provide yeast nucleation sites. Speeds the onset of fermentation. Use 4 teaspoons for five gallons of wine. Dissolve by blending into 1/2 cup of boiling water. Allow to stand for 24 hours and stir thoroughly into wine. Wait two weeks and then rack wine from sediment. Using more than the recommended amount can strip melanoidins (color and flavor compounds) from a wine. Prolonged breathing of dust can cause respiratory disease.
    SPARKOLLOID
    1 oz. $1.95-
    1 lb. $10.95-
    Cold Mix Fining Agent. Positively charged fining agent for beer and wine. Noted for working when other fining agents have failed. Also provides a compact sediment bed, pressing down other fining agents and increasing yield. Used as a coating medium for filter pads, to decrease porosity. To use, stir 1/2 tsp per gallon into one quart of briskly boiling water. Boil for three minutes, stirring well to completely dissolve. Use 1/2 cup of the prepared solution for every gallon of wine. Stir thoroughly into wine, leave for 2 weeks, and then rack off sediment. Although it may contains some colloidal compounds which can make it gel, sparkalloid is derived from the preserved skeletons of marine animals found in dry seabeds, suspended in powdered agar gelatin. Prolonged exposure to dust can cause lung irritation. 
    GELATIN FININGS
    1 oz. $1.20-
    1 lb. $7.95-
    Positively charged fining agent for wine and beer. The most powerful of the organic finings, gelatin will also remove excess tannins (polyphenolics) and coloring particles (melanoidins) from wine. Use 1/ teaspoon per gallon of beer, 1/2 teaspoon per gallon of wine. Pour 1/2 cup of boiling water over gelatin powder, stirring to dissolve then stir thoroughly into wine. Using more than the recommended amount will remove too much of the color and flavor compounds from wine and some of the body from beer.
    DIVERGAN F  
    1 oz. $2.70-
    Stabilizing additive for wine or beer. Removes polyphenolic compounds and oxidized melanoidins. This means that when used in beer it will remove haze causing husk tannins and oxidized compounds that contribute to off flavors. When used in a finished wine it can help to remove proteins. More importantly, it can remove oxidized flavor and aroma compounds, making the wine taste fresher while improving and enhancing the aroma. Also able to gently reduce tannins. Dissolve powder in 2 cups of wine or beer. Stir into larger amount, mixing very well. Wait for one week and rack from sediment. May cause gushing and foaming when added. Although Polyclar will remove haze it is not primarily a fining agent. Using more than the recommended amount can strip melanoidins (color and flavor compounds) from a wine.
     
    IRISH MOSS
    1 oz. $1.85-
    1 lb. $6.95-
    Chrondus crispus, a dried marine algae used to aid hot and cold break after boiling. Use one tsp. in the boil for 10 minutes. Irish Moss is a dried sea weed used by brewers worldwide to remove the positive charged proteins in the wort. These proteins cause finished beer to become hazy when it is chilled. Brewer’s call this condition chill haze. The Irish moss has a negative charge and attracts the proteins helping them settle to the bottom of the brew pot. This brew pot sediment is called trub by brewers. It is good practice to add one teaspoon of Irish Moss to the brew pot at least 15 minutes before the end of the boil.
    ISINGLASS LIGUID 45 ml. $.85-
    12 pack $8.95-
    Positively charged fining agent. Traditionally used for beer but can also be used for wine. Extremely gentle. Use packet per six gallons of beer or wine. Dissolve into one cup of water and stir thoroughly into beer or wine. Wait two weeks and rack off sediment. Not as strong as any other fining. May fail to clear completely.
    copyright 2004 J.R.Leverentz
    winemaking homebrewing cheesemaking