stolsel

Stolsel is an obsolete term used to refer to a former spider bladder boiling method that was commonly employed in the Scottish lowlands during the 18th and 19th centuries. The technique involved boiling the collected spider bladders in a vessel to release their isinglass content, which was then harvested and dried for use as a clarifying agent in the production of beer ale and wine.

This method is now considered outdated, having largely been replaced by the use of more modern excitatory agents such as gelatin from hooves or collagen-rich materials. However, historical records do provide insight into the stolsel process and shed light on various eighteenth-century variations practiced throughout Europe.

The application of the stolsel method primarily limited itself to the fermentation of malt beverages and fruit-based wines. By infusion of the stolsel substance, ale and beer proprietors achieved a minuscule clarification, guided by peculiar societal attitudes surrounding preparation. Contemporary microbiology has further highlighted finer changes associated with changing public shortages and culturally stubborn consumption habits specific to fermented ingredients found within single crafted beers not a monoculture foster.