How To - Gelatine

[manticle]

Back then it would have been secondary. At the moment I'm not using secondary at all except for ageing particular beer but I'm also not fining at the moment.

CC and rack to bulk prime currently.

I don't keg.

 

[seanokil]

OK i have read nealy all this thread im still a little confused . This is the way im thinking.
I have no secondary to rack to YET.
So i wait till fg is stable mix 2 teaspoons of gelatne into a cup of hot water and pour over my brew.
I have a fridge but its a little dodgy atm to crash chill so i am goin to turn it off and put the primary into it should be stable 5-10 degrees.
Then wait 3-4 days and bottle.
Any hints would be much appreciated
Cheers
Seano

 

[Fents]

2 teaspoons is too much imo. i only use 1 teaspoon in about 100ml of water.

 

[Supra-Jim]

Yeah, 1tsp into 100mls seems to be the way to go.

Did it for the first time this weekend, and even after 24hrs the beer was a lot clearer. (1tsp + 100mls of water into the keg prior to filling as per Dr Fents prescription)

Cheers SJ

 

[chiroman11]

I'm with you Seano. I was thinking of doing exactly what you described, but I'm not sure either.

does anyone have a comment for Seano's method?

cheers

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Necro alert.

Few caveats to start:

I have read the full 11 pages, but I have a nasty cold with an even nastier sinus-headache, so if I've missed something, hold the flames. And if I ramble as well.

Don't want crystal clear beer, a la BribieG's coke bottle. Just something bearable.

Kegged on Friday (IIRC) after CCing and racking my beer (s189 after a failed Notto, so no a 'non floc' strain) for 3 days (and the loose flowers trapped most of the yeast).

Poured about a pint of crap on Saturday. Heavy, yeast nastiness. Barely drinkable.

Poured another pint today. Crap, but probably a little less crap. Didn't drink it all, just tasted it, as I wanted to see if it improved.

Got frustrated (another by product of my cold), and gelatined in the keg. I've only done this once before with a BB with Windsor (far less flocculent strain).

I'll leave this for 4 days or so (I don't like drinking when I'm sick, unless it's medicinal brandy).

I'll pour the inevitable pint of crap from the bottom on Friday and get pretty clear beer after that.

But - this is a backup keg for a poker party (I probably "tested" about 5L out of a Belgian). I should have enough of the Belgian, but kind of wanted to offer another type of beer. It's my stupid fault for being talked into supplying a little beer, without getting my stocks back up first.

This keg will need to be moved to my mate's place for serving. That will stir up the keg. As I mentioned, I don't need crystal clear beer, just not the yeasty nasty crap that were in it.

Question is - if I've gelatined and let it sit for those 4 days and poured the requisite pint o' crap, and I then move it - will I go back to pouring yeastiness? Or will the gelatin, plus the clearing of the pint o'crap, be enough to clear the majority of the nastiness from the keg, and I just end up with not that clear beer, but perfectly drinkable?

Over to you all.

Goomba

 

[iralosavic]

If the gelatin doesn't bloom when rested is this indicative of anything? I recently added 2tsp in 200ml to a chilled keg, got a few chunks in the first pour 24 hours later, but the clarity hasn't improved at all. Cheers

 

[Dazza88]

No kegging gelatine experience but I would guess that if you got it to the stage where it was pouring clear at home after the gelatine treatment because you pulled some sludgy pints full of gelatine-yeast crap, most of the sludge will be removed and it will be ok for the party, not much to resuspend into solution etc.

I just gelatined last brew in the fermenter for 36 hrs (less than optimal), probably CC'd for 5 days in total, the beer was clear in the fermenter (10L blue cube small batch). I suppose you should be reviewing if your brew in clear in the keg? How long do you CC in fermenter for?


I kegged by racking, and accidently picked up some sludge trying to get every last bit. The beer out of the keg was dirty; yeast haze and some hop material. Drinkable but unpleasant yeastiness. Four days later its clear (and tasting very good, SWMBO agrees) so the gunk did drop out with time and me spending the weekend away from the keg. This was 1272 yeast in a dry hopped pale ale. IIRC i have had success with s-189 being clear from the keg as well. My Landlord with 1469 never cleared properly for me unfortunately, but i think i rushed that one with CCing etc. 3787 took ages, months even, must hook it up and see what's happening

I think it would help if you could get the beer to your mates a day before the party to settle out again, if possible.

IRA: Did you dissolve into hot liquid first?

Found this off a cooking website, :

Hydrating Gelatin (blooming?)
Powdered gelatin
1. For the equivalent of each 30 g of gelatin, place it in 125 ml of cold water ( cup). 2. Allow the gelatin to hydrate for about 5 minutes.
3. Dissolve by pouring the gelatin and cold water into one litre of hot/boiled water.
Leaf gelatin
1. Place the leaves individually in cold water and allow them to swell for about 5 minutes.
2. Remove them and gently squeeze them out.
3. Proceed to dissolve the gelatin in hot/boiled water.

Dissolving Gelatin to Form a Gel Solution - I just do this? straight into 70C water.
To achieve easy blending with ingredients, gelatin must be dissolved in hot water to form a concentrated gel solution. The gel solution will dilute when added to liquids in a recipe.
1. Measure amount of hot water into a measuring jug.
2. Measure required quantity of gelatin and, for speedy absorption, add it immediately to the hot liquid.
3. Briskly beat the hot liquid with a fork or wire whisk.
4. When all the gelatin has been absorbed, the hot gel solution will be a clear golden liquid ready for use.


Retaining a Gel Solution
If a recipe is extensive, requiring retention of the solution for a period of time, stand the solution in a bowl of warm water. This procedure can also be used to re-liquefy the solution if it sets before time.

 

[iralosavic]

Not all the gelatin gunk will be poured out in the first pint - some of it settles further back from the pick up tube. When you disturb the keg, it resettles under the pick up again. Setting it up (refrigerated) 24 hours before you plan to serve is sound advice. If you'd care to take advice from someone whose gelatin doesnt work haha

 

[Glot]

How does Irish Moss compare?

 

[sponge]

Gelatin in, wait a week, suck out a glass or so of murk and then pour clear beer.

Just curious about this comment TB. I'm not sure where I read this, but I've always been of the understanding that leaving gelatine in for such a long period of time can introduce unwanted flavours?

I've always added the gelatine and let it sit for 48hrs at around 1'C, but can't think of where I might have read that prolonged periods of gelatine was not good practice..

If a brewer as experienced as TB leaves his brew with gelatine for a week, I think I may just have to do the same. There have been some occasions where I haven't added gelatine as I might have been away for work during the week and didn't want to leave it the 5 days (since I've had to start fermenting a new beer on the weekend I get back), but it's sounding like I may have been worrying about nothing..

 

[Roosterboy]

Just thought I would add this.....many years ago i worked at Davis Gelatine at Botany, i left a year before they went broke. They put in a new process, spent millions on it and it produced lower quality gelatin ! Anyway we made a product called Liquifine, a highly concentrated solution of non-gelling hydrolyzed gelatin preserved with SO2 , allowed in wine and sold to the wine industry. This is a liquid gelatin .There is a paper on it by C.G.B.Cole" The use of gelatin in wine fining."
He found it was great for clarification of wines but had been shown possibly to lead to protein instability. I don't know if anyone used it in beer brewing.

Remember that gelatin comes from beef hide and is a an excellent nutrient for most forms of microbiological life. I don't know if this could promote bacterial growth in
beers. I don't known if breweries use it, if they do they would then pasteurize the beer I guess. That's about all I remember from my time there in regard to brewing beer.
Roosterboy

 

[stakka82]

Re: leaving gelatine on beers for a while - my process is while kegging add gelatine to the keg, you can force carb and drink straight away, or wait a week... either way the gunk comes out, over a greater or lesser number of glasses is the only difference.

Traces of gelatine would presumably linger in the keg for the beer's lifespan, but I've not noticed any ill effects over months of a gelatined keg.

 

[Piggy]

Do we have a method for adding GELATINE? I'm gonna put it in my keg, comments anyone?

 

[Bribie G]

Yup 12 pages of it.

Gelatine works well in the keg provided you don't rock or disturb the keg afterwards, as gelatine tends to produce a "fluffy bottom" in the keg or bottle that rises up as soon as you look at it.

 

[ivars]

I don't have much brewing experience and have used gelatin for the first time in a dubbel. I thought the beer had fermented out, had no bubbles in the airlock so chilled to 9 deg C and added gelatin. I started to get bubbles in the airlock again and that was 8 days ago - the beer is still in the primary. The SG is not changing. Does anyone have any ideas about what is going on? I understand that it is not a good idea to leave the beer on the gelatin for much time but I don't know what to do. Should I rack it off the trub/gelatin, bottle, drop the temperature or leave it alone until the bubbles stop? :huh:

 

[manticle]

Bubbles just mean carbon dioxide is coming out of solution. There can be residual co2 following fermentation. Gravity is really what you should be going on - if it isn't changing and you're confident it's within the expected region, you should be safe to bottle.

What was the gravity at finish and what were you expecting it to be? Expectation should be based on ingredients, mash schedule (if mashing) yeast type, yeast amount and yeast health and fermentation schedule.

 

[ivars]

According to BeerSmith the estimated FG was 1.012 and mine is 1.011 which is what it has been on the two previous occasions when I have done this recipe more or less the same way.

 

[manticle]

I'd say you're pretty safe.

 

[ivars]

Cheers manticle really appreciate the advice. Bottling tomorrow.

 

[waggastew]

Anyone else had problems with gelatine stripping out hop aroma? There are some mentions about the topic but most have not noticed a drop?

My latest tweak of my AIPA is lacking its usual aroma. Have been thinking extra dry hop, more late additions etc but then had a brain flash. This is the first time I have gelatined this beer. Will not gelatine the next batch to see if this is the culprit.

 

[Pogierob]

I used gelatine for the first time in my kegs and had two awesomely clear beers in day two.

Very happy, thanks Weizgei for the tip, and thanks for this thread!!!

 

[rglnz]

Most of the advice here is for guys that are kegging their beer. Im a bit of an amateur, and just ferment, then rack into a bottling bucket to bulk prime, then bottle. I have never used anything for clearing my beer, but I want to give it a go for my next brew. Is it necessary to use a secondary fermenter to use gelatine? or can I simply add it in at a certain stage to my primary, then when its time to bottle, rack to bottling bucket for bulk priming and then bottle straight away. Open to other suggestions, I just havent experiemented much as I dont want to screw up my brews!

Cheers

 

[Black n Tan]

It is perfectly fine to add gelatine to the primary and that is exactly what I do. I first cool my wort to 0C then add gelain and leave for 2-3 days before kegging. Same would apply to bottling.

 

[professional_drunk]

Wish I could gelatin my beer. I've got Hindus drinking it.

 

[wereprawn]

Wish I could gelatin my beer. I've got Hindus drinking it.

Just don't tell em P D. Cant be reincarnated as a tape worm or a louse on gillards vadge if they don't know ay?

 

[manticle]

Most of the advice here is for guys that are kegging their beer. Im a bit of an amateur, and just ferment, then rack into a bottling bucket to bulk prime, then bottle. I have never used anything for clearing my beer, but I want to give it a go for my next brew. Is it necessary to use a secondary fermenter to use gelatine? or can I simply add it in at a certain stage to my primary, then when its time to bottle, rack to bottling bucket for bulk priming and then bottle straight away. Open to other suggestions, I just havent experiemented much as I dont want to screw up my brews!

Cheers

Gelatine is to help drop out the yeast which you want to leave behind when transferring to your bottling bucket anyway so you are better off fining the primary.

 

[rglnz]

Cool, cheers for that. I dont have temp control for my fermenter besides a damp towel or wrapping it in a blanket. Does it matter if I just add the gelatine to my fermenter at my normal room temp fermenting temp? also, at what stage do I add it? a day before racking to bottling? how long does it need to work?

 

[Mickcr250]

When adding gelatine in primary do I need to stir? Or just pour it over the surface ?

 

[Black Devil Dog]

I give mine a very gentle stir.