How To - Gelatine

[Mickcr250]

Gentle stir it is, thanks mate

 

[Mickcr250]

So I just boiled the kettle a few times, then poured 400 ml of water into a sanitised jug and when it cooled to 75c added two packets of brigalow finings which I am pretty sure is just gelatin and mixed it up and added 200ml to each of my two fermenters. All seemed to go well except when cleaning up I noticed some jello stuff stuck to my thermometer, have I stuffed up?

 

[MastersBrewery]

My normal regime is to rack to secondary then gelatine, so I can wash the yeast cake and reuse, I then dry hop if necessary, and crash to 2c half way through the dry hop, I do this for both kegged and bottled beers.
The sediment at the bottom of a bottle is minimal and still has full carbonation.

MB

 

[Black Devil Dog]

I'm not sure what is in the Brigalow packs, but you can buy food grade gelatin at IGA, for not very much and use 1 teaspoon per batch. Add it to 75c, pre boiled water like you did and stir until completely dissolved. It does have a stickyness to it unless you make sure it's fully dissolved.

I'm not sure why your thermometer was anywhere near the gelatin though.

 

[Mickcr250]

I was going to get just unflavoured gelatine but then I saw they had brigalow sachets for a dollar so thought I would try it. I used my thermometer to mix it up.

 

[Mickcr250]

This works great! Its amazing what a spoon full of gelatin can do.

 

[Moad]

Have just started using Gelatine....WOW!

I had a real cloudy beer which is why I looked for finings, it cleared it up into the clearest beer I have ever seen. No exaggeration...

I will be using this on most of my beers from now on

 

[Black n Tan]

I'd be interested to know from you guys that have just started using gelatine if you notice an adverse effect on head retention. I use gelatine most of the time but recently noticed that the clearer my beers are, the poorer the head retention. I suspect my problems with head retention started when I changed from using pig/cow gelatine to fish gelatine (as I read the pKa may be more optimised for use as a fining agent). Anyway I have just switched back and see if that improves head retention. Anyone had a similar experience?

EDIT: typo

 

[Moad]

I can't really answer as I added some one way valves on my lines recently and it has basically ruined my pouring pressure. I don't really get much head...from the taps.

 

[NewtownClown]

turn your valves around the other way?

 

[Moad]

hahaha they are definitely on the right way, they are the keg king valves...

It builds the pressure back up eventually it is just noticably slower than without them. I have to set my pressure to 16 where before it was 12.

Temp 4 degrees and line 3m of 5mm ID

edit: I thought I'd have a quick read and it appears I am now at the correct psi. Not sure why it was pouring properly before the valves were put in. I was also freezing glasses which I will no longer be doing.

 

[barabool]

Don't fear the cloud

 

[philmud]

Does anyone have any tips on avoiding/minimizing fluffy bottoms (yes, I know, wear velvet boxers). Is it inevitable? Does it improve with more time before bottling? If so, how long is optimum?

 

[Blind Dog]

I've found a few days is all I need before kegging or bottling to avoid the fluffy bottom in the keg or bottles

That said I often put the gelatine in the keg anyway and haven't yet had a problem so long as the keg is rested for a fair few hours after last moving it

 

[philmud]

That could be the issue, I can't rack from inside the fridge, so might need to move the fermenter & let it sit for a few hours before racking.

 

[Bogan333]

There have been a number of brewers getting great results with gelatine as a fining lately so here is a tutorial on how to prepare and add it.

Start with 200ml of room temp water. You can choose to boil this first and cool if you wish but Ive found this unnecessary since it will be pasteurised later on. But if you must then a tip is to use the micro wave to quickly boil and then chuck it in the freezer. Now add 2 level tea spoons of unflavoured gelatine and allow to stand for 10 min. This lets the gelatine �bloom� which is much like rehydrating dried yeast and will now look fluffy.

Gel_Gear.JPG

Gel_Bloom.JPG

Give it a swirl to mix in the gelatine and gently heat on the stove/microwave to 75C. Heating the gelatine too hot or even boiling will denature it and it will loose the fining ability making it useless.

Gel_Stove.JPG

Gel_temp.JPG

Hold the solution at 75C for 15 min to pasteurise then add to secondary/keg when rack to mix it well, you do not have to wait for it to cool before adding it to the beer. You should also only add it to beer that has been chilled. If added to the keg then give it a bit of a shake if you�re unsure of it being mixing correctly and allow to sit cold for 3 days. The first pour from a keg will also be cloudy with yeast, just the same as if you had left a keg to sit for a number of weeks to clear.

Gelatine does not 'set' on the bottom of the keg, so if you move it after clearing it will once again become cloudy just like a keg without gelatine. Gelatine works by clumping together yeast and increasing the particle size which allows it to fall out of suspension faster.

Thats its� start enjoying your clear beer. . This is what I was told and have been doing this way for over 20 years
Add 1 tsp of unflavored gelatin to a cup of hot, but not boiling water and gently mix it into your fermenter. Again, wait a few days before bottling or racking to allow the gelatin to clear the beer.

 

[hooper80]

Hi fellas, I have never used gelatine before. I have 2 x 20 lt fermentors with beer. When and where do I add gelatine. Can I add straight to my fermentors a day or two before I keg? I like to have my beer totally in a closed circuit straight from my boil on brew day until it hits the glass a few weeks later. Anyway, some advise would be awesome.

 

[RobW]

I prefer to cold condition in the fermenter for a week or so, then rack straight to the keg onto a teaspoon of gelatine that's been dissolved in a cup of boiling water.
By the time you have carbed the keg (unless you crash carb) it will be good to go.

 

[Black n Tan]

I have used the keg method with success, but I prefer to add it to the primary before I rack to the keg to leave as much behind as possible (especially for lagers). I first chill the beer before adding the gelatine (it tends to work better this way) and then leave it for at least 2 days, preferably more (5 or so). Most references indicate not to add gelatine to boiling water or to boil gelatine as it denatures it and suggest a temp of about 70C to dissolve and pasteurise. Both work in my opinion, but I tend to try to allow the water to cool a little before adding the gelatine to be on the safe side.

EDIT: I have always been curious as to what people mean when they talk about 'denaturing' gelatine. I understand the term denature especially when it come to proteins/enzymes such as alpha-amylase etc, but not sure what happens to gelatine when it is heated. Gelatine has a net positive charge in wort and thus attracts negatively charged yeast, and this forms aggregates that are denser than the wort and thus fall to the bottom. What i can't quite understand is why unravelling (denaturing) the gelatine would make it less effective: it still has the same charge properties which is the important thing in relation to its fining capacity. If on the other hand heat causes the gelatine to be cleaved into smaller fragments, I could understand that at some point this could affect its ability to fine. Anyway a bit of a ramble, but something I am yet to get a good answer to. Anyone?

 

[RobW]

I've tried both as well and not seen any difference.
However in practice by the time I add the gelatine to the boiled water it's cooled a bit anyway.

As I understand it the denaturing by boiling water is an issue in food applications because the gelling property is destroyed.
For fining we just want the dissolved gelatine to disperse through the beer and then drop out, taking the suspended yeast with it, so not really an issue.

 

[WitWonder]

So this is the result for me After chilling the beer to around 5 degrees for 48 hours, I boiled the kettle, left it for 5-10 mins and added 2 tsp of gelatine, stirred to dissolve then pitched into the fermenter and gently stirred. After about 24 hours I then added roughly 20g of polyclar, prepared in much the same manner. I left the beer for around 48 hours and kegged. The picture above is after 24 hours in the keg. I might also add the wort going into the fermenter was crystal clear... Yeast was Mangrove Jacks US west coast, the beer is an APA, no dry hopping but some 10 minute kettle additions was about it. Fermenter volume about 43L. I am F^&%ing sick of my beer looking like this! Any suggestions?

 

[Black n Tan]

I have found it is best to add the gelatine to chilled beer as you have done, but I would tend to add if after the wort has been chilled for only 24 hours to give it more time to work. I add the poolyclar after a further 48 hours and then give it up to 5 days before kegging. The colder you can get the beer the better it will work. When I used a chest freezer to ferment my beer was brilliant after cold crashing to -1C (follow the above process). Recently I moved to a commercial fridge and can only get the beer to about 4C and it no longer brilliant. So the lesson is a few degrees can make a huge difference. Can you get it colder?

 

[browndog]

Witwonder, it could be the result of chill haze from excessive hops or excessive protein from a weak boil, however, try this method. Brew and ferment your beer as you normally would. When you reach terminal gravity, crash chill to 1C and leave for at least 4 days. Then when you keg, add a cup of water with 1 teaspoon of gelatine (already dissolved of course) to the keg, the beer should be clear in 24hrs, the first glass will be muddy and will clear up from there. This is the method I use and it works a treat. Make sure when racking you don't get any trub in the fermenter.

 

[Pogierob]

beer 17 Jan 2015.jpg

So this is the result for me After chilling the beer to around 5 degrees for 48 hours, I boiled the kettle, left it for 5-10 mins and added 2 tsp of gelatine, stirred to dissolve then pitched into the fermenter and gently stirred. After about 24 hours I then added roughly 20g of polyclar, prepared in much the same manner. I left the beer for around 48 hours and kegged. The picture above is after 24 hours in the keg. I might also add the wort going into the fermenter was crystal clear... Yeast was Mangrove Jacks US west coast, the beer is an APA, no dry hopping but some 10 minute kettle additions was about it. Fermenter volume about 43L. I am F^&%ing sick of my beer looking like this! Any suggestions?

Well the gelatine worked, that beer is definately staying in your sideways glass..

Seriously though. Give it at least 48 after sitting in the keg, everything needs a bit of time to work. If it doesn't clear up after 2-3 days then as mentioned- chill haze.

 

[WitWonder]

OK well better results this time around. I found out that my gelatine was, ehem, three years past it's best before date so I got a new batch. I also used a different malt (Bairds) instead of the BB ale malt I've been using. The process - I rehydrated the gelatine by using cooled, pre-boiled water and added two tsp to about a cup of water. Let it sit for 20 mins or so, stuck it in the microwave on low for about 6 minutes. I also used the Polyclar per the instructions - kept it agitated for about 20 minutes on the stir plate before pitching. I also pushed the fridge down to 2 degrees as opposed to five. So, you know when they say change one variable at a time... We use a braumeister and the recipe was an IPA again so not much change from that side at least!

This pic is the day after kegging. Stuffed if I know why it's sideways...

 

[iJosh]

Here's a post I made in another thread, but I think it's relevant.

http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/83110-gelatine-does-it-work/?p=1229644

I refer to something called Kieselsol. The stuff I buy is called StabiClar-30, but it's the same.

Cheers

 

[Gigantorus]

I seek your wisdom chaps...

If I am dry-hopping for the last 5 days and add finings on say the 3rd last day - will it affect the dry-hopping in any way? Will it cease the imparting of flavour/aroma in any way?

Your advice thanks?

Cheers,

Pete

 

[WitWonder]

I seek your wisdom chaps...

If I am dry-hopping for the last 5 days and add finings on say the 3rd last day - will it affect the dry-hopping in any way? Will it cease the imparting of flavour/aroma in any way?

Your advice thanks?

Cheers,

Pete

The compounds you seek from adding hops to the fermenter will still be there after you add finings. Finings drop things out of suspension via molecular attraction of charged particles - your dry hops will end up on the bottom of the fermenter, still giving off the compounds we seek.


FYI This is the same beer as my previous post, with the addition of about a week in the keg. Pretty happy with that.

 

[TheWiggman]

I've never used finings before and want my Czech pils - which, to date tastes mighty fine in teh fermenter - to have justice done with clarity. I've currently got it sitting at 0°C and will have it that way until Sunday. I'm going to keg most of it and then bottle some.

Can I add the gelatine straight into the primary? To minimise O2 contact I'm not interested in racking to a secondary. Yeast won't be harvested.

 

[doon]

I add it straight into primary. Some add it to beer thats already in keg