Gelatin Or Not?

Ok, I know it's not a big deal and I should be RDWHAHBing, but...

I have a helles-like ale fermenting in the garage. This is my first from scratch recipe, and I have really big hopes for how great it will come out. I don't enter competitions, but I would really like this to be my flagship brew and just knock the socks off my friends.

I used Whirlfloc during the boil, and was going to just bottle condition as normal, but then I started to think about gelatin for extra clarity. I can't do a crash cool, but I can store carbonated bottles in the fridge for a few weeks before drinking.

So, is the gelatin going to give me "wow" clarity without affecting head retention or carbonation, or should I not bother?

All opinions appreciated!

Don't bother. A long primary (3-4 weeks) and a little time in the bottle will be fine.

Personally, if you are going for clarity, I find that you cannot beat gelatin. You don't have to crash cool either, as long as you can get the temp somewhere reasonable 60-70F. Boil a cup or so of water to sterilize, let cool to below 170F, put in 1 to 3 tsp of knox gelatin per 5 gal, let it rehydrate for 10-30min, bring back up to 170F (do NOT boil), and pour straight into the fermenter. The next day, you will have perfectly clear beer. Also, in my experience, this does not seem to hurt the head retention.

I do the same as rocketman, except I add it to the keg, and it seems to take longer than a day for me. Usually by the time the beer has fully carbed (10-14 days) it is clear.

I say go for it, it isn't hard at all.

I used it only once. I have always had somewhat hazy beer. I decided to use gelatin in a pale ale, and it was crystal clear. I don't think it affected body or head retention at all.

It's worth a shot. If it doesn't work for you, your only out like a dollar.

If you have any vegetarian friends, be sure and mention it to them before they consume.

Suthrncomfrt1884 said:

Don't bother. A long primary (3-4 weeks) and a little time in the bottle will be fine.

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Not trying to hijack the thread. I am also a supporter of gelatin use, though i haven't yet gotten the clarity i want. But i was recently told that i should have the beer in the primary and secondary as little as possible, and age and mature the beer in the bottles. Any thoughts? and if this has any impact on clarity?

avibayer said:

Not trying to hijack the thread. I am also a supporter of gelatin use, though i haven't yet gotten the clarity i want. But i was recently told that i should have the beer in the primary and secondary as little as possible, and age and mature the beer in the bottles. Any thoughts? and if this has any impact on clarity?

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This was the old way of thinking.

Leaving the beer on the yeast for an extra few weeks will allow the yeast to clean up any off flavors they've created during primary. There was a recent article in BYO on the extended use of primary vs. 2 week primary, 1 week secondary. I'd say take a look at it. Interesting stuff. Either way, with most beers, extended bottle conditioning will also improve the beer. You should definitely be leaving your beer in primary for 3-4 weeks, unless it's an IPA or wheat beer.

As for gelatin use...I'm not quite sold on it. Yes, it works. But, with proper hot break, cold break, and a good long primary, your beer should come out crystal clear. I strain out the break material before it hits the fermenter, and that also helps.

MikeP said:

If you have any vegetarian friends, be sure and mention it to them before they consume.

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I've been able to successfully make vegetarians consume gelatin, willingly. If they eat cheese, then there's a 90+% chance that they're consuming products derived from the killing of an animal. Nearly all cheese production uses rennin (derived from the intestinal lining of young cows) to begin the culturing of the cheese.

It's an easier argument for beer clarified with gelatin since all of the gelatin drops out and they won't be consuming it anyway...

Mischief_Brewing said:

I've been able to successfully make vegetarians consume gelatin, willingly. If they eat cheese, then there's a 90+% chance that they're consuming products derived from the killing of an animal. Nearly all cheese production uses rennin (derived from the intestinal lining of young cows) to begin the culturing of the cheese.

It's an easier argument for beer clarified with gelatin since all of the gelatin drops out and they won't be consuming it anyway...

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You make a good point about the gelatin dropping out.

Actually though - a lot of commerically produced cheese uses enzymes and not rennet these days. My SWMBO is vegetarian (has been for years and years) and we read cheese labels looking for those made with enzymes and not rennet.

MikeP said:

You make a good point about the gelatin dropping out.

Actually though - a lot of commerically produced cheese uses enzymes and not rennet these days. My SWMBO is vegetarian (has been for years and years) and we read cheese labels looking for those made with enzymes and not rennet.

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Rennet! I knew I missed that one in my original post (was too lazy to look it up...).

And yes, you can find cheeses made with vegetarian enzymes, but I rarely see those in the stores around my house and can almost guarantee that the restaurants and pizza places don't use it...

rocketman768 said:

Personally, if you are going for clarity, I find that you cannot beat gelatin. You don't have to crash cool either, as long as you can get the temp somewhere reasonable 60-70F. Boil a cup or so of water to sterilize, let cool to below 170F, put in 1 to 3 tsp of knox gelatin per 5 gal, let it rehydrate for 10-30min, bring back up to 170F (do NOT boil), and pour straight into the fermenter. The next day, you will have perfectly clear beer. Also, in my experience, this does not seem to hurt the head retention.

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what he said, this is such an easy thing to do to make clear beer

If you use gelatin to clarify and then have to move the fermenter (gently), host likely is it to cloud up again? I have a Belgian golden strong that will be 7 weeks in the primary (corny keg) this weekend and plan on putting outside, where it should get into the 40's or 50's overnight, with gelatin. Then, bottle the next morning, but I'll have to move the fermenters back inside for the bottling. Does the gelatin make the trub extra clumpy or sticky so it won't stir back up again?

Update: I used gelatin in a golden ale and a blueberry stout, and HOLY CLEAR! I racked to secondary, added gelatin, let it sit for a week at room temp. At the end, I could actually see through the glass carboy of golden ale. It didn't do much for the fruit sediment, skins, etc. in the blueberry stout, but I expect a very clear beer when those settle out in the fridge.

It was so easy, and the results were striking. I am going to gelatin every batch from now on!

JetSmooth said:

If you use gelatin to clarify and then have to move the fermenter (gently), host likely is it to cloud up again? I have a Belgian golden strong that will be 7 weeks in the primary (corny keg) this weekend and plan on putting outside, where it should get into the 40's or 50's overnight, with gelatin. Then, bottle the next morning, but I'll have to move the fermenters back inside for the bottling. Does the gelatin make the trub extra clumpy or sticky so it won't stir back up again?

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When I move my carboy after the gelatin has settled out, it stirs up a little bit but settles back out in a few minutes. I love using gelatin and use it for mostly every batch now. It's super easy and works really well. It certainly is appropriate for a Helles, however, I've never bottle conditioned while using it. I'm not sure whether it would make so much of the yeast settle out that the bottles won't carb. Does anyone have experience with this for the OP?

Another vote for gelatin. It cleared up my trubby Mild something fierce and it really is a breeze to use.

An afterword on the gelatin: there is one more benefit to using it.

Before, I used to have to decant my beer pretty carefully and leave about 1/4" of the bottom (beer + yeast). The two gelatin batches I made can be poured all the way. There's just a dusting of yeast on the bottom of the bottle, and it does appear to be sticky enough to not pour out with the beer. This just increased my yield by 5% or so!

I think I may buy some stock in Knox. Or maybe try some Isinglass next...

Can you just use gelatin from the store? Never used it but isn't it kinda funky to pour in 170 degree gelatin into the fermenter?

I used Knox unflavored gelatin and followed the instructions in How to Brew. One packet for two batches in about 2 cups of water. At this point, I can't remember if I let the water cool a bit or if I poured it in at 170F. In any case, a cup of water will cool down pretty fast in 5 gallons of beer. I gave it a week to settle out at room temperature.

I started using gelatin about 3 batches ago. It works wonders, and my beer is crystal clear now.

Here is my process:
Batch sizes are 11.5 gallons
Primary 3-4 weeks
Thursday evening: place primary in fridge 36F-38F
Friday morning: mix 1 packet of knox gelatin with 1.5 cups of 170F spring water and "bloom" for 20 mins.
Dump in primary and give it few gentle swirls with sterilized ss spoon.
Saturday afternoon: take primary out of fridge and move to racking position
Saturday night: rack to bottling bucket with auto-siphon and bottle crystal clear beer!!!!!

P.S. I also dry hop in primary for a week with pellets, no muslin bag.

It works. I use it at times when I'm pushing beer into my system and want to free up some space in the brite tanks.