Gelatin Question

I used gelatin in my secondary for the first time. I put it in the secondary for 2 weeks and then bottled. The bottles have been conditioning for 2 weeks now. I cracked open the first one to test and there is a ton of stuff suspended in the beer.

I usually have very clear beer but thought I would experiment with gelatin to see if I could take it to the next level.

Here's my question. What did I do wrong? Should I have left it in the secondary for longer before bottling?

Thanks

Try a couple of more. I used gelatin on my first beer and 80-90% of the bottles were clear as can be, but the others had a lot of "stuff" in suspension. It almost looked like granules. I let the beer sit for 30 min and most of it settled to the bottom. I just assumed that picked up a bit of the gelatin at the bottom of the secondary, but others here might know better.

I can tell when my keg is running low because small gelatin granules start appearing in the beer. It's not a ton of stuff and you can't see it unless you are looking. But it is there. I'd check bottles from early and late in the bottling process and see if there is a difference.

did you "bloom" the gelatin first to rehydrate it? Or did you just dump the powder into the fermenter?

no i bloomed it for 30 mins before putting it in.

i looked at a couple bottles and they all seem the same. i'm labeling tonight so I'll be able to look at them all.

It's not a couple flakes. You wouldnt miss it if you poured a mug.

I dont mind it but I know my non brewer friends will be a little freaked out by it. It's a shame because it's a great tasting beer.

Did you add it to cold beer or just bottle right afterwards like some directions state?

I let it sit in the cold for a couple of days so it can gel and work properly before racking.

Sounds like you racked the gelatin into your bottles.

i added it to the carboy before i racked to the secondary. the beer was about 64 degrees when i racked the beer. i just labeled the bottles tonight. some of them are clear but most have suspension. i'm thinking it may clear out in the bottle once they sit around. i'm hoping it will congeal.

If the beer has never been cold, it will likely sink to the bottom after a week or so in the fridge (after the bottle conditioning, of course).

Sounds backwards...I let mine work in the carboy then I rack the brew off of it.

If it sets in the bottles you'll have to be careful not to pour it into the glass.

I think, i have never used gelatin, but i think that it is best used in conjunction with cold crashing.

I usually use gelatin in the secondary to really clear it up. It overtime seems to crash out chill hazing even a bit. For whatever reason on my last batch of pale ale, the yeast/gelatin stuck to the sides of the bottles instead of sinking. I had to leave them for a few months for it to drop. I probably could have just mixed it up of course.

I think next time i do this i'm going to give it longer in the secondary and be careful when i rack into my bottling bucket not to pick up any of the gel

When I use gelatin I pour it in the secondary when I have about a week left before it moves to the kegs. I also use a strainer during the transfer process to grab any chunks that maybe picked up by the siphon. I have never had any problems and the beer comes out crystal clear. I hope this helps..

Hilbert said:

i added it to the carboy before i racked to the secondary. the beer was about 64 degrees when i racked the beer. i just labeled the bottles tonight. some of them are clear but most have suspension. i'm thinking it may clear out in the bottle once they sit around. i'm hoping it will congeal.

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For this practice I would bloom the gelatin, lightly add to the secondary carboy (use a funnel and hose), and then rack onto that. From there I would cold condition in secondary for at least 3 days then cold crash for 2 to force the gelatin to set the yeast cake.

Then, lightly rack off that into the bottle or Bottle bucket.


However, I don't secondary ever. So, I generally follow the above practice in the primary or, if I am really lazy I just add the gelatin to the keg before I rack.

GilaMinumBeer said:

...However, I don't secondary ever. So, I generally follow the above practice in the primary or, if I am really lazy I just add the gelatin to the keg before I rack.

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Doesn't the gel come out with your brew?

HempelNet said:

I also use a strainer during the transfer process to grab any chunks that maybe picked up by the siphon...

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What kind of strainer? I like that idea but I would think any standard strainer the holes would be bigger than anything that would slip past the racking tube tip.

That does give me an idea... what if you wrapped the hose end of the racking tube in a muslin bag (hop bag) and sanitized the whole thing. That might catch the bulk of any particles hanging around. My question for that would be would I strain out the yeast?

It depends on the beer I make I guess as for the type of strainer I use. I have used a fine SS mesh strainer other times a coffee filter with the strainer. I have also though of using a muslin bag if you go that route let me know how it goes..

homebrewer_99 said:

Doesn't the gel come out with your brew?

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First pint or two, sure, maybe. I don't drink those yeasty pulls anyway.

Every pull after come out clean and clear enough to read through. Umm, unless it's a stout or something and then, I don;t usually bother with the gelatin anyway.

HempelNet said:

It depends on the beer I make I guess as for the type of strainer I use. I have used a fine SS mesh strainer other times a coffee filter with the strainer. I have also though of using a muslin bag if you go that route let me know how it goes..

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Coffe filter is a great idea... i wish i didn't toss the ss filter i had from my broken coffee maker.

i'm going to try the muslin bag when i rack my next batch i'll update this to let you know how it goes.

From there I would cold condition in secondary for at least 3 days then cold crash for 2 to force the gelatin to set the yeast cake.

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GilaMinumBeer: Can you explain the difference between cold conditioning and cold crashing in your method? I guess I always thought that they were one in the same.

ZacMac said:

GilaMinumBeer: Can you explain the difference between cold conditioning and cold crashing in your method? I guess I always thought that they were one in the same.

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I consider cold conditioning a cool (60 to 40 degrees depending on yeast strain), longer term holding of the beer. A literal lagering of the beer. This still allows the yeast to do some cleanup work but, also facilitates britening the beer.

Whereas a cold crash is dropping the beer to 32*F for a few days to rapidly flocculate any suspended yeast prior to racking.

Gotcha, that makes sense. I was thinking that C.Cond. was similar to lagering but wanted to make sure. Thanks!

Hilbert said:

Coffe filter is a great idea... i wish i didn't toss the ss filter i had from my broken coffee maker.

i'm going to try the muslin bag when i rack my next batch i'll update this to let you know how it goes.

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As an update this didn't work. I rubberbanded a muslin bag over the tube on the racking cane. The resistance was too much and the siphon wouldn't start.

After a cold crash with gelatin on a secondary of pumpkin ale, I rubberbanded a ladies knee high nylon onto my autosiphon, sanitized the whole rig, and racked into the bottling bucket. The nylon strainer worked great. The beer is crystal clear.

The only drawback was a girl from work saw me buying the knee highs at Rite Aid

charesty said:

After a cold crash with gelatin on a secondary of pumpkin ale, I rubberbanded a ladies knee high nylon onto my autosiphon, sanitized the whole rig, and racked into the bottling bucket. The nylon strainer worked great. The beer is crystal clear.

The only drawback was a girl from work saw me buying the knee highs at Rite Aid

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Ahhh I much needed laugh, thanks.. I needed that.

Update on this. After being bottled for a couple weeks all of the floater settled out and stick to the bottom of the bottle. Even with a full pour the gel stickes to the bottom of the bottle. When you clean out the bottles you can see the gel sitting in the bottom.

The beer turned out really clear. If I have a chance I'll post a photo.

So cold crashing is needed either in the secondary or in the bottle to finish clearing up gelatine. Now I know... and knowing is half the battle.