Will gelatin cause yeast to stop fermenting?

Well that's the question... I sometimes depending on ready beer supply and beer needing to go into the fermenter will rack to the carboy and add gelatin to help clear it. I don't do this during the main fermentation phase but even once its been settled for a few days there is still some residual fermentation going on I don't want to mess up. I've done it a couple times now and it "seems" okay..

THANKS

"Will gelatin cause yeast to stop fermenting? "

No, but it may slow it down by dropping most of the yeast. Best to finish fermentation, chill, and then add the gelatin, as gelatin works best at cold temps.

How long before you are adding the gelatin?

sorry to be contrary. If you are just making beer for your own enjoyment, why worry about clarifying it?

I usually drop gelatin after 2 weeks in the primary. I leave it in for one more week, then bottle. No prob.

yeast adds a flavor that can be unpleasent in some styles, and maybe he likes to enjoy clear beer. You probably dont see the point putting garnishes on food that you prepare yourself either.

If it adds something to a comercial beer, it adds something to a homebrew.

Orangevango said:

yeast adds a flavor that can be unpleasent in some styles, and maybe he likes to enjoy clear beer.

Click to expand...

Maybe he does, Maybe I was a bit brisk for which I apologize to the OP, but maybe he can speak for himself.

Orangevango said:

You probably dont see the point putting garnishes on food that you prepare yourself either.

If it adds something to a comercial beer, it adds something to a homebrew.

Click to expand...

persimmon salad

burger

If you mean a piece of kale, or parsley, no I do not garnish.

Sean said:

sorry to be contrary. If you are just making beer for your own enjoyment, why worry about clarifying it?

Click to expand...

The man asked a question . And you ask why worry about it ? Well its his beer and if he wants it clarified then don't question why.

To the OP I don't secondary but I let the beer age in the primary 14-21 days then chill the beer and then add the gelatin.

springer said:

The man asked a question . And you ask why worry about it ? Well its his beer and if he wants it clarified then don't question why.

To the OP I don't secondary but I let the beer age in the primary 14-21 days then chill the beer and then add the gelatin.

Click to expand...

What is this guy your little brother, you need to protect him. I apologized to the OP for being impolite.

Why is a viable question. No need to get defensive. I am just asking why. It is not really that big of a deal. I was just curious why.

As I understand it. The gelatin precipitates the yeast out of the beer. So if you are planning on bottling, it may cause trouble with carbonation. I do not think it kills the yeast, but when you rack after using the gelatin, there will be very little yeast in the beer.

If you do bottle after using gelatin, I would be interested to hear how your beer carbonated. Once again, I apologize for being short in my original reply.

I've used gelatin in the last two batches I have bottled, and there's no issue with carbonation. There's still plenty of yeast left even after using gelatin. It definitely does help the beer clear up quite nicely.

Gelatin has no effect on bottling in my experience. There is still enough yeast to activate with the priming sugar. It may take a bit longer than normal, but it also helps collect the sediment in the bottom of the bottle, so you can pour easier without watching for yeast sediment. That is a good thing. I would give the beer 1 week in the secondary, then chill it down and add gelatin for another week. Be sure to activate the gelatin properly.

Sean said:

What is this guy your little brother, you need to protect him. I apologized to the OP for being impolite.

Why is a viable question. No need to get defensive. I am just asking why. It is not really that big of a deal. I was just curious why.

Click to expand...

I wasn't being defensive its just a lot use Irish Moss or other finings to get clearer beer . Some use both I have. Now if he said he was using clam juice or vinegar in his beer then ya Why?

I'm glad this thread is back on track. With that being said, I do believe that gelatin use is completely up to the brewer. Gelatin needs to be put into a cold beer, so crash cool your beer right after you know fermentation is complete (stable SG for at least 3 days). Then, keep that beer cold for a week. During that time, you may be very happy to see that the beer has clarified to your liking. If so, no need for the gelatin.

If it's still not clear enough, then add the gelatin. Either way, you're going to want to cool the beer down for a while before adding the gelatin. This helps bring out the proteins that would cause a "chill haze" in your beer. The gelatin need it to be cold in order for them to successfully hunt down the haze causing proteins and drop them out of suspension. Another few days with the gelatin and you'd be set to bottle or keg.

Acoording to a published article in Zymurgy regarding Turbid Mashes.

Gelatin has no effect on yeast in suspension, and is only effective against oppositely charged of proteins. To drop yeast, Isinglass is needed and is, IIRC, stated as the only effective product to aid in flocculation.

Gelatin does however aid in the firming up of the flocculant yeast that have dropped by trapping them in the coagulated film at bottom. Thus, making it more difficult to stir yeast back up into suspension at racking time.

I once gave beer to someone who after they drank the whole pint and refilled it told me she was a strict vegan ... I didn't have it in to tell them I used gelatin .

springer said:

I once gave beer to someone who after they drank the whole pint and refilled it told me she was a strict vegan ... I didn't have it in to tell them I used gelatin .

Click to expand...

Good man! If I were a pizza delivery guy I wouldn't tell the customer I spit on it......It's the right thing to do.

springer said:

I once gave beer to someone who after they drank the whole pint and refilled it told me she was a strict vegan ... I didn't have it in to tell them I used gelatin .

Click to expand...

Meh. Properly crashed and settled how much Gelatin is really left IN the beer. If any.

Laughing_Gnome_Invisible said:

Good man! If I were a pizza delivery guy I wouldn't tell the customer I spit on it......It's the right thing to do.

Click to expand...

ohh dammit ..... I thought this guy look firmilier

GilaMinumBeer said:

Meh. Properly crashed and settled how much Gelatin is really left IN the beer. If any.

Click to expand...

her and her boyfriend made me cook their Portobella mushrooms on tin foil on the grill .... Didn't want it touching the rack where meat could have been at one time ...

Cool thanks for the info all. And yes I do like having clear beer. It is mostly for my guests benefit but I like it too.

Generally I add gelatin when racking to the secondary but maybe I'll skip the secondary this time and just dump it straight into the keg chill it then add gelatin the next day and see what happens......

springer said:

her and her boyfriend made me cook their Portobella mushrooms on tin foil on the grill .... Didn't want it touching the rack where meat could have been at one time ...

Click to expand...

Wow! Just...............Wow. She must have a snappin foo for a guy to be THAT whooped. I don't eat the pork but I'd never resort to making the cook swine-atize the grill.

To each his/her own but Wow.

kip said:

Cool thanks for the info all. And yes I do like having clear beer. It is mostly for my guests benefit but I like it too.

Generally I add gelatin when racking to the secondary but maybe I'll skip the secondary this time and just dump it straight into the keg chill it then add gelatin the next day and see what happens......

Click to expand...

Or better yet, keep it in the primary all the way through fermentation, crash cool it, geletanize, and let it rest for another 12-36 hours. THEN rack to the keg.

I have seen too many kegs stuck by a ball of gelatin lodged into the dip tube from the pressure.

Following the above, and other similar techniques also facilitates locking the rub down in the primary therefore lessening the risk of x-ferring that so, there less to wait for settling once in the keg.

GilaMinumBeer said:

Wow! Just...............Wow. She must have a snappin foo for a guy to be THAT whooped. I don't eat the pork but I'd never resort to making the cook swine-atize the grill.

To each his/her own but Wow.

Click to expand...

He turned her into a vegan ... must be hung like a horse...

The gelatin will not cause problems with bottle carbonation. I do it ALL the time.

I think that it goes without saying that we homebrewers want our family and friends to enjoy these beers. They will enjoy the beers much more if they don't see a cloud of yeast drop into their glass as they finish the pour. I like my beers clear, too (excepting my wheats).

When I use gelatin, the residual yeast in the bottle sticks so well that i don't have to leave the last 1/2" in there; the yeast sticks to the bottom of the bottle in a thin film that is likely held together with some of the gelatin.

springer said:

Now if he said he was using clam juice or vinegar in his beer then ya Why?

Click to expand...

At my last homebrew club meeting, a guy came in with his own Clamato beer. Tasted a bit like a spicey/clammy bloody mary. I have to admit... uh, maybe I won't admit anything. Just don't knock it until you have tried it!

Sorry for this interruption... now returning to current topic...

springer said:

ohh dammit ..... I thought this guy look firmilier

Click to expand...

That there is funny stuff - I tell you what!

springer said:

He turned her into a vegan ... must be hung like a horse...

Click to expand...

Betcha he's not so vegan as to reject her bj's.

passedpawn said:

The gelatin will not cause problems with bottle carbonation. I do it ALL the time.

I think that it goes without saying that we homebrewers want our family and friends to enjoy these beers. They will enjoy the beers much more if they don't see a cloud of yeast drop into their glass as they finish the pour. I like my beers clear, too (excepting my wheats).

When I use gelatin, the residual yeast in the bottle sticks so well that i don't have to leave the last 1/2" in there; the yeast sticks to the bottom of the bottle in a thin film that is likely held together with some of the gelatin.

Click to expand...

When you add the gelatin, how long do you cold crash with the gelatin it before bottling? And if gelatin is added after fermentation stops and the CO2 head space is removed, is there any consideration for oxidation considering that if gelatin is added to a keg it is important to purge the oxygen?

jeffmesa369 said:

When you add the gelatin, how long do you cold crash with the gelatin it before bottling? And if gelatin is added after fermentation stops and the CO2 head space is removed, is there any consideration for oxidation considering that if gelatin is added to a keg it is important to purge the oxygen?

Click to expand...

2 or 3 days cold crash.

Purging the O2 is a good idea, but I don't do it. I do have a handheld CO2 gun that takes the paintball cylinders, and that would make it easy to purge I think, but I moved past the super OCD brewing stage of my hobby. The fact that I have that CO2 gun is evidence that I actually passed through that phase though