Gelatin Blob floating in beer

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cwhill

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Last Thursday on 6/5 I added a tablespoon of hydrated gelatin (unflavored knox) to my centennial ale in secondary. I've read from others that you should bottle within a day or two. I haven't had a chance to bottle yet. Last night I popped the top and saw this large pale blob of stuff floating in the beer kinda like a jelly fish. Is this normal for the gelatin? Have I waited too long? Any thoughts are appreciated. :drunk:
 
What temp did you use to rehydrate? I got mine too close to a boil and it was jello like when I put it in. The jello is on the bottom now. I plan to keg it this week to see what the blob looks like.
 
What temp did you use to rehydrate? I got mine too close to a boil and it was jello like when I put it in. The jello is on the bottom now. I plan to keg it this week to see what the blob looks like.
I was very careful after reading your post and some posts from others about the temp. I only brought hot enough to fully dissolve the gelatin. It was probably only 160-170 degrees. My blob is floating at the top. Looks like a jelly fish.
 
it should settle to the bottom. I am not sure if that is normal or not. I did not get a definitive answer. I plan to keg this week, so I will know soon enough how clear it is.
 
I mix my gelatin in 150-160F water, stirring like crazy. Before it sets, still liquid, I dump it in the secondary.

I have never had a jello jellyfish! Kinda cool though...

Eric
 
previously I used gelatin but found that if you use Whirlfloc and get a fast cooling after the boil that you will have clear beer. The haze protines coagulate and settle out.
 
I racked and bottled last night. The gelatin caused no problems although it was still floating around the the beer like a jellyfish. Kinda cool looking. :) The beer tasted great and I'm sure wll be even better after some conditioning. I must have not let the gelatin cool enough before I dumped it although I did cool it. Also the beer looks great. Very clear.
 
I am going to speculate here, but did you stir gently as you were adding the gelatin to the secondary? What may have happened is that it stayed in one mass and hardened in one spot. In addition, it picked up some CO2 in solution and incorporated it while hardening. In the meantime, your CO2 volumes in your wort may have reduced slightly, causing the blob with CO2 in it to float.

All just a guess, but I can't come up with anything better. I have used gelatin in two beers and it sank both times for me.
 
Yeah, I've had a problem with gelatin before, not in beer though. On a pie recipe I had added it to the boiling water and it never did disolve in, just kinda clumped up like a large gelatinous mess. After a little serching I found this tip...... "To avoid clumping, dry unflavored gelatin should be mixed with a little cold water first for 3 to 5 minutes to moisten and separate before adding hot water."

In your case it was added during the secondary so I'm sure it wasn't too hot, maybe just too cold. It is very strange that you disolved all the gelatin in water first and it then formed a blob.
 
I can't remeber how well I stirred while adding it. A good thought though. Next time I use it I'll be sure and stir more thoroughly. As I said the beer turned out great and it certainly was far more clear then prior to the gelatin so it must have still helped.
 
mine was a blob. The german ale is still in a cold secondary. I plan to move it to keg this weekend. I am not sure how it should look when it goes in and what it looks like when you rack. I know mine looks like jello
 
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