HELP Knox Gelatin 2 Different Ways

BLUF - Using Knox Gelatin, I want to clear the 5 gals of beer in a corny keg I'm currently force carbonating. I also want to clear 5 gals of beer I racked into the secondary fermenter 2 days ago. When and how should I proceed with both?

I was browsing the store and spotted some Knox gelatin and decided to get some to clarify my beer. I've already kegged a batch and it's already got CO2 pumping into it. The other batch was just racked to my secondary.

Here's what I'm thinking I should do:
1. Boil 2 cups of water then cool it to my carboy temp.
2. Add the gelatin packet, stir, and let it sit for 15 mins.
3. Pitch half of my concoction into my carboy and half into my keg.

How bout it?

Do a search for Knox gelatin. One packet is way overkill. I've used 1/2 tsp and it worked great.

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1/2 tsp is enough for 5 gallons.

Take 1 cup of cold water, put in saucepan. Sprinkle gelatin over the cold water, and slowly heat to about 180F, but do not boil. (That would harden the gelatin).

You can cool it before putting it in the keg, but I don't.

M_C

Misplaced_Canuck said:

1/2 tsp is enough for 5 gallons.

Take 1 cup of cold water, put in saucepan. Sprinkle gelatin over the cold water, and slowly heat to about 180F, but do not boil. (That would harden the gelatin).

You can cool it before putting it in the keg, but I don't.

M_C

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I can put it in the keg from which I'll be drinking?

Yes, put it in serving keg. It will settle to the bottom and grab all suspended yeast with it. Make sure you chill the keg prior. First pint or two will be cloudy and chunky, after that, you golden!

Sent from GT-I9100M

The beermaking book I have states this. "To fine your beer, wait until fermentation has largely waned and the beer is very close to finishing gravity. Stir 2 teaspoons of unflavored gelatin into a cup of cool water, let soak for 30 min, and then heat to 180F before stirring into the beer.(ideally place the beer in a secondary fermenter). Let the gelatin settle for 3 days before bottling in the normal manner."

c0leman22 said:

I can put it in the keg from which I'll be drinking?

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Myself, I put it at the bottom of the keg before racking the beer on top. But apparently adding it on top work too.

JP

Misplaced_Canuck said:

Myself, I put it at the bottom of the keg before racking the beer on top. But apparently adding it on top work too.
JP

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Considering how finings are supposed to work, I would think adding them to the top of the volume would always be the way to go...

Cheers!

day_trippr said:

Considering how finings are supposed to work, I would think adding them to the top of the volume would always be the way to go...

Cheers!

Click to expand...

I've had great results doing it from the bottom. I've never tried from the top so I can't comment on that.

M_C

Instead of adding the gelatin and then heating the mixure. I nuke a measuring cup full of water then put the thermometer in it and wait until it reached 160 degrees then at the gelatin stir and wait 15 minutes. By doing it this way you never over heat and gelatinize the gelatine, because you add it when the temp is going down, not up.

I just started using gelatin. After tons of reading I had come up with about 15 different ways to do it and each method was generally touted as the right way, so its likes everything else in brewing.

I settled on boiling 1/2 cup of water, letting it cool to about 180F then adding 1/2 teaspoon of Knox gelatin, stirring, letting it sit for 15 minutes then adding it to the keg I was transferring to. Everything sanitized of course. Once I added it to the empty keg, once to the top of the full keg. Beer was at about 36F for a day or so prior to adding gelatin. When it went in shouldn't matter because I shake to keg when force carbing.

Result, very clear tasty beers. The first pint was a little hazy, but aren't they usually? It turned a highly hopped brown ale crystal clear after a two week primary then straight to the keg. 36 hours latter, a very good beer.

Gelatin rocks. Such a small amount amazed me. I will continue to use it.

We just used it for the the first time this past week on a holiday ale. Room temp water, added Knox and stirred it over low heat until it looked about ready to boil. Dropped it into carboy, racked ale over carboy and cold crashed as well as we could with a swamp cooler. 7 days later, bottled the clearest ale we've gotten yet. Not much residue left in the carboy after bottling, however. I'm guessing it will fall out in bottles?

BLUF: I need ideas on how to use gelatin with beer I want to bottle and (obviously) can't chill before adding gelatin.

I noticed that everybody says you should add the gelatin to the beer after it's chilled. I did that with my chilled keg and it was amazing. However, I added some to one of my secondary fermenters 3 days before bottling day (fermenter was at ~68F). After bottling and letting it sit for 2 weeks, I chilled a few bottles. It was as if I had never added gelatin at all. Chill haze galore. Any ideas?

I have a water cooler with a hot water tap .. easy button! I add approx a cup of hot water to a tablespoon of gelatin and mix w/ a spoon. I then add it to 2ndary and wait 3-6 days till it is clear and then I keg. Works like a charm. I've had other homebrewers see my beer and ask how I filter it ..which I don't. It's that clear. I've heard it works better if you add the gelatin and then chill it so it pulls down the chill haze but I've never tried it. As long as you add the gelatin after the beer is done fermenting you can't go wrong.

I saw the title for this thread and my first thought was, "poor guy , now he is going to have 13 different ways to use knox geletin."
I use one teaspoon in one cup of hot water.