Using Gelatin for clearing

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jhman712

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HI, would anybody care to explain how to use gelatin for clearing my beer? I don't have the fridge space to cold crash, and I don't have a filter. any explanation would be appreciated.

also, if you know of any other alternatives for making beer more clear instead of gelatin, those suggestions will help too. (i'm brewing a basic amber beer, and its almost at the appropriate FG, so I'm almost ready to take action.)
 
  1. boil 2 cups of water in microwave; let cool
  2. open packet of Knox gelatin, sprinkle into water
  3. sanitize a spoon
  4. microwave 15 seconds, remove from mike, stir
  5. if gelatin doesn't disolve into water, goto step #4
  6. dump into fermentor
  7. wait 1 wk.

If you get the liquid too hot once the gelatin is in there, you will end up with clear jello on the bottom of your container. You'll know if you've gone too far... it's pretty obvious.

If cold crashing, it clears much much faster. Without cold, it clears very slowly. I haven't done this without the cold for a while, but I remember watching a line of clarity dropping about 2 inches a day in my fermenter. With cold, everything drops in 2 days.
 
this is pretty much exactly the type of in depth help i was looking for. but just to make sure, lets say u mess it up and u get the clear jello at the bottom, does that mean the beer is ruined, or just that the gelatin technique didn't work?
 
What I do (when adding gelatin to the keg).

1. add 1 cup of water to pyrex measuring cup.
2. sprinkle 1/2 pack Knox gelatin evenly over the surface of the water (no clumps)
3. LET THE GELATIN "BLOOM" FOR 20 MINUTES (leave it covered with a paper towel)
4. Put in microwave for 2 minutes or until the water temp reaches 180F (will be clear)
5. Pour water into recently kegged beer at 40F
6. Wait 1 week while carbing.

YMMV
 

  1. If cold crashing, it clears much much faster. Without cold, it clears very slowly. I haven't done this without the cold for a while, but I remember watching a line of clarity dropping about 2 inches a day in my fermenter. With cold, everything drops in 2 days.

  1. Yeah that's the thing: the beer has to be cold for Gelatin to really work (like in the 40's-50's).
 
this is pretty much exactly the type of in depth help i was looking for. but just to make sure, lets say u mess it up and u get the clear jello at the bottom, does that mean the beer is ruined, or just that the gelatin technique didn't work?

You are not going to hurt your beer in any way with gelatin.

When I said you will make clear jello, it will turn to jello in about 10 seconds if the water is too hot. You will have clear jello in the bottom of your measuring cup, not in the beer. At least this is what I have seen every time I've screwed it up (and I've screwed it up many times; this is why I mike in 15 second increments and stir until the crystals dissolve). The water should feel warm and not really hot when it is at the right temp.
 
Just cool the water after boiling to 170F, then add the gelatin to bloom. No chance of getting jello at that temp.
 
Gelatin has really helped clear my extract batches. Certainly knocked out the chill haze. I follow the "cooking" instructions listed above and add a week before bottling. No cold crashing or cooling.
 
As a few have said, you need to be able to chill the beer in order to add gelatin. So if you can't crash cool, you can't use gelatin either.
 
As a few have said, you need to be able to chill the beer in order to add gelatin. So if you can't crash cool, you can't use gelatin either.

It will work at room temperature - just not as well, nor as fast as passedpawn mentioned above.

Of course my room temp is in the low 60's right now...Feels like friggin April NOT July.

GT
 
I always use gelatin at normal ferm temps and always get fast results. 3 days and it's a clear as it's going to get.
 
Does the Beer need to be repitched after clarifying with Gelatine , to have a proper carbonation at the end ?!

Hector
 
Does the Beer need to be repitched after clarifying with Gelatine , to have a proper carbonation at the end ?!

Hector

It is not necessary, even though your beer is crystal clear there is still enough yeast in solution to properly carbonate your beer. It may take a little longer. Having said that I would pitch an appropriate amount of dry yeast to bottle carbonate a big or really big beer (ie anything above about 1.060) just because it takes a long time anyways and the few remaining yeast after fining are tired and sickly given the high alcohol content.

GT
 
I just put some gelatin into a keg and have let it sit in my kegerator for a few days. Is it necessary to rack into a new keg to prevent the gelatin from plugging up the diptube or is this not usually a problem?
 
I rushed the process on a lager, yes I am ashamed.

However, can I use gelatin to help clear some of the yeast flavor that remains since I didn't give it its proper time to drop out?

It is currently kegged, carbed and at serving temp? Thanks.
 
It will still drop out. If your haziness is attributed to yeast alone, just let it sit in the keg a few days at cold temp. It will settle and come out in the first pint or two.
 
It will still drop out. If your haziness is attributed to yeast alone, just let it sit in the keg a few days at cold temp. It will settle and come out in the first pint or two.

It's been cold in the keg on gas for two weeks and cold lagering for almost 8wks now. It's more of a taste than it is a haze, though there may be haze as well and I may not know how clear it should be since it's my first lager. I'll hold off adding anything for a little while longer and see what happens. Thanks.

Of course there is the distinct possibility I just screwed something up. :mug:
 
It should be completely clear. I've not done lagers, but I've had a couple of ales that had some haze and a slightly odd taste that went away after I cleared with gelatin. Try cranking the temp down as low as you dare go without freezing anything for a few days and see if that helps.
 
wait, so does clearing with gelatin only work if...

A) you have the ability to cold crash

and or

B) plan to keg


Does it not work for bottle conditioned brews?
 
wait, so does clearing with gelatin only work if...

A) you have the ability to cold crash

and or

B) plan to keg


Does it not work for bottle conditioned brews?

A) I didn't cold crash my first gelatined batch I poured some in at 66F or so in my Kolsch, it did cleared up within a week, crystal clear beer. The only problem was chill haze. As soon as I chilled down to serving temp I had dreaded chill haze. So I imagine its not mandatory but beneficial to cold crash before

B) You can use gelatin in secondary or primary
 
If you mean "will it the beer be clear", then yes. If you mean "will the beers carbonate in the bottles after clearing by gelatin", then yes.

haha, yes. I was really only worried about the second part,... wether or not there would be enough yeast left in suspension to bottle carb.

danke schone.
 
When you add the gelatin do you have to stir or swirl the beer? I would imagine that it would be heavier and sink to the bottom of the beer without grabbing the stuff on its way down.

I am looking at adding gelatin to a mead I am planning to carbonate in champagne bottles for new years, just to clear it up. I was thinking about racking it onto gelatin in a secondary for a week and then bottling in champange bottles., but if I can just add to the fermenter now without disturbing it and then bottle from there, that would be great.
 
When you add the gelatin do you have to stir or swirl the beer? I would imagine that it would be heavier and sink to the bottom of the beer without grabbing the stuff on its way down.

I am looking at adding gelatin to a mead I am planning to carbonate in champagne bottles for new years, just to clear it up. I was thinking about racking it onto gelatin in a secondary for a week and then bottling in champange bottles., but if I can just add to the fermenter now without disturbing it and then bottle from there, that would be great.

the only time I would not add gelatin to primary its when I wash/reuse yeast
 
When you add the gelatin do you have to stir or swirl the beer? I would imagine that it would be heavier and sink to the bottom of the beer without grabbing the stuff on its way down.

I added mine while the mixture was still around 120F, I think the higher temperature will cause it to start at the top and work its way though. I didn't stir or swirl my beer except when moving the carboy from the closet to the kitchen to add the gelatin. Beer cleared up nice at fermentation temperatures, took about three week for my 22oz's to carbonate. That may be due to the temperature of my house though.
 
A) I didn't cold crash my first gelatined batch I poured some in at 66F or so in my Kolsch, it did cleared up within a week, crystal clear beer. The only problem was chill haze. As soon as I chilled down to serving temp I had dreaded chill haze. So I imagine its not mandatory but beneficial to cold crash before

B) You can use gelatin in secondary or primary

Makes sense.

I have started using gelatin recently and have done so about 6 times now. I add it (using BM's instructions) into the 2ndary where my temps are usually 62-65 ambient. Some of my beers came out crystal clear while others do not due to chill haze. I had one BMC type light beer that looked like a wheat beer (Blue Moonish) and wouldn't clear even when brought back to room temp in a glass. Not sure what happened there.

Next time I will add it to a secondary and place in temps below 40 to see if that makes a more consistent clear beer.
 
I just put some gelatin into a keg and have let it sit in my kegerator for a few days. Is it necessary to rack into a new keg to prevent the gelatin from plugging up the diptube or is this not usually a problem?

No need. First pint should remove most of the fallout. However, try not to move it around after that. If you do, just allow it time to re-settle before use (if possible) and then you may get some more fallout on your first pull.
 
I'm going to read the above thread.. but still.. a question.

I'm going to be dry hopping in my secondary on my next batch.. can I add the gelatin at the same time? or should I give it a few days with just the hops and then add the gelatin?

I have the ability to cold crash in a fridge that a carboy will fit into.

I also use Irish moss, but have never gotten that really clear beer that looks like something you would buy off a shelf (if that makes sense) I really want to have a really clear, professional looking IPA :)

I've been reading on this, but don't fully understand it yet.
 
So I used gelatin for the first time on my most recent brew.. it looks fantastically clear when I bottled! But I have a concern.. due to life getting in the way.. it sat in the fridge with the gelatin for a week.. It should still have enough yeast to carb right? it's a 6.6% IPA. I know you only need to do this for a few days, but I should be fine right?
 
So I used gelatin for the first time on my most recent brew.. it looks fantastically clear when I bottled! But I have a concern.. due to life getting in the way.. it sat in the fridge with the gelatin for a week.. It should still have enough yeast to carb right? it's a 6.6% IPA. I know you only need to do this for a few days, but I should be fine right?

Yes, there will be plenty of yeast to carbonate your beer after using gelatin.
 
My beer is cold crashed, keg is cold. I wanna do a quick 30psi shake carb to give it a head start for a comp this weekend. Should I add the gelatin to the keg after I shake or before?
 
Add the gelatin to a bowl of cold water microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stir keep doing that until it is clear. Add to keg, pressurize, bleed o2, crank the co2 up and shake. Leave it for a few days before you pull your first pint or two until it runs clear
 
So I know this is an old thread but thought I would try to ask a question. I have a raspberry ale in the secondary right now (see the recipe Requiem Raspberry). I was wondering if there is an issue with using gelatin when there is still fruit in the secondary? Will it still clear out?
 
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