gelatin finings?

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I just started fining with gelatin. I cold crash in primary after sufficient clean up time. Once beer is @ +.5C I add 1 tsp Knox with about 4 oz of RO water. Heated to 150F, I've just poured it in gently or pour in and stir. Remarkable effect. I think I'll keg dry hop AFTER I fine just to ensure I'm not losing hop aroma and flavor.

Which brings up a question. Ya'll think I can give up on kettle finings? I've used Irish Moss and lately Whirlfloc, but neither seemed to have a great effect. Perhaps it's because I'm unable to cool wort as quickly as I should.
 
I don't know, that's a great question. I've never actually done a controlled test to see if the Irish moss was actually doing anything. I'd be interested to hear what others have to say on the topic, particularly someone who's done it both ways.
 
I have noticed a distinct difference in cold break and chill haze between using whirlfloc and not. Cold break seems to be 'larger' and clumps much more readily with the use of whirlfloc. I've also done a beer or two without gelatin, the ones without whirlfloc have more chill haze, despite an extremely rapid cooling.
 
+1 on the brulosopher. I use whirfloc in the last 15 min of boil, and add gelatin to carboy before cold crash. My beer has never been clearer.
 
If you really want to see whirlfloc shine, put it in at 5 minutes left. 15 minutes denatures/breaks down a large portion of what makes it work.
 
I never read that particular one before but I feel better now (thanks!) because I forget to add in Irish Moss about every third boil I do.

I don't forget anything else... just that...

And yep, I just forgot it in my first lager (where it might actually matter).

Oh well, it will be the first beer I try gelatin in anyway... ;)

Fred
 
I was told 7 minutes, which is really nit picking. But that is my magic # and SOP. I still think for my situation, a quicker cool down would provide greater honest product evals. Cheers.
 
I have had great success with using gelatin in the past. I bloom for an hour in cold water. Heat to 160. Stir the solution into the cloudy beer for about 2 minutes. I usually get very clear beer in 2 to 3 days.

However, on my last batch, it did not clear. Perhaps it was because I had not racked the beer to secondary like I normally do? Perhaps it is due to something else.

Any suggestions on how I can clear the beer at this point?

I have since racked to secondary. Would there be any harm in trying gelatin again?

Or, are there other ways to clear the beer that I should try at this point?
 
I'm starting using finning agent in the last brews, so I'm doing some experiment
The most interesting in this: I bottle a session ipa with a huge dryhop, in one bottle I put a little bit of isinglass, guess which has isinglass in:

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Stir the solution into the cloudy beer for about 2 minutes.

Don't do that. Just pour it in, it will disperse on it's own. Stirring is going to pick up all the trub on the bottom, and it's going to risk oxygenating/infecting your beer.
 
I bloom for an hour in cold water. Heat to 160. Stir the solution into the cloudy beer for about 2 minutes. I usually get very clear beer in 2 to 3 days.

Just curious, I've seen this before and never understood. What is the purpose of "blooming" the gelatin? What does that even mean? I've always just dumped the gelatin into water and started microwaving it right away until it hits 160, then into the keg it goes.
 
Just curious, I've seen this before and never understood. What is the purpose of "blooming" the gelatin? What does that even mean? I've always just dumped the gelatin into water and started microwaving it right away until it hits 160, then into the keg it goes.
I'm also curious if this makes a difference. I've only bloomed the last time and it didn't seem any different than all the other times I didn't bloom. Also, while I get some clearing in two days it always takes a couple weeks for me to get the most clarity.
 
How cold are you getting the beer?

I'll typically crash down to 32-33f (0c) before adding gelatin. I'll add 1/8 ounce of gelatin to roughly 1/3 cup of cool RO water. I'll let it 'bloom' for a minute or two before microwaving it in short bursts up to 150-155f (65-68c). Then I pour it right into the fermenter and continue to keep it at 32f (0c) for a few days. Within 2-3 days the beer is brilliantly clear, usually enough to read through... unless it's a stout or other dark beer. For what it's worth, I also gelatin fine dark beers. Getting the yeast and other proteins crashed out helps the flavor immensely.
 
Does anyone have any experience bottle conditioning after fining with gelatine? I'm planning on giving it a whirl, but I wanted to see if anyone thought there would be enough residual yeast, of they have added yeast after racking into a bottling bucket.
 
Does anyone have any experience bottle conditioning after fining with gelatine?
I had the same question the first time I used gelatin. IMO, don't worry about it! Do things as you normally would do them when bottling/kegging. The only thing I noticed a difference in was, I now only get a fine dusting of yeast on the bottom of my bottles instead of a layer of crap :mug:
 
I had the same question the first time I used gelatin. IMO, don't worry about it! Do things as you normally would do them when bottling/kegging. The only thing I noticed a difference in was, I now only get a fine dusting of yeast on the bottom of my bottles instead of a layer of crap :mug:

Thanks Kona! I'll give it a shot bottling like normal.
 
My experience was that it clarified the beer quite well. However, it took longer for the beer to bottle carb. If you've got a pipeline, no worries. If not, be prepared for even longer wait times. I think my experience was 6 weeks rather than the normal 3.
 
My experience was that it clarified the beer quite well. However, it took longer for the beer to bottle carb. If you've got a pipeline, no worries. If not, be prepared for even longer wait times. I think my experience was 6 weeks rather than the normal 3.

I kinda figured that as well. I don't normally bottle, but this is a gluten free beer for my mom and it's a smaller batch, so wait time really isn't an issue.
 
Same experience (with isinglass) crystal clear beer! Took double the amount of time to carb.
When I pour the beer all the sediment remain in the bottle also if I don't pay so much attention!
 
My brew day is 2-10 gallon batches. (one fermenter per 10 gallon batch)

I use one pack of Knox gelatin with about 2 cups of water. Let it boil and cool to 170ish. Let the gelatin dissolve/bloom for about 20 minutes.

I crash cool and put half (1 cup) in each of the 10 gallon fermenters. Works very well.

Bottom line. You don't need very much gelatin to do the job.
 
Does beer have to be cold crashed if using gelatin for fining?

I will be using a BIAB system, with only primary fermentation in a bucket. It will be bottled and not stored in a keg.

Could I do my whole process in the primary fermentation bucket? So let the beer ferment for a month or so, add gelatin (in a hot water solution) on top of the fermented beer in the primary bucket, let it hang out for a few days, then add corn sugar and into bottles? Or go from primary bucket into bottling bucket with corn sugar before going into bottles?
 
Does beer have to be cold crashed if using gelatin for fining?

I will be using a BIAB system, with only primary fermentation in a bucket. It will be bottled and not stored in a keg.

Could I do my whole process in the primary fermentation bucket? So let the beer ferment for a month or so, add gelatin (in a hot water solution) on top of the fermented beer in the primary bucket, let it hang out for a few days, then add corn sugar and into bottles? Or go from primary bucket into bottling bucket with corn sugar before going into bottles?

Sure you can do everything in the primary. But rack to a bottling bucket for mixing in the sugar; you don't want to stir up the sediment and get it in the bottles.
 
I've followed Brulosophy's tip on How to add gelatin to clear a beer out. Let It Bloom at room temp for 30 min then 10s steps in the microwave until 65C (160-170F) and dumping in the primary while Still hot.

Well, it has been 5 days since I added it to a beer sitting at 1-2 degrees Celsius (35F) and there are a lot of floaters in the beer. I have to say that the gelatin was near expiration date, but don't know If this is the issue.

Am I doing something wrong or just being impacient?

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i assume you are drawing from the bottom of your keg? if so, you will kick up the yeast and gelatin that dropped to the bottom. it should clear up after a few pints i think. i usually add the gelatin to the primary fermentor to avoid that problem
 
i assume you are drawing from the bottom of your keg? if so, you will kick up the yeast and gelatin that dropped to the bottom. it should clear up after a few pints i think. i usually add the gelatin to the primary fermentor to avoid that problem

It is still in my fermenting bucket, I am drawing from the faucet I have 1" above the bottom of it.
 
huh, must be junk at that level then. can you take a sample from the top part and see if it is clear?

Not sure if it is safe, but I will let it sit for another couple of days and bottle. Once I do it, I will post a follow up on my problem. Thx bro
 
You don't need to let it bloom for 30 minutes. Heat it short microwave bursts to 155F (68-69C). Add it to beer that's already chilled below 50F, I usually wait until I get to 35F. I do it this way and I have no issues with getting crystal clear beer in the keg, every time.
 
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