Gelatin, Boiling, and Bacteria

[mgortel]

OK...this has been bugging me for a bit now....

I have read in books and on threads that when adding gelatin to secondary....you do not need to boil the water to sanitize it....and of course the gelatin cannot be boiled because it makes it unaffective, etc.

So here is the dilema in my mind:

1) Why is it not necessary to sanitize the water before adding to secondary....with all of the sanitation importance......why is this an exception. Why not boil the water....to sanitixe it,.....let it cool then add gelatin to dissolve in water.

2) Why is there no issue with an infection from the gelatin...couldn;t the gelatin have bacteria, etc?

Everythin I seem to read says to add gelatin to water.....and heat until it dissolves...and add to secondary or keg......what about sanitation!?!?!

Please help me understand why this is ok.....

 

[Yooper]

Well, my tap water doesn't have any contaminants in it. I even drink it right out of my tap!

 

[Slurm]

Sure you can boil your water if you think it is unsanitary, and then add the gelatin once it cools a bit. Most of us trust our water supply to be clean. Also, the manufacturers of the gelatin put a lot of effort into keeping their process sanitary-they don't just take scrapings of hooves right out of the pasture into a baggie and call it gelatin.

Lastly, by the point in the process where you would add gelatin to your beer it is a very inhospitable environment for most bacteria.

 

[jjward101]

Well, my tap water doesn't have any contaminants in it. I even drink it right out of my tap!

Clear;y, water in Michigan is much better than the water in Philadelphia, lol.

 

[BrewinBotanist]

tap water has bacteria in it. Not huge amounts, but normal, everyday, non-harmful amounts, not colonies. there is probably not a large enough population in the amount of water you'd use to overcome the hostile alcoholic environment of the fermented beer.

 

[pablo1337]

Sanitation is important before the yeast have taken off. The yeast will out compete most other micro-organisms. In addition alcohol will kill off other micro-organisms. Your tap water should not have bacteria in it, and the small amount that it does should not affect the beer. Many people(myself included) top off their fermenters with cool tap water. If the large amount used there ie gallons, couple of cups would have even less bacteria present and therefore even less of a chance to infect the beer.

 

[wonderbread23]

I pasturize the gelatin / water mixture before adding it. Taking it up to 170* or so should kill off most nasties.

 

[Haders]

Glad someone posted this question.

I have brewed about 50 batches with perhaps 2 that were infected very early in my "career". Otherwise quite good.

I decided to try Gelatin and used it the way it is suggested on this and other brewing sites. I tried it in 3 consecutive batches, but couldn't try the first before I brewed the last. All three were badly infected.

My only conclusion was that the Knox Gelatin was infected. I did not like the fact that I did not boil it to sterilize but that's apparently normal procedure.

Never used it since, never had another bad batch.

I'd love to hear any alternate exlanations