Anyone use gelatin before bottle priming?

[dumsboa09]

Anyone here use gelatin before bottle priming? Trying to get some thoughts on it before I try it.

 

[zachattack]

I haven't used it, to be honest I'm very happy with clarity as is. Using a flocculant strain of yeast and cold-conditioning the bottles for a little while goes a long way. Also getting a proper hot/cold break, using Irish Moss, good racking practices, etc.

I know these aren't the thoughts you want to hear, but I'll offer them anyway: I would never regularly put any animal products in my beer, especially if it's not an ingredient (nothing against a bacon beer!) and is only for the visual aspect.

I'm not a vegetarian, but many of my friends and coworkers are. And since one of my favorite things about brewing is being able to share it with everyone, I'd rather keep animal products out of there. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Homercidal]

I tried it once and didn't get the results I'd hoped for. But I've heard of lots of other people who swear by it for a quick and easy clarifying method.

I have a cream ale just in the keg that I am thinking about trying it on. I'm just in a hurry to get it clear and carbed because I'm out of kegged beer and my bottle supply is starting to get dangerously low too.

 

[dumsboa09]

I tried it once and didn't get the results I'd hoped for. But I've heard of lots of other people who swear by it for a quick and easy clarifying method.

I have a cream ale just in the keg that I am thinking about trying it on. I'm just in a hurry to get it clear and carbed because I'm out of kegged beer and my bottle supply is starting to get dangerously low too.

I bottle condition all my beers only because the wife won't allow a kegerator or keezer. I've had a few beers come out super clear after lagering for a month but that was accidental. The beers got pushed to the back of the fridge and I missed them several times. I just want a clear product to share. What do you mean by proper hot and cold breaks? If a new process can help me get rid of chill haze, I'm all for it.

 

[Spc_Scott]

Just a guess here but I think Zach is referring to how quickly you are getting you wort cooled down after the boil? Please correct me if I'm wrong here since I'm still learning too.

 

[zachattack]

Yup. You get a good hot break with a nice vigorous boil, and if you quickly chill the wort at the end you'll get a good cold break. Irish Moss helps as well. Basically, you want all the proteins to coagulate (break out of solution) so that they can settle out in the kettle or fermenter. Chill haze can usually be minimized with a good cold break, though it can be due to certain ingredients with high protein content. Generally chilling the bottles for a few weeks can get the chill haze to drop out.

 

[vash68]

If only there was a way to explain this in english...