Cold crash to gelatin?

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WisDevilDog

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I've had an old english ale (Poor Richard's Ale to be precise) in my primary for 6 days now. The OG was 1082 and has been around 1020 for the past 2 days. Can I cold crash it for a few days then rack it into my secondary on top of some gelatin mix? Would it be best to keep it cold conditioned in the secondary or could it be at room temp. One last question, can the beer sit on top of the gelatin for the two weeks I planned on keeping it in secondary?
I kept seeing people post about cold crashing after 3 weeks, but they all seemed to go straight to bottling or kegging afterward. Thoughts, opinions?
 
You don't want to rack on top of gelatin. You should get the beer cold for 24 or more hours, then add the gelatin on top of the beer. The gelatin attracts haze particles and, together, they sink to the bottom of the vessel, yielding a clear to brilliant beer. Gelatin takes about 3 to 5 days.

Cold crashing will also clear the beer, but over a longer time and may not clear chill haze.

You can start the clearing process after you are sure fermentation is complete and the yeast has had a few extra days to tidy things up.

After the gelatin has had time to clear, you can then, gently, rack to a bottling bucket or keg. Take care to not stir up the sediment that the gelatin settled out.

Cheers,
Glenn
 
You don't want to rack on top of gelatin.

why not? I rack on top of gelatin so it gets evenly distributed thru-out the beer. Works great. In fact I just racked on top of gelatin with 2 carboys full of Steam beer. Within 24 hours there was a TON of crap at the bottom of the 2ndaries. I question that the beer needs to be cold too. I do it at room-temp, works like a charm.
 
Reason it works better when the beer has already been cold crashed is a lot has dropped out and the rest will be easier for the gelatin to remove. There is just so much that tablespoon will do .
 
*raises hand*

so the point of racking onto gelatin in the secondary is that the gelatin binds with all the particulates in the beer, and you bypass needing to filter or be careful when bottling/etc.?
 
*raises hand*

so the point of racking onto gelatin in the secondary is that the gelatin binds with all the particulates in the beer, and you bypass needing to filter or be careful when bottling/etc.?

The Gelatin will clear your beer much better than cold crashing and or being careful when bottling.I like to add it to room temp.beer, then cold crash! I have not had good luck adding it to COLD beer.It seems to gel up and drop to the bottom too fast?
 
step away from the fermentor...

a beer that big needs time...beer conditions way faster at a warmer temp (and its an ale so thats cool---figure low 60's). leave it alone for a couple weeks and then cold crash for 48hrs (to get haze) then at gelatin and wait 48 more hrs. then keg.

I wouldn't touch it at all for atleast 3 weeks (or rack to a secondary and don't touch for 2 more weeks)...you don't have to listen to me but it will taste like poo (compared to that styles potential) if you don't give it time...
 
Can I still dry hop if I use Gelatin?

I'm sure there is a better way to do it and i'm curious to hear the answer. but when i use gelatin for my dry hoped beers i use it in tertiary. So my schedule goes something like this:

2-3 weeks primary
10-14 days dry hop secondary
3-5 days tertiary
 
why not? I rack on top of gelatin so it gets evenly distributed thru-out the beer. Works great. In fact I just racked on top of gelatin with 2 carboys full of Steam beer. Within 24 hours there was a TON of crap at the bottom of the 2ndaries. I question that the beer needs to be cold too. I do it at room-temp, works like a charm.

Gelatin use gravity to settle out particle in solution. So if all of it is on top of the beer, then all of it needs to drop through the beer to the bottom, picking up haze particles on the way.

As to cold vs. warm, the beer needs to get cold to develop chill haze, which gelatin can help to clear. As you've proven, there's other particles in the beer that the gelatin will drop out beside those related to chill haze.

IME, gelatin on top of cold beer yields the most bang for the buck and clearest results. Other brewers have other processes that wrok great for the.

Cheers,
Glenn
 
ok...i use gelatin for ALL my beers that aren't dark...ferment (3 weeksish) then dryhop for 10 days... cold crash (if kegging) for 48hrs. then add 1 packet of gelatin mixed to 170f water and cool to <100 and add to primary then mix softly...in 48hrs its crystal!!! then keg....
 
I have an IPA in a secondary right now..Can I sprinkle the gelatin into Carboy a couple days before I bottle ?

you don't sprinkle it in dry. You need to dissolve it in warm water let it sit for about 10-15 minutes and then heat it to 175° ish you do not want to boil it and then you can put it in the carboy. I pour it right in hot the little bit of water at 175 isn't going to do anything to raise 5 gallons of cool beer.
 
you don't sprinkle it in dry. You need to dissolve it in warm water let it sit for about 10-15 minutes and then heat it to 175° ish you do not want to boil it and then you can put it in the carboy. I pour it right in hot the little bit of water at 175 isn't going to do anything to raise 5 gallons of cool beer.

Is the 10-15 minute "blooming" time per your gelatin's instructions? Mine says to do it for around an hour, so a little clarification (pun intended) on the bloom time would be appreciated.

Also, is 24 hours long enough for the gelatin to take full effect to rack to bottling bucket and start filling bottles?
 
you don't sprinkle it in dry. You need to dissolve it in warm water let it sit for about 10-15 minutes and then heat it to 175° ish you do not want to boil it and then you can put it in the carboy. I pour it right in hot the little bit of water at 175 isn't going to do anything to raise 5 gallons of cool beer.

Mine is in a carboy. can I just pour it in or do I have to try to stir it? How much of a difference will it make?
So, just use plain Knox Gelatin from grocery store.?
 
yup plain knox gelatin. I heat water (4-5oz) to 170f and mix in 1 packet of gelatin. then wait 10 min+ and dump into the carboy. i usually give it a little swirl with the spoon but dont mix up the sediment (at least as little as possible) and then wait 24-48 hrs. I do it right i the primary (glass carboy) and keg from there...

If a little sediment gets stirred up the gelatin will clear it as well...some people don't stir. I just swish it back and forth 2-3 times...just to spread it around.
 
Is the 10-15 minute "blooming" time per your gelatin's instructions? Mine says to do it for around an hour, so a little clarification (pun intended) on the bloom time would be appreciated.

Also, is 24 hours long enough for the gelatin to take full effect to rack to bottling bucket and start filling bottles?

Sorry for the late response

I just wait for it to dissolve in the water wait 10 -15 minutes then add to the carboy I use knox so the box directions don't apply

Mine is in a carboy. can I just pour it in or do I have to try to stir it? How much of a difference will it make?
So, just use plain Knox Gelatin from grocery store.?

Just pour it in try not to splash much. Yup plain old unflavored knox is what I use.

This is a beer I just tapped second pull .. This one was cold crashed at 34° for 6 days Knox added and left for three more . Its a Haus pale ale the haze is just condensation on the glass 92° in April:drunk: Nothing was added to the boil to clear it, I forgot the Whirlfloc :eek:
clear21.JPG
 
Sorry for the late response

I just wait for it to dissolve in the water wait 10 -15 minutes then add to the carboy I use knox so the box directions don't apply



Just pour it in try not to splash much. Yup plain old unflavored knox is what I use.

This is a beer I just tapped second pull .. This one was cold crashed at 34° for 6 days Knox added and left for three more . Its a Haus pale ale the haze is just condensation on the glass 92° in April:drunk: Nothing was added to the boil to clear it, I forgot the Whirlfloc :eek:
clear21.JPG

thats a nice looking beer!!!!!!!!!!
 
yes but you may get chill haze when you do chill. I recommend chilling first so that the gelatin removes the chill haze...
 
Actually I meant, can I use gelatin in my carboy if I plan on keeping it at 65F until the end? Is this method used only when you chill?
 
as i said yes (it will still clear a beer if warm)...so will enough time. I just recommend using it after cold crashing because if you do it a room temp then wait, then rack to keg/bottling bucket, then chill....you will likely still get chill haze (proteins cause haze in the beer)

If you chill and add gelatin to chilled beer (with chill haze) the proteins will be removed and when you pour ice cold beer it will be crystal clear.
 
Great! Thanks for the reply. I misread your first reply. Friday nights is the time when my brain don't werk gud.
 
as i said yes (it will still clear a beer if warm)...so will enough time. I just recommend using it after cold crashing because if you do it a room temp then wait, then rack to keg/bottling bucket, then chill....you will likely still get chill haze (proteins cause haze in the beer)

If you chill and add gelatin to chilled beer (with chill haze) the proteins will be removed and when you pour ice cold beer it will be crystal clear.

Very good to know. Thanks.
 
I am finding this to be a great thread but with so much info out there I need to ask two questions to clarify everything. I am planning on bottling my beer and would like to use gelatin and cold crashing to help clarify the beer.

1) Do I have to rack to a secondary in order for the cold crashing to be more effective and then add the gelatin a few days prior to bottling?

2) Will I need to add any yeast to this beer prior to bottling so there will be good carbination with the corn sugar?

Thanks...

Mick
 
I am finding this to be a great thread but with so much info out there I need to ask two questions to clarify everything. I am planning on bottling my beer and would like to use gelatin and cold crashing to help clarify the beer.

1) Do I have to rack to a secondary in order for the cold crashing to be more effective and then add the gelatin a few days prior to bottling?

2) Will I need to add any yeast to this beer prior to bottling so there will be good carbination with the corn sugar?

Thanks...

Mick

Answer: 1) If you're already in a carboy or your cold crashing technique can be used on a bucket, then no, I don't think you need a secondary. I took out my shelves/freezer from my old dorm fridge from college so I can fit a carboy in there no worries. Can't fit a bucket though so I need to transfer to secondary.

2) I've cold crashed in a fridge down to 40 degrees then added gelatin...none of mine needed extra yeast to carbonate.
 
"2) I've cold crashed in a fridge down to 40 degrees then added gelatin...none of mine needed extra yeast to carbonate."

Will I need to swirl or mix the gelatin solution when i add it to the cold crashed beer or will it mix pretty well on its own?

If I don't use a secondary and add the gelatin directly to my primary bucket will I still be able to successfully harvest the yeast cake to use for another brew? ( Will the presence of the gelatin affect the viability of reusing/washing the yeast if all of this is done in the primary fermentor?)

Thanks...
 
"2) I've cold crashed in a fridge down to 40 degrees then added gelatin...none of mine needed extra yeast to carbonate."

Will I need to swirl or mix the gelatin solution when i add it to the cold crashed beer or will it mix pretty well on its own?

If I don't use a secondary and add the gelatin directly to my primary bucket will I still be able to successfully harvest the yeast cake to use for another brew? ( Will the presence of the gelatin affect the viability of reusing/washing the yeast if all of this is done in the primary fermentor?)

Thanks...

I've never had to swirl it. But, there are different schools of thought on adding it. I've seen some on here say they only add it while transfering to secondary, like you would when adding the sugar water before bottling, to ensure it is evenly distributed. But, the beer has to be cold when introducing the gelatin. Remember how you make jello...its gotta be cold, or it doesn't work.

Also I would not recommend transferring warm, then adding the jello and cooling, because I think you'd just end up with jello trub on the bottom, and your beer wouldn't be any more clear for the gelatin.

Then I hear about people who just add it, so as the gelatin congeals on the way down, it picks up particulates.

I'm not sure which way is "better", but I can say that transferring to my glass carboy from my bucket, then throwing it into the fridge for 2 days and letting it cool. Then, adding gelatin and giving that another 48 hours clears my beer very well both of particulates and chill haze.

As far as harvesting yeast cake goes, I've never done it anyways, so I honestly don't have any idea.
 
So I am confused on what to do exactly for the knox gelatin. Do you put in in warm water and let it sit for a while then heat it to 170 OR do you add it to 170 and let it sit for a while?
 
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