floating snot? (gelatin)

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ThatFishGuy

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Hey everyone,
My first brew is just about ready to keg. So a day ago I added a tbsp of gelatin as per the instructions. my question is: shouldnt this stuff sink? I checked on the beer today and noticed snot-looking stuff floating at the top of the carboy. At first i panicked and thought it might be a bacterial infection, but i relaxed and realized it might just be the gelatin. So here are some pics, they're off my phone so I apologize if the quality is off. So what's the deal, is this just floating gelatin or am i in trouble? :confused:
Thanks,
Sam

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No, I boiled just over 2 cups of water, then let it cool. After cooling, I added gelatin and heat slowly until dissolved. then I poured it down a sanitized funnel into the batch. Sound right? Just a note I opened up the carboy for a sniff and i didnt notice any off smells. just beer :)
 
It looks like something from the Marine Biology Institute, but I've never used gelatin finings, so what do I know? :D
 
yes it does a little, kinda like off-white cyanobacteria. i jiggled it earlier and it resembled a giant flat worm. ....sorry im a saltwater nut... :)

any ideas or guess though? Surprised i havent heard more...
 
I am too. Maybe you've stumbled upon something that no one has ever seen before. As I said before, other than Irish Moss, Super Irish Moss, and Isinglass, I've never used anything else. I'm really curious to know though, and I hope that someone can give you a good (and correct) answer.
 
Well, let me be the first to say that I doubt what your looking at is a result of gelatin. I've used gelatin for fining several times; once you mix it with the water it should have been clear... you pour it in, kick the carboy a little to get it mixed and let is set... for me, I let it sit overnight before bottling.

Next day I do see residue created by the gelatin SITTING ON THE BOTTOM. This style of fining has worked pretty well for me in the past.

Sorry I couldn't offer an answer per se... but I don't believe that is the gelatin unless you put the gelatin in dry... and even then I'm not sure it would float like that.
 
ya thats what i was thinking, but while examining it more closely it looks like the yeast was still a tiny bit too active after racking to secondary. I think the stuff is floating because of CO2 bubbles inside of it. almost as if the the yeast is working inside of it. or....its going to be really gross come kegging day (probably today so i will let you know).
 
Racked into the keg a little while ago, smelled fine but holding off on the tasting until its carb'd. I just had to leave a little extra beer in the bottom of the carboy to avoid sucking in any of that weird ***t. haha wish me luck. We'll find out if that was gonaherpasyphilaids or just yeast soon enough. ;)
 
Now that you mention it, I do remember fermintations that did look like that.... you're probably right....

I'll bet that beer will be just fine. Crazier things have happened.
 
thats very comforting. I tasted some a little prematurely. I am not the most patient person in case you havent noticed :D its fine, in fact its better than fine! Still pretty flat though as of midnight last night.
 
So what was the result? I pitched gelatin in my Kolsch and cold crashed it for a week then bottled it. I now have what looks like exactly the same in some of the bottles...
 
I have used Gelatin before and i never seen it do that! The instructions i was given was, Let it soak in cold water for 1 hour then boil to dissolve, then cool and add, When you add it should like clear water. My guess is you did something wrong when preparing it. But who knows i could be wrong, i dont know everything lol :D
 
When using gelatin, if you expose the gelatin to high temperatures you get jello. I believe the turning point is around 170 deg F. Heat to 170 (or cool to 170 if you overshoot), then add the gelatin to avoid the clumps. Also, it will actually work as a fining agent, where "jello" will not.
 
yes it does a little, kinda like off-white cyanobacteria. i jiggled it earlier and it resembled a giant flat worm. ....sorry im a saltwater nut... :)

any ideas or guess though? Surprised i havent heard more...

Probably need to run a phosban reactor for few days and get your phosphate down..maybe some partial wort changes? :D
 
wow talk about thread revival lol. That beer turned out just fine if i remember correctly. And im glad a few of you caught my fishy references :) . Im guessing the issue WAS that i had heated the gelatin too much. but since then i've only used it one other time and i didnt get the snot looking stuff.
 
Tried one of mine today. Not one with a big snot ball. It tasted fine, so unless a number of the bottles were infected and others not, it is probably ok. It is a kolsch so it is a bit green still and needs another week for carbonation then some cellar time. I'll probably chill down a snot ball one to try, just to be sure.
 
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