Gelatin + Cold Crash + Carb in Keg

[jmcd105]

Okay, heres the situation. By this time tomorrow I should have my first dual tap kegerator built. I will post pics of that when its done.

Any way after hours of thread flipping and searching, I have come to the conclusion that I can use gelatin, cold crash, and carbonate all at the same time? Is this right? Is there any problem of gunk at the bottom of the keg or should I trim the dip tube? or not worry? Carbing, cold crashing and gelatin should all have done its job after 48 hours ?

Sorry for all the questions in one thread, I know its a lot going on. Just trying to make sure I have the right procedure down, I would like my first keg from my new kegerator to be a success.

Also when I went from Hot wort to fermentation it was a very short period of time (10-15 minutes) before I was down to temp and able to pitch.

Thank you all in advance!
Any other tips you have are greatly appreciated! Thank you!

 

[ba-brewer]

No need to trim the dip tube, just dump the first pint, sort of need to do anyways. The yeast and gelatin settle pretty tight to the bottom if you dont disturb the keg. Hit it with a hose, it rinses out no problem when kicked.

You can start the carbonation as soon as you put the keg in the kegerator.

Gelatin works best with prechilled beer, better to chill for a day or two before adding gelatin.

Most beer tastes better after a week or two of cold conditioning, but it is your beer so you can drink whenever. I almost always take a sample when I think there is reasonable carbonation(5-6days with set and forget carb), some beers are drinkable some are not.

 

[Homercidal]

Didn't have much luck with gelatin the first two times I tried it. Tried it again a couple of days ago and it's a different story. I have an Irish Red Ale that needs to be ready in less than 4 weeks, so I give it 1 week to ferment and then I racked to keg. Placed small keg in drink cooler and poured ice on it to chill it (my kegerator had no room for more kegs yet) and the next day I added 1/2 tsp unflavored gelatin to 1/4 C. cold water. Microwave for 7 seconds repeatedly, stirring with a thermometer between each heating, until it reaches 145-150F. Then pour into keg.

2-3 days later I go to pour the gunk off the bottom and the beer is coming out clear. F'in amazing! I think the dip tube sits a bit higher than normal in this keg, but I was blown away by how fast and how clear this beer got in that short time! I didn't add any more ice since that one time right after adding gelatin, either!

So then I make room in the kegerator for that keg and get it chilling and carbing. If I were in a REAL hurry, I could have jumpered the clear beer out of that keg into another keg, and then burst carbed it by cranking up the pressure and shaking the hell out of it to get the CO2 into solution faster. Luckily I have time to let it sit and carb normally, and I don't have an empty keg to jump into anyway.

If I'd had a spare keg, I think I could easily have gotten this Irish Red from grain to glass in about 2 weeks with gelatin. I don't think that's ideal, but in this case it seems to taste pretty good as it is. I doubt most beers will taste that great in that short amount of time.

Before I hit submit, I also want to let you know that it's not advisable to add gelatin to an already carbed keg. Also, you can add gelatin to a chilled fermentor and then rack the clear beer into a keg if you wish. Just remember that if you add gelatin to a keg, you have to be careful not to rouse the sediment after that. All that stuff will still be on the bottom and will cloud up the beer again if you mess around too much. (Why I like jumpering to another keg flushed with CO2 after clearing...)

 

[The_Bishop]

If you have a ferm chamber that can cold-crash, just cold crash and gelatin fine it in the fermenter. Makes it very, very easy to put crystal clear beer in the keg. Also, no need to worry about moving the keg around; there's no gunk to get stirred up.

 

[ba-brewer]

Before I hit submit, I also want to let you know that it's not advisable to add gelatin to an already carbed keg.

What is the reason behind not adding gelatin to carbed kegs?

I routinely do it without adverse effects. Keg is put on gas for a couple days in the keezer, then I pour the heated gelatin in without stirring.

I will tell you what is also not advisable, and that is to smell the container of heated gelatin. I know why people say they make gelatin out of cow hooves now.

 

[Homercidal]

What is the reason behind not adding gelatin to carbed kegs?

I routinely do it without adverse effects. Keg is put on gas for a couple days in the keezer, then I pour the heated gelatin in without stirring.

I will tell you what is also not advisable, and that is to smell the container of heated gelatin. I know why people say they make gelatin out of cow hooves now.

I have not tried it, but I hear adding gelatin to a carbed keg can create a foamy mess. If this is not the case, then I stand corrected and may be eager to test this out some day when my keg isn't clearing the way I want.

And now that you tempt me with news of gelatin smelling bad, I'll have to try that too!

 

[murphyslaw]

I think you can do all of it at once, with the caveat that your beer should be chilled before pitching the gelatin. I've never done a comparison of warm vs cold, but since jello sets in cold water, it seems to make sense that you'd want it cold first. I've never had a foaming issue by adding gelatin while carbing the beer.

So assuming that I kegged my beer after work one night, my process would be this:

Day 1 (night) - Put keg in fridge with 30 PSI.
Day 2 (morning) - Add gelatin as soon as beer is cold.
Day 3 (morning) - cut PSI to serving pressure, pour off sediment, enjoy beer.

Over the next couple of days the gelatin/cold crashing continues to clear the beer and I might have to pour off a bit each time I drink. If I were serving it to friends, I'd want to hold off until at least Day 5 or 6, and ideally a week or so.

 

[ba-brewer]

I have never had a foam over, but it does foam some. I try to pour as gentle as possible which can be challenging reaching into the keezer between lines and all. I do have the lid in hand to try to get it back on pretty quick.

I wait a couple of days as I want chill haze to form before I add the gelatin, not sure if that really matters or not. Someday I will try adding to the keg warm to see how that works as that would make things easier.

 

[brewbama]

I also got some foam the whole one time I added gelatin to carbing/carbed beer

 

[jmcd105]

I don't have a ferm fridge to cold crash in thats why this all has to be done at the same time.

Im looking for the most efficient way to do this without sacrificing any quality, or clogging a keg.

Thank you for the suggestions and replies keep them coming!

The more input I get the better decision I can make.

 

[JonM]

This is exactly how I do it. Chill kegged beer to serving temp, add gelatin, then put it on the gas. By the time its carbonated 10-14 days later, its almost crystal clear. If I'm combo cold crash, gelatin, carbing AND lagering for a month, its crystal clear once I pour off a pint or two of sludgy stuff.

Properly preparing the gelatin seems to be a pretty important step. What I do (and I wish I could give credit to the guy who came up with this technique but I don't know who) is: add one package of Knox to 10 oz of water and let it bloom for an hour. Then slowly heat it on the stove until it's over 150ish but not as high as 160. Immediately add to beer that has been chilled to serving temp and hook up the gas. Works great.

Pilsner lager after gelatin:

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1479496911.248970.jpg

 

[ba-brewer]

The clarity of your beer is amazing JonM.

I dont always get my beer that clear, but pretty close. I use half a package of gelatin(3.5gm) and 6oz of water bloomed for 30min to an hour, then heated in the microwave to about 160 swirling the jar every 15 to 20sec. I must admit I stopped measuring temp and do a set time when the results were always coming about the same.