Gelatin is no joke!

[400d]

I'm racking to secondary today. After reading a lot, I decided to give gelatin a try. Some people had no problems with bottling/carbonating, while some people got completely flat beer.

I'm afraid a little.

I decided to take some yeast from primary and save it for bottling day. I though of adding this yeast to my bottling bucket, but I don't know how much should I add, and how?

Any advice?

 

[smizak]

Never used gelatin myself, but I just listened to the BN podcast w/ Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River and he said he added gelatin to the bottling bucket when he was a homebrewer. He also mentioned that the yeast cake got locked up in the gelatin in the bottom and made for very clear pours out of the bottle.

 

[Bensiff]

I can't agree more. I usually have pretty clear beer, but when it refuses to clear up there is nothing like gelatin to remove cloudiness. I use store bought stuff, no fancy (overpriced and repackaged) LHBS stuff.

 

[ILOVEBEER]

harpo,

I do not use a secondary and I do not filter. Is filtering really necessary even with the addition of the gelatin?

It seems that filtering would accomplish what the gelatin is going to do....kinda redundant or am I way off on this one?


Thanks

 

[400d]

what do you think of saving some yeast from primary, then secondary with gelatin, and at the end bottle with some saved yeast in the bottling bucket just before bottling?

 

[Bensiff]

ILOVEBEER - Filtering will get out your chill haze while gelatin will not...it all depends on how much it matters to you and if you are willing to add the expense and pain of filtering to get crystal clear beer. If you filter there would be no reason to put in gelatin.

 

[ILOVEBEER]

I'd be ok with getting the suspended proteins out and getting some clarity...it doesnt have to be perfect, just see thru

 

[ILOVEBEER]

I was wondering.

Why can't I add the gelatin to the sanke fermenter, cold crash it for the time necessary and then rack it into my corney kegs?

This way there would be MINIMAL stuff in the keg.

 

[lschiavo]

I was wondering.

Why can't I add the gelatin to the sanke fermenter, cold crash it for the time necessary and then rack it into my corney kegs?

This way there would be MINIMAL stuff in the keg.

Thats what I would do. I have only used it at ferment temps with good results. I have read however, that gelatin does better at cold temps so if you could cold crash the fermentor, add gelatin, let sit a day or two and then rack to cornys it may be better. No experience here myself.

 

[ILOVEBEER]

So lets say for example I leave my beer in the fermenter for 19 days at day 20 add gelatin and let sit for 2 days at fermentation temps (which would give me my 3 weeks in the primary as I always do). After that time cold crash for 2-3 days...then rack into corney kegs.

I am going to try it this way...anybody think this will work?

Thanks
Joe

 

[Mato23]

I am going to rack to secondary in a couple days and want to try gelatin. I see some people say cold crash and some not. Also wondering how cold crashing and temperature fluctuation is going to affect the yeast at bottling time
Should I leave in secondary for a 1.5 weeks, add gelatin and cold crash for a couple days, then bottle at room temp?
Rack onto gelatin mixture and cold crash for a couple days, bring secondary back to room temp for a couple weeks then bottle?
Or just rack on it and not cold crash?


Not leaving in primary so I can free it up for new brew.

 

[lschiavo]

So lets say for example I leave my beer in the fermenter for 19 days at day 20 add gelatin and let sit for 2 days at fermentation temps (which would give me my 3 weeks in the primary as I always do). After that time cold crash for 2-3 days...then rack into corney kegs.

I am going to try it this way...anybody think this will work?

Thanks
Joe

This is what I do and it works quite well. It also glues the yeast cake down so its harder to pick anything up while racking. Just make sure to add gelatin at a higher temp so it can have time to equalize and do its thing.

 

[ILOVEBEER]

Very cool!!! Thank you for the advice. I do not rerack my yeast as of yet so I am not overly concerned with reuse at this point. I am going to do it exactly as you and see how it works for me. Thanks again!

Joe

 

[Mato23]

Has anybody tried gelatin vegetarian substitutes? The only substitute I have found so far is called Kojel and is supposedly a gelatin made from seaweed. I was just wondering how or if this or anything similar would work.

The girlfriend is a vegetarian so need to seek alternative fining...

* just did some further research and the stuff is Carrgeenan(Irish Moss) mixed with other vegetable gelatins. So I guess a question for that would be if it would be possible to boil Irish Moss down in a small amount of liquid and add it to a secondary?
Also the Moss attracts positively charged particles such as proteins which would help with the chill haze, but most yeasts are negatively charged. Is there anyway to tell what charge a certain strain of yeast carries?

 

[ILOVEBEER]

If I were you I'd add it and not tell her....unless she is allergic to it, how will she ever know....seems like alot of work for nothing IMO.

 

[waldoar15]

Has anybody tried gelatin vegetarian substitutes? The only substitute I have found so far is called Kojel and is supposedly a gelatin made from seaweed. I was just wondering how or if this or anything similar would work.

The girlfriend is a vegetarian so need to seek alternative fining...

Most (if not all) of the gelatin falls out and compacts on the yeast cake.

 

[AnonyBrew]

Some of you mentioned letting the gelatin cool before you add it to the beer. wont diluting it into gallons of cold/or room temp beer do that?
if it is necessary to cool it first what temp is "cool" ?

I don't think it matters all that much. You just don't want hot liquid going into things like a glass carboy prior to racking onto it.

 

[lschiavo]

I cool to about 20 degrees above the beer. I wouldnt put anything too hot into my beer. Just seems wrong?

 

[Paddle_Head]

This sounds pretty interesting, and something I'd like to consider in the future. Since I don't use secondary, and it seems some are successfully doing this in their primary. Is there an issue w/ washing the yeast if there is gelatin in there?

My assumption is no, since the gelatin is only grabbing protein based material, and yeast impact is minimal since folks are still naturally carbing. so that should make washing yeast easier since trub/gunk will only fall out of solution faster.

Sounds correct right?

 

[lschiavo]

This sounds pretty interesting, and something I'd like to consider in the future. Since I don't use secondary, and it seems some are successfully doing this in their primary. Is there an issue w/ washing the yeast if there is gelatin in there?

My assumption is no, since the gelatin is only grabbing protein based material, and yeast impact is minimal since folks are still naturally carbing. so that should make washing yeast easier since trub/gunk will only fall out of solution faster.

Sounds correct right?

I am also curious if gelating affects yeast for reuse. I use gelatin but have never reused the yeast. Anybody do this?

 

[jmp138]

Wow, haven't looked at my post in a while, this created quite a bit of discusssion, waydago! As for using gelatin in the primary and then washing the yeast, I wouldn't do it. The gelatin settles and pulls all that gunk out of suspension settling it right on the yeast cake. Since gelatin is, well, gelatinous, you are going to have a tough time getting it away from your yeast you are trying to wash. I don't secondary either, unless I am using gelatin and I want to wash my yeast. Try it, may work great, I just don't do it.

 

[Paddle_Head]

I've got a porter fermenting now that I think I'm going add the gelatin too in primary and see if I can wash the yeast.

Should have the results in about 3 weeks. And will let you folks know.

 

[Yankeehillbrewer]

I've got a porter fermenting now that I think I'm going add the gelatin too in primary and see if I can wash the yeast.

Should have the results in about 3 weeks. And will let you folks know.

May i suggest waiting to do this on on lighter beer? A Porter wouldn't benefit much from finings, IMO. I think they are best used on beers along the lines of Pales, & Blondes. Just a suggestion

 

[Paddle_Head]

Ha, that's actually why I'm going to be trying it on the Porter. I figure the first time it's better to do it on a beer that if it doesn't go perfect it won't make a difference.

 

[Yankeehillbrewer]

Ha, that's actually why I'm going to be trying it on the Porter. I figure the first time it's better to do it on a beer that if it doesn't go perfect it won't make a difference.

Well why didn't i think of that? good call

 

[smokinghole]

After reading almost this entire thread I too am curious about washing yeast. I have a Pliney clone kit to make up and a red ale that use the same yeast. I'd like to make them clear as possible using gelatin but wonder about doing the gelatin. I guess I could do a 12 or so day primary, then run them into a secondary and wash that yeast then add gelatin to the secondary.

Nevermind me sometimes I answer my own questions and solve my own problems when i type.

 

[waldoar15]

After reading almost this entire thread I too am curious about washing yeast. I have a Pliney clone kit to make up and a red ale that use the same yeast. I'd like to make them clear as possible using gelatin but wonder about doing the gelatin. I guess I could do a 12 or so day primary, then run them into a secondary and wash that yeast then add gelatin to the secondary.

Nevermind me sometimes I answer my own questions and solve my own problems when i type.

I wouldn't bother washing the yeast from the Pliney with all that hops in the trub.

 

[jermanimal]

There is a long discussion about this topic on the Brewing Network Podcast Session 01-17-10 with Russian River Brewing (Think Pliny).

They talked awhile about filtering and using gelatin. They basically love the gelatin, used or have been using commercially and at the brew pub...sort of as a back up. They recommended adding it with the priming sugar at bottling time.

 

[BigJay13]

There is a long discussion about this topic on the Brewing Network Podcast Session 01-17-10 with Russian River Brewing (Think Pliny).

They talked awhile about filtering and using gelatin. They basically love the gelatin, used or have been using commercially and at the brew pub...sort of as a back up. They recommended adding it with the priming sugar at bottling time.

No kidding I'm gonna have to check this one out. I almost did it two days ago when I racked to a keg to carb with priming sugar but I didn't do it. Darn.

 

[bmellis]

Does anyone know if gelatin in the secondary will affect the conditioning of your beer? If it is pulling yeast and other particles out of the beer, what is causing the beer to condition and become mature/not green?