Gelatin / Primary Fermentation

[bthorn9435]

Is it ok to put gelatin in the primary a few days before bottling? I plan on utilizing the 2 week primary as that worked so good last time. If I do put this
in is does it need to be stirred or let it settle naturally?

 

[DubBrew]

Geletin generally colagulates yeast cells and drops them out. If you are bottling you will probably want to add some yeast to the bottling bucket before bottling so you have something to carb with. Which may defeat the purpose.

I think it is ok to use it in primary as long as fermentation is over. That said I'd skip it so you can ensure you have a good carb if bottle conditioning. Just cold condition for a month after carbing up and your beer will be crystal clear.

 

[NickN72]

I'm planning to use gelatin for the first time on my cream ale that's fermenting right now. I'm pretty sure that you don't have to worry about adding any yeast back to carb. The gelatin will drop a lot of the yeast out of suspension, but my understanding is that it can't drop out enough to cause a problem with carbing. If you were to let the beer sit for a LONG time that would be another issue, but the gelatin alone shouldn't cause any problems.

I wouldn't stir it in because you want to be very careful about not getting any oxygen into your beer after it has fermented.

 

[Captain Damage]

There will be plenty of yeast left to carbonate your beer. You don't need to add any more.

 

[Calder]

There will be plenty of yeast left to carbonate your beer. You don't need to add any more.

+1. Used gelatin lots of times, never had to add more yeast.

 

[bthorn9435]

Thanks I was concerned about this. How soon before bottling should I add the gelatin? Does it need to be room temp when I add it?

 

[Beer_Guy]

I used gelatin mixed with a little warm water. The temp of this was slightly higher than the beer. This caused the mix to stay at the top until it cooled. Then as this happened it fell through the beer and collected most of the haze. I then added primer and bottled. Turned out great.

 

[Beer_Guy]

Also, if you plan to harvest the yeast, do the gelatin treatment AFTERWARDS. I did mine in the secondary. I guess it could be done in a bottling bucket.