Gelatin + Priming + Dry Hopping. What order/method do you use?

[poponon]

I've been trying to find some clear cut information on using a combination of gelatin / priming / dry hopping, but am coming up short. I was hoping someone could share their own experiences with combining these and if it worked or not.

currently I'm fermenting a 1.069 SG / 1.015 FG IPA similar to the 60min clone. I'm planning on first dry-hopping in secondary, followed by gelatin on the last couple days of secondary (@59 F). Once secondary is complete I plan on bottling and priming. Let me know what you think of this order

Also a couple question, could you add gelatin and dry hops at the same time without losing aroma?

Will gelatin ruin the body of a 1.015 beer (ie thin it out too much)?

Do you suspect the gelatin will deactivate the yeast and ruin priming?

Any input is much appreciated

 

[RmikeVT]

1 Gelatin
2 Dry Hop
3 Prime & Bottle

You could spend hours debating or getting into the science behind this, which I know very little about and if you ask 5 different brewers the same questions you will get 5 different answers. My Answers:

No, gelatin will not decrease the body of the beer.

No, gelatin will not prevent the yeast from carbing the beer, although it might slow it down slightly.

Yes, if you have the ability to dry hop after using gelatin do that, if not no biggie.

Personally, if I were unable to cold crash the beer, I wouldn't use gelatin. Especially, as a new brewer. You are just increasing the chance of oxidation and contamination. You might want your beer to be clear, but if it tastes like sh!t you will have clear beer that tastes like sh!t. And to really effectively clear the beer the beer needs to be cold.

FYI: There are a bunch of really good threads on here about gelatin. I think they are in the Technique section.

 

[TheLiquidBakery]

Dry Hop, gelatin, Prime. Haven't had any adverse affects on the beer to date.

 

[poponon]

thanks for the input guys.

You mentioned that adding gelatin and hops separately to the secondary could result in oxidation. Has anyone experimented with adding gelatin and hops at the same time? It seems like adding them when racking to secondary would be optimal if it doesn't kill the aroma.

 

[mbbransc]

Most brewers agree that yeast adhere to hop oils. So using gelatin to clear your beer would theoretically strip out some hop oils. So I cold crash, gelatin, rack to secondary, warm back up, then dry hop.

 

[poponon]

Most brewers agree that yeast adhere to hop oils. So using gelatin to clear your beer would theoretically strip out some hop oils. So I cold crash, gelatin, rack to secondary, warm back up, then dry hop.

So if I'm understanding this correctly, you cold crash the primary, add gelatin. Then wait for the gelatin to do its job at cold temps? Then warm back up to secondary temp. Is that right? Have you ever had any trouble with oxidation? Also, do you normally prime with this method, and if so how does that work out?

 

[mbbransc]

Cold crash (I usually only go to 50* since I'm warming it back up). I give the gelatin 3-days to do it's thing, rack to secondary and then warm it back up to 68*. I generally do two 3-day dry hop sessions before bottling. I've never had a problem with carbing any of these IPA/APAs. I don't have problems with oxidation generally because I try to drink them quickly. I have let a few sit to see what happens and some have shown signs of oxidation. I'm currently planning a kegging system to help eliminate that. I can then use the keg as my secondary and purge it prior to racking.

 

[RmikeVT]

thanks for the input guys.

You mentioned that adding gelatin and hops separately to the secondary could result in oxidation. Has anyone experimented with adding gelatin and hops at the same time? It seems like adding them when racking to secondary would be optimal if it doesn't kill the aroma.

I want to be clear. Gelatin does not cause oxidation. I was grouping it with contamination that can be caused from messing with your beer too much. Taking the lid/bung off and dumping things in etc, just increase the exposure to contaminants, so I try and do this as little as possible. Personally, I keg and don't have the ability to cold crash a whole carboy. So, I Dry Hop, wait the appropriate amount of days, keg, wait till beer gets cold add gelatin and force carb, wait 2 days and I have carbbed cleared beer.

 

[RmikeVT]

Also, it would be helpful to know your set up. What equipment are you working with? Can you cold crash? Are you kegging? Bottling? I'm assuming bottling, but can you cold crash?

 

[poponon]

Also, it would be helpful to know your set up. What equipment are you working with? Can you cold crash? Are you kegging? Bottling? I'm assuming bottling, but can you cold crash?

I'm bottling, and can cold crash.

Although I came across a couple of other threads discussing the same topic. It seems like adding priming sugar + gelatin when bottling may be the simplest way to go. Easier for me to cold crash bottles , I'm just using a spare fridge and would have to clear it all out to fit my 5 gal carboy.

Here are some other threads discussing the topic for those interested:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/knox-gelatin-bottling-88070/

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/does-gelatin-reduce-dry-hop-aroma-227760/

http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=&t=18759


The jist I've gotten from all of these posts is to minimize gelatin use to maximize hop aroma. Seems like approx 0.35 - 0.4 g gelatin per gallon is safe, and can be added simultaneously with priming sugar before bottling. very convenient.

 

[pvault98]

I would skip the gelatin and just cold crash either before or after dry hopping. This will clear the beer pretty well while preserving as much hop aroma as possible. Beers that are dry hopped will typically be somewhat hazy anyways unless stored cold for an extended period. Several days of cold crashing will make the beer considerably clearer than it would have been otherwise and you can save yourself a step that is not going to improve the overall flavor/aroma of your beer.

 

[poponon]

problem with this is that it's a pain to cold crash my 5 gallon fermentor. So far I've been hearing pretty good things regarding minimal gelatin use + priming sugar when bottling, so I'm going to try that out. I'll let everyone know how that goes in about a month or so?