Horrible mistake...or not?

[Brewer_Dad]

I brewed an Irish Red Ale one week ago. I got an OG of 1.052. one week later, it's in 1.020. it's been fermenting @67F.

I know this could be normal for a low attenuation yeast like Windsor. But that is not the problem...

I usually reach FG in one week, so I readied the gelatin clarifier...and I was talking with my wife in the kitchen and wanting to help, she dumped in the fermenter the gelatin clarifier before I took the reading. Not her fault. I asked for help and I should not have readied the clarifier before the reading.
The point is that now I have a 1.020 beer ready for cold crash.

Should I just cold crash or leave it a couple of extra days to see if I get a lower FG? Will the gelatin mess with my beer if I don't cold crash now?

 

[RM-MN]

Cold crashing will help the gelatin settle out the things you want quicker but it will do it at room temp also, just take longer (exception being chill haze). I'd leave it warm for another 4-5 days or longer if you can to see if the FG will go lower. At that time you can cold crash if you want or if the beer is mostly clear you could bottle or keg it. I deal with chill haze by putting my beer in the refrigerator for a couple days or more before opening it.

 

[Brewer_Dad]

Cold crashing will help the gelatin settle out the things you want quicker but it will do it at room temp also, just take longer (exception being chill haze). I'd leave it warm for another 4-5 days or longer if you can to see if the FG will go lower. At that time you can cold crash if you want or if the beer is mostly clear you could bottle or keg it. I deal with chill haze by putting my beer in the refrigerator for a couple days or more before opening it.

Thanks for the feedback. My main concern is the gelatin messing with the beer taste or something during these extra days at room temperature. Cheers!

 

[brewdude88]

The gelatin may slow any remaining fermentation, but it won't stop it. It's possible you had a stall on your hands though.

Moving forward I would suggest cold crashing before adding gelatin. The idea is to develope the chill haze so that the gelatin can work on it. I haven't used any cold side fining in years, but the best results I got when I did were from adding it to beer that was colder than my intended serving temperature.

 

[Brewer_Dad]

The gelatin may slow any remaining fermentation, but it won't stop it. It's possible you had a stall on your hands though.

Moving forward I would suggest cold crashing before adding gelatin. The idea is to develope the chill haze so that the gelatin can work on it. I haven't used any cold side fining in years, but the best results I got when I did were from adding it to beer that was colder than my intended serving temperature.

Yes, I've seen in this forum a couple of threads stating low attenuation for Windsor and 1.020 FGs. It might be. But it's been a week at 18°C. I bumped it to 21°C, I'll take another reading on Sunday. If it gets to 1.015, I'll be more than happy. Gladly I had a higher OG than intended, so it might turn out something drinkable. Thanks for the feedback

 

[Kharnynb]

this is why I stopped using windsor, or pitch windsor, then pitch notty after a week....that yeast is cursed.