Is there an anti-gelatin?

[kanzimonson]

I'm fairly certain this doesn't exist because then the Pliny bottle wouldn't have all those "drink immediately!" warning labels. But I was thinking how great it would be if there were a way to discourage the settling of particles in beer. The main purpose would be to keep dry hop particles suspended.

One of you nerds get on this.

 

[Hammy71]

Give your secondary a gentle swirl before you rack...if that's what you want.

 

[ChshreCat]

Actually, the solution isn't "anti-gelatin"... it's just more gelatin. If you add enough of it just before bottling, it will keep everything nicely in suspension.

Of course, the hard part would be getting the beer out of the bottle...

 

[terrapinj]

do the hop particles sink or just fade in time?

i would think if it was just a matter of sinking out of solution, pouring into a glass would help remedy that issue- i assumed the hops flavor and aroma just faded as the beer aged

 

[0110x011]

Add a dash of a super low flocculating yeast like a Hefe or lager yeast. Unfortunately, everything falls out with time.

 

[Dymnas]

heh.. uh.. pineapples have an enzyme that breaks down gelatin.. not sure that's really what you're looking for, though.

 

[kgb_operative]

If you're looking at maintaining particles in suspension, it might help to look at an emulsifier like gum arabic. Tho that might effect the taste and would certainly give a heavier mouthfeel.

Or you could just shake it before you drink it

 

[kanzimonson]

do the hop particles sink or just fade in time?

i would think if it was just a matter of sinking out of solution, pouring into a glass would help remedy that issue- i assumed the hops flavor and aroma just faded as the beer aged

That's another great point. There's definitely some fading of hop flavor/aroma that you can never get back. But I do think there's a bit of solid particles that could be coaxed to stay in solution.

I started thinking about this when I made an APA that I dry hopped with some extra Citra I had. I added the dry hops in the primary right when fermentation finished, so there was still quite a bit of yeast floating around. I got it in the keg a week later and it tasted awesome. Then a few days in I noticed the dry hops were fading and the beer was getting clearer. A week in and it was worse, and by two weeks it was BRILLIANTLY clear and had zero dry hop aroma.

When I finished the keg, that last pint of proteinous mess was the most delicious, hoppy (disgusting looking) pint of the whole batch. That's how you know you're a hophead - you'd rather drink the keg slurry than waste the hops!