Sanitation when adding gelatin to kegged beer

[lonbrewing]

Hey everyone,

So, I've always been told anything that touches the beer after boiling needs to be sanitized. For some reason, however, when it comes to adding gelatin to clear kegged beer, the same rules aren't specified from what I've found. This is the process I've seen the most:

1 tsp. Gelatin
1/2 - 2/3 cup filtered water
Place water in a pyrex measuring cup, add the gelatin, stir, then microwave until it hits 150 degrees. Give a final stir and pitch to the keg.

I've found nothing on sanitizing the measuring cup, teaspoon, thermometer. I sanitized the thermometer but everything else was just dish clean from the sink. Water was from the fridge and filtered.

I've even found people saying that boiling the water first and letting it cool to 150 results in jello and it doesn't work.

Anyone have experience (good or bad) with this process? I've done this once before and the beer didn't have infections.

Thanks!

 

[ong]

I'm a vegetarian, so I've never kegged with gelatin. However, I know that holding water at 149 degrees Fahrenheit for six minutes is considered to pasteurize it and make it completely safe for human consumption (I think that's the point at which 99.999% of all microbial and viral organisms are killed).

Certainly boiling will achieve the same thing, but it seems like you'd be pretty safe with the approach outlined above.

 

[beskone]

I've never overly sanitized the gelatin equipment. The beers already fermented, hoppy and loaded with alcohol making it not friendly to bugs in the first place.

1/2 cup water, add 1/2tsp gelatin and let sit for 10 minuntes, heat water to 150º dump straight into carboy.

Never had an issue, always had clear beer after a few days.

 

[Double_D]

Same here, I just heat it and dump it into a cold crashed keg.

 

[seefish]

I don't think the gelatin knows if you cooled the water after boiling. I'm guessing those people added it too hot. I thought the point of heating it to 150 is only to dissolve the gelatin.

 

[Double_D]

That's how I understand it.

 

[jddevinn]

I

• boil the water
• pour into a beaker and cool to about 60°F, thermometer is sanitized or I use infrared
• add gelatin, let bloom for 1hr
• heat flask on the stove to at least 150°F but less than 160°F
• let sit for 10-15 minutes to pasteurize
• add to beer

 

[kombat]

I sanitize the measuring cup and the foil cover I put over it while it "blooms," but that's it. I just use plain tap water, and I don't bother sanitizing the spoon I use to measure out the gelatin. I don't even measure the temperature anymore, I just microwave it until it just barely starts steaming, that's around 150° F.

 

[Double_D]

I follow this method:
http://brulosophy.com/2015/01/05/the-gelatin-effect-exbeeriment-results/
It's not overly complicated, and has sciency experiments to back it up.

 

[CGVT]

I follow this method:
http://brulosophy.com/2015/01/05/the-gelatin-effect-exbeeriment-results/
It's not overly complicated, and has sciency experiments to back it up.

I do the same. Sometimes I rinse the cup with Star-san, but not always.

I've never had a problem.

I don't have time for all of that boiling and cooling bs. Keep it simple.

 

[lonbrewing]

So, if you hit it with Starsan before, can you still nuke it? I don't know how Starsan handles heat.

 

[Double_D]

Supposedly, it becomes ineffective at 120F degrees because it is volatile. Here's the msds.

View attachment starsan.pdf

 

[drgonzo2k2]

+1 for never boiling/never sanitizing when adding gelatin. I'm nearly to batch 50 and never had a problem thus far. At that stage in the game I think you'd almost have to try to cause an infection. I assume that the spoon, cup, etc. are all at least clean, and you're only opening the fermenter for 5 seconds or so to dump it in, so your risk of exposure is pretty low.

 

[Natdavis777]

Ive been using gelatin for a few years now and have never sanitized anything as well. I just add the gelatin to the water in the pyrex dish and microwave until the liquid is clear. I have never shot for a certain temp. Once the mix is clear, I dump in the carboys. Beer has always come out crystal.