WTF is that? Gelatin finings issue or ?

[boondocksaint]

I brewed an Irish Red Ale a couple weeks ago. After primary was done, cold crashed for a few days and then Thur night I used unflavored gelatin (5g/10oz distilled water brought to 160 degrees to each 5Gal carboy) before racking to secondary. I was super careful about sanitizing everything before adding the gelatin & water.

Planning on kegging today and noticed this kind of foamy white-ish pellicle type stuff on top.

Is this normal when using gelatin? Anything to worry about? Or just keg and roll with it?
Thanks!

 

[passedpawn]

I brewed an Irish Red Ale a couple weeks ago. After primary was done, cold crashed for a few days and then Thur night I used unflavored gelatin (5g/10oz distilled water brought to 160 degrees to each 5Gal carboy) before racking to secondary. I was super careful about sanitizing everything before adding the gelatin & water.

Planning on kegging today and noticed this kind of foamy white-ish pellicle type stuff on top.

Is this normal when using gelatin? Anything to worry about? Or just keg and roll with it?
Thanks! View attachment 761821View attachment 761822

You shouldn't have any effect from using gelatin. I don't know what that stuff is, but let's hope it's normal detritus left over from the krausen.

 

[passedpawn]

How much gelatin per carboy? (n/m, I see it was 5 grams)

 

[boondocksaint]

Was wondering if maybe it was like gelatinized star-san? I added the gelatin powder to the cool distilled water and brought it up to 160, then pitched into the freshly star-san’d carboys before racking the wort on top.

 

[passedpawn]

Was wondering if maybe it was like gelatinized star-san? I added the gelatin powder to the cool distilled water and brought it up to 160, then pitched into the freshly star-san’d carboys before racking the wort on top.

I do the same, but then I add the gelatin into the full, cold fermentors. I am not criticizing your method, just illustrating the difference.

 

[TheBluePhantom]

I do the same, but then I add the gelatin into the full, cold fermentors. I am not criticizing your method, just illustrating the difference.

^^Yeah, that.
Sounds like the carboy cooled your solution and allowed it to gel. I always add the solution to the cold carboys the day after racking and crashing.

 

[PberBob]

To my eye, looks more like gelatin flocks bouyed up by CO2, than an infection. I would buy the the gelled solution theory, particularly if the the racking flow was slowish, like siphoned vs. pumped.

How’s the sniff test?

 

[doug293cz]

160°F (71°C) is a little too warm for dissolving gelatin. Ideally, you keep it below about 140°F (60°C), but a short time at 150°F shouldn't be too bad. Over heating reduces the effectiveness of the gelatin. Whether overheating the gelatin is the cause of your particular issue, I can't say.

Brew on

 

[passedpawn]

160°F (71°C) is a little too warm for dissolving gelatin. Ideally, you keep it below about 140°F (60°C), but a short time at 150°F shouldn't be too bad. Over heating reduces the effectiveness of the gelatin. Whether overheating the gelatin is the cause of your particular issue, I can't say.

Brew on

I boil it, or at least it gets very close in microwave. I know it dissolves at low temperatures, but I feel better when it's been dipped in the fires of Mordor. That link in your post didn't work.

 

[doug293cz]

I boil it, or at least it gets very close in microwave. I know it dissolves at low temperatures, but I feel better when it's been dipped in the fires of Mordor. That link in your post didn't work.

Ok, updated the link - thanks. Works for me now.

Brew on

 

[passedpawn]

Ok, updated the link - thanks. Works for me now.

Brew on

Nope

 

[doug293cz]

Nope

Did you try the link in my post, or the one in yours, where the bad link is quoted?

Brew on

 

[day_trippr]

The revised link for dissolving gelatin works for me...

Cheers!

 

[Oleson M.D.]

We add gelatin after the beer is in the serving keg, and it is chilled to 32 degrees. Never had any issues with this technique.

 

[Spivey24]

The revised link for dissolving gelatin works for me...

Cheers!

Interesting. I had been looking for some information about this as sometimes it works better than others for me. It does say you can heat to higher temps but only for a short period. Sometimes I heat and pitch immediately and sometimes it sits for a bit. Wonder if this is the difference.

 

[superiorsat]

Over heating reduces the effectiveness of the gelatin

It may reduce effectiveness but I can tell you it sure wouldn't be by much. I'm one of the only ones that speaks of this in gelatin threads but I'll go through my experiences again. I was reading a thread on gelatin 6-7 years ago and there was a scientist type HBT member on there explaining how boiling the gelatin wouldn't really case any harm to the process of it clearing beer. I decided to try this method as the original go to of blooming at room temperature, let sit for 15/30 minutes and heat before putting into chilled fermenter was not making me overly happy. There would be gelatin balls some times that had grouped and wouldn't dissolve and the fact that I had to stirred the heck out of it trying to get the gelatin dissolved into solution ( AKA aerating the hell out of it ) I decided to try this scientist member suggestion of boiling so that I could de-aerated the gelatin solution. I put in the cold crashed primary fermenter as I never secondary, and keg the following day. My beers usually hit crystal clarity between day 2/4 depending on the beer. I think the Knox packs are 7 grams that I mix with the water and I put that in 6/6.25 gallons of beer. There is a down side to the boil which I have discussed with others and that is flash cooling in the mason jar I use to make the mixture. I spray out the extremely hot mason jar asap after unloading into the fermenter. The remaining little bit of gelatin clinging in the jar turns to a crazy tough clinging gummy bear type adhesive that a PBW soak sometimes can't remove after this flash cooling affect. If that happens repeated boiling may be the only way to get it out or just chuck it and use a new jar. Lots of guys are injecting into kegs with syringes and I always ask if their poppets get gummed up and they do not, so my way would be bad for them to try. All that said even with the potential of the flash cooling thing in the jar it never does it in the fermenter. If it did flash cool in the fermenter I would imaging I'd have a jelly fish type blob on top or at the bottom. Neither of those ever happen plus if it had flash cooled instead of dispersing there probably would not be much clarifying going on. I'd have a hard time believing that the OP"s problem could be gelatin related.

 

[superiorsat]

It does say you can heat to higher temps but only for a short period. Sometimes

As I heat in the microwave I keep a close eye on it as it starts to boil the bubbles head for the lid on the mason jar so I kill the microwave. I'll then pop it back on and kill it a couple times as the bubbles head for the lid. I figure it does a pretty go job of de-aerating the solution as I don't want to introduce any more oxygen than I have to into finished beer. I don't let it sit though. I immediately dump in the fermenter which requires either a hot glove or I usually just make a thick folded section of paper towels so I can hang onto it.

 

[boondocksaint]

To my eye, looks more like gelatin flocks bouyed up by CO2, than an infection. I would buy the the gelled solution theory, particularly if the the racking flow was slowish, like siphoned vs. pumped.

How’s the sniff test?

No off smell that I can detect. Think I’m just gonna rack it to kegs today and hope it’s good to go!