Yet another gelatin question

[E_Rock]

For my latest brew, an OktoberFAST, I am planning on fining with gelatin. Like many things in brewing, after lots of research, it seems that there are several approaches that yield similar results. I plan on bringing this keg to a party at the end of October, so I figured I'd run my plan down by you fine folks in advance.

I generally don't have the ability to cold crash, aside from a swamp cooler and ice bottles. Sadly though, my keezer only has a single keg at the moment. To take advantage of this travesty, I am going to put the fermenter in the keezer for 48h to cold crash, then add gelatin, 1/2 tsp Knox Unflavored Gelatin with 1/4 cup cool water then microwaving it in short (7 second) bursts until it reached 145-150°F. I was going to leave it for another 48h and then rack to the keg.

Any obvious flaws in this approach? I don't plan on reusing the yeast, so I thought it would be simpler than adding the gelatin to the keg.

 

[mongoose33]

I don't see any flaws. It's exactly what i do, though I cold crash in my refrigerator/ferm chamber instead of the keezer.

If you can dial down the keezer temp to the low 30s, this should work just fine.

 

[HausBrauerei_Harvey]

sounds like the perfect approach to me.

 

[Sparge]

Sounds good, just ensure you let the gelatin bloom first, before heating.

 

[WhoDatDad78]

Sorry to thread jack, but I'm at a similar crossroad. I brewed the same beer, and am ready to apply gelatin. The difference is, I boiled too long and lost around ~1.5 gallons to evaporation. At the time I thought "eh, eff-it", it was my 1st all grain brew day and I was kinda worn out. Now I'm thinking I would have liked it to be a lower ABV. Would it be a total drain pour if I added the gelatin to 1.5 Gallons of RO water and heated to 160°F, then dumped all into the fermenter? It's currently cold crashing at around 36°F.

 

[mongoose33]

I think I might boil the RO water just to ensure the container and so on is sanitized, then cool to 160, add the gelatin, then dilute the beer with it.

One thing you might consider is pulling a sample, diluting it the proper amount, and seeing if you still like the way it tastes. It won't be carbonated but you should be able to tell if you like it.

 

[WhoDatDad78]

Well it was supposed to be a 5.5 gal recipe and it ended up in secondary as a 3.5 gal (8.8% abv, yowza). New boil kettle really lost some liquid, so I'll be sure to adjust on my robust porter next weekend.

 

[petrolSpice]

I've used gelatin on my last 2 batches and honestly it didn't produce any clearer of a beer than cold crashing alone plus ample time in the fridge once bottled.

I'll continue using it until I run out though.

 

[FVillatoro]

Using gelatin is extremely easy and works well, and you will notice results in a few days. However, I've noticed that at 2 weeks the beer is very sparkly clean.

What I do is:
On whatever temperature water you have (room temp is fine), dissolve one packet of gelatin by stirring it.

Then immediately pop it in the microwave and heat to 155-160 and stir again.

Dump on keg, purge, and wait at least a week.

I do this and I get results like this (i used US05 for this cream ale):

 

[UndeadFred]

For my latest brew, an OktoberFAST, I am planning on fining with gelatin. Like many things in brewing, after lots of research, it seems that there are several approaches that yield similar results. I plan on bringing this keg to a party at the end of October, so I figured I'd run my plan down by you fine folks in advance.

I generally don't have the ability to cold crash, aside from a swamp cooler and ice bottles. Sadly though, my keezer only has a single keg at the moment. To take advantage of this travesty, I am going to put the fermenter in the keezer for 48h to cold crash, then add gelatin, 1/2 tsp Knox Unflavored Gelatin with 1/4 cup cool water then microwaving it in short (7 second) bursts until it reached 145-150°F. I was going to leave it for another 48h and then rack to the keg.

Any obvious flaws in this approach? I don't plan on reusing the yeast, so I thought it would be simpler than adding the gelatin to the keg.

Well, that is exactly what I do except since gelatin is so cheap, I do it once in a cold crashed primary, and then in the keg a second time through a little gizmo I made to hook into the gas line to pump it in (less O2 transfer). I used to just put the keg in without a primary cold crash and then let it sit at serving temp for 48 hrs (while carbing) and then pop the lid and put in the gelatin right in the keg. Purge, Shake, and let sit for 48 hrs. That worked fine too...

As long as you add the stuff into a cold beer (<40F) it works... I've.. ahem.. even tried it dry out of a new package once.. and it worked....

 

[UndeadFred]

I've used gelatin on my last 2 batches and honestly it didn't produce any clearer of a beer than cold crashing alone plus ample time in the fridge once bottled.

I'll continue using it until I run out though.

No, but what it will do is significantly shorted that "ample time". It's like adding 2 weeks of aging each time (I do it twice) I put the gelatin in. IT ONLY WORKS if you add it to cold beer....

 

[petrolSpice]

No, but what it will do is significantly shorted that "ample time". It's like adding 2 weeks of aging each time (I do it twice) I put the gelatin in. IT ONLY WORKS if you add it to cold beer....

I cold crash the beer then add it once the beer is down to crashing temp, usually 0C. Then let it sit for 3-4 days.

 

[JonM]

I've noticed a remarkable improvement in clarity since I started using gelatin. I made an ESB last year and figured "Hey, 002 drops like a rock, it should be crystal clear in no time." Not so. It was hazy to the last glass.

Made it again a couple weeks ago. I chilled the keg to serving temp, added gelatin to 10 oz of water, let it bloom for an hour, then slowly heated it up to just under 160 and added it to the cold beer. It is commercial clarity clear.