Gelatin Finings

[Big Jilm]

Sorry, I'm more of a lurker for the past year or two in the forums but just started brewing myself about 2 months ago. So, as much as I would love my operation to be second nature it won't be for awhile. I just made a German Pils last week and I forgot to add the whirlfloc in the last 10 minutes of the boil. She is looking super hazy and I want to add gelatin finings to help clear it up but I'm not sure if that is the best answer or if you guys have another process I should try or if there something better. Also, should I cold crash at the same time as adding the gelatin for a better outcome or can I keep it at the fermentation temp (64°f).

 

[Donoroto]

This is my opinion: others will offer theirs.

If this were my beer, I wouldn’t bother with fining it. The haziness won’t affect the taste.

That being said, you should add the gelatin at fermentation temperature and allow it some time to start its action before cold crashing. Just a day or three.

In this case, the clearing process is a purely mechanical one: the stuff that causes the haze is heavier than the liquid and will eventually sink to the bottom. Without gelatin, this could take quite some time, a few weeks or months. I don’t think you’d want to wait that long to drink it!

Are you bottling or kegging? What size batch?

 

[Big Jilm]

The batch size is 5.5 gallons and I'll be kegging it. To be perfectly honest I don't mind about the haziness, but I know my wife will.

 

[Josh Hughes]

You made it last week? Give it time it will clear up quite a bit in a few weeks. It’s a pils needs time anyway

 

[Big Jilm]

I think I'll give it another 2 weeks to see what happens. If it's clearing up well I'll just keg it.

 

[Bigbre04]

i dont use finings and my lagers are crystal clear(when they are supposed to be). time is your friend!

 

[HighVoltageMan!]

It should be done fermenting two weeks from pitching, assuming it was a good fermentation.

I personally like my beer to be polished. I do it mostly with whirlfloc and gelatin finings. It's not a big deal that the whirlfloc was forgotten, you can clear it by crashing cooling it to just above freezing. That alone will start to drop the yeast out, after it's been cooled for 48-72 hours, you can add the gelatin. I clear in the fermenter.

Boil @ 3/4 cup of water (distilled is my preference), remove it from heat. Add a pack of Knox and dissolve it into the boiled water (without heat). It will take a little bit to get it to dissolve into the hot water. Once most of the gelatin is dissolved, pour it into the fermenter with a funnel. If you have glass or plastic, avoid getting on the fermenter, you want it to go straight into the beer. I give a stir and close it back up. The beer will be clear in a week and polished in 2-3 weeks. You are clearing and lagering at the same time. The picture on my profile is what it turns out like. It's as clear as any commercial beer.

I personally think the yeast should dropped out of beer because it can add some undesirable flavors and aromas. I notice sulfur in the beer when the yeast is still in solution and there is often a tart aftertaste from yeast.

Once the beer is clear, then keg it. You can also clear it in the keg, but personally I prefer to clear in the fermenter.

 

[Bigbre04]

this was carbonated yesturday. Kegged off 2 kegs this morning. It will be crystal clear in a day or two. 6 more kegs in the fermenter. Ill show the difference when I keg it off in a few days.

 

[Big Jilm]

View attachment 32160View attachment 32161this was carbonated yesturday. Kegged off 2 kegs this morning. It will be crystal clear in a day or two. 6 more kegs in the fermenter. Ill show the difference when I keg it off in a few days.

Oh wow, that looks fantastic. I've only brewed 4 batches so far and this is my 5th and I wanted to try a lager. I'll for sure let time do the work on this one.

 

[Bigbre04]

Oh wow, that looks fantastic. I've only brewed 4 batches so far and this is my 5th and I wanted to try a lager. I'll for sure let time do the work on this one.

This is what it will look like(this is a double lager) I stirred the normal lager up when I put the new kegs in the cooler.

 

[Bigbre04]

noticeably better then yesterday. Still not crispy, but there is a full keg ahead of these kegs so it should be crystal clear by the time it is on draft.

 

[Spize]

First post...with about 8 brews under my belt.
This is a gelatin related question so I thought I would throw it on this thread......hope that's ok.
I have a pale ale that I brewed 2.5 weeks ago. I want to keg it on Friday and would like to add some gelatin to the keg rather then opening the fermenter. I do not plan on cold crashing as I have had some suck back issues and I don't feel like stressing about it this time. Will I be ok to purge the keg of the starsan, pop the lid, pour in the gelatin, purge some CO2 back through and then keg on top of the gelatin (mixed with water first).

Also I bought a Flotit 2.0 floating dip tube........can I fill through that or will it clog the filter? Even more concerning without a cold crash. What is the normal process with that floating dip tube?

 

[Minbari]

First post...with about 8 brews under my belt.
This is a gelatin related question so I thought I would throw it on this thread......hope that's ok.
I have a pale ale that I brewed 2.5 weeks ago. I want to keg it on Friday and would like to add some gelatin to the keg rather then opening the fermenter. I do not plan on cold crashing as I have had some suck back issues and I don't feel like stressing about it this time. Will I be ok to purge the keg of the starsan, pop the lid, pour in the gelatin, purge some CO2 back through and then keg on top of the gelatin (mixed with water first).

Also I bought a Flotit 2.0 floating dip tube........can I fill through that or will it clog the filter? Even more concerning without a cold crash. What is the normal process with that floating dip tube?

As long as the air lock has starsan in it, sick back isn't going to hurt anything. You can pressurize the fermenter to 2psi first and it eliminate it. You can also put a mylar balloon on the fermenter. Works like a charm

As for adding gelatin to the keg, it will work, but the point of fining agents is clear the beer BEFORE transfer.

Would not put any device on the dip tube that has a filter. You will be kicking yourself when it clogs and you have open the keg

 

[BarbarianBrewer]

I don't use gelatin. I only use 1/2 a Whirlfloc tablet in the boil and cold crash before kegging and get pretty clear beer. If your fermentation vessel can't take pressure, then you can do as @Minbari recommends and cold crash without pressure and just accept that there will be some starsan suckback into the beer. Don't worry, it won't affect the taste. But you could do as you are thinking and cold crash with gelatin in the keg. With the FLOTit you would draw clear beer until you get near the bottom. Then, worst case is you have to leave some beer in the keg and have some sludge to clean out of the screens. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

Oh and welcome to the forum @Spize!

 

[Bigbre04]

First post...with about 8 brews under my belt.
This is a gelatin related question so I thought I would throw it on this thread......hope that's ok.
I have a pale ale that I brewed 2.5 weeks ago. I want to keg it on Friday and would like to add some gelatin to the keg rather then opening the fermenter. I do not plan on cold crashing as I have had some suck back issues and I don't feel like stressing about it this time. Will I be ok to purge the keg of the starsan, pop the lid, pour in the gelatin, purge some CO2 back through and then keg on top of the gelatin (mixed with water first).

Also I bought a Flotit 2.0 floating dip tube........can I fill through that or will it clog the filter? Even more concerning without a cold crash. What is the normal process with that floating dip tube?

so when you purge a vessel(keg, tank, your bedroom(jk)) you want to run the gas until when you put your nose up to the outlet of the tank it takes your breath away. CO2 is spicy. you will know when it is purged!

it is also important to mention that co2 is heavier then air so you should be purging the vessel from the bottom(the opposite of how you pour beer)...you want the co2 to "push" the air out of the vessel.