Gelatin in the keg

[andy77]

I curious about this gelitan stuff too. I have read of people using anything from a half tsp. to a whole pack. I have a couple lagers I might fine, but don't know how much to use. I just looked it up on morebeers site and they say to use 1/2 tsp. in a 1/4 -1/2 cup of boiled water per five gallons. Let the keg/fermentor sit a couple of days and rack off.

That's what I do in the fermenter.

Dirk, I'm really interested in this idea. It seems like an ideal fining method because it doesn't involve another bright tank (to clean) or the need to rack twice. Can you detail your process? Do you add the gelatin to the fermenter at fermentation temps or during cold crashing? How long does it usually take to settle out?

Thanks!

[Dirk McLargeHuge]

I curious about this gelitan stuff too. I have read of people using anything from a half tsp. to a whole pack. I have a couple lagers I might fine, but don't know how much to use. I just looked it up on morebeers site and they say to use 1/2 tsp. in a 1/4 -1/2 cup of boiled water per five gallons. Let the keg/fermentor sit a couple of days and rack off.

That's what I do in the fermenter.

Dirk, I'm really interested in this idea. It seems like an ideal fining method because it doesn't involve another bright tank (to clean) or the need to rack twice. Can you detail your process? Do you add the gelatin to the fermenter at fermentation temps or during cold crashing? How long does it usually take to settle out?

Thanks!

Dave Houseman suggested this at his talk in Denver.

Three or four days before kegging, depending on when I remember to do it, I add the gelatin to the fermenter at fermentation temperatures. I don't have the ability to cold crash. Dave said it only takes a couple of days, but I've always let it sit for 3 or more days.

Thinking out loud here: Cold crashing causes the yeast to settle out of solution. I wonder if it is necessary to cold crash and add gelatin?

[beltbuckle]

1When you are ready boil it, usually I do it for about 30 seconds to a minute, Don't want to boil it to long or it will start to get thick like jello.

I thought you were't supposed to boil the gelatin, just heat it up to about 150-170 degrees?

You are correct. If you boil the water with gelatin in it you destroy the gelatin's gelling capability. 140F is fine. Here's what I do:

1) Put 200-400mL water in 1L erlenmeyer flask
2) Boil water for 5-10 minutes to sanitize (no gelatin in water yet!)
3) cover flask with sanitized foil
4) let water cool to around 140-150 (I use an infrared thermometer to make this easy)
5) dump in 1tsp gelatin
6) let "bloom" for about 10 minutes
7) dump in cold fermenter or keg

I dump it in the cold primary (as close to freezing as possible) after cold crashing for a few days. Unless I want to harvest the yeast. Then I will just dump it in at kegging time after cold-crashing in the primary.

[BrewerJ]

I have used gelatin on over fifty batches. The method I prefer is to rack out of the fermenter into a corny keg with the gelatin predesolved on the bottom. Then you let it sit cold and carbonate. The colder the faster it works. Within 3 days at below 40f you will have bright beer that looks filtered. You can just leave the beer in the keg but if you plan on moving the keg around then I would transfer to another keg making sure you leave the yeast behind.

[andy77]

Thanks Dirk. And you're getting nearly complete fining in those 3 to 4 days?

[Dirk McLargeHuge]

Thanks Dirk. And you're getting nearly complete fining in those 3 to 4 days?

Yes, pretty complete. I use Williams buckets with spigots, and usually pull off 30ml (darned handy those B3 beakers) of beer for testing and that usually clears the spigot of trub. Still get a bit of trub when I start the transfer, but it clears quickly. AfIter the first couple of pints, it's mostly clear, except for chill haze.

[Nyakavt]

IME, gelatin does all that it's going to do in 1, maybe 2 days. Could be the geometry (kegs), taller narrower vessels probably work better for fining. I've also found that gelatin will precipitate some protein, as I have fined a beer with well flocculated yeast and it got *much* clearer.

[andy77]

I've been using gelatin in the keg just very recently, and have been finding it jaw-droppingly effective. I mean literally jaw dropping. Before, I had tried isinglass, super-kleer, and other stuff, asuming that low tech knox gelatin wouldn't do as good a job. Boy was I wrong.

I'm even more excited to try this primary technique. How cool to transfer sparkling or near sparkling beer to the keg.