This is a topic I've brushed on before, but I get plenty of questions about it. So I decided to do a full post dedicated to my favorite fining agent: gelatin. If you ask people their feelings on using gelatin to fine beer, you'll get a number of different opinions. Personally, I find it invaluable to clear my beer quickly. Fining one's beer with gelatin isn't difficult, but it does require a few specific steps. Here's the process I've had success with.
Fermenter or Keg
The first question to ask, is: What state should our beer be in when we add the gelatin? There are two methods, and they both work equally well. You can fine with gelatin in either a fermenter (primary or secondary), or directly in the serving keg. I typically opt for the later. Although, in either case, you want the beer to be cold, and I mean ICE cold. The colder the beer is, the more haze-forming particulate will form. The more haze-forming particulate that forms, the more particulate the gelatin can fine out. I've heard people have used gelatin with some success at cellar temps (50-55F), but I've only had it work well when the beer was at serving temp (32-40F).
Which Gelatin to Buy?
Obviously, you shouldn't buy cherry jello; you're looking for unflavored gelatin. Knox is a popular brand that most supermarkets carry, but I find the store-brand works just as well. Most LHBS also carry gelatin, but they tend to include a hefty markup on the price. The specifics don't matter much, so long as you buy unflavored gelatin, you'll be fine.
The Process
With your beer chilled down and gelatin in hand, let's get to the process of fining your beer
- Get a microwave-safe glass cup. I like to use a pyrex measuring cup. Measure out 2/3 cup cold water. Any water will work, but I wouldn't use tap water if it tastes like crap.
- Add one teaspoon of gelatin, and stir the solution. I like to use using my thermometer probe, so I can check the temperature at the same time.
- Place the water/gelatin mixture in the microwave, and begin to heat it 15-30 seconds at a time, stopping to stir the solution and check the temperature. As it heats up, you'll notice the gelatin will begin to dissolve.
- The goal is to heat the gelatin to 150F, but not much over. If it climbs to 155 or so, that's fine, but I'd be hesitant to go much over 170F. We're not trying to make jello, rather just trying to pasteurize the solution.
- Give the mixture one last stir, and dump it straight into your beer. Gently swirl the fermenter or keg, and return it to your fridge or kegerator for 24-48 hours.
- If you used a keg, purge the headspace with CO2 to remove any oxygen that got mixed in.
Gelatin works rather quickly. It's extremely effective at dropping yeast out of solution, as well as lots of haze-forming particulates. I find that 48 hours later, the beer drops crystal clear. If you bottle your beer, rack the beer to a bottling bucket, and bottle away. Don't worry, there are still plenty of yeast in solution to carbonate the bottles.
If you keg, you'll have to draw off a couple very cloudy pints before the beer clears up. Gelatin literally drops yeast and particulates down to the bottom of the keg. Since the dip-tube draws from the bottom, that junk will be the first thing pulled from the keg. After a pint or two, it'll be smooth sailing until the keg kicks.
One Last Note
While gelatin does a fantastic job at quickly clearing beer, there's still no substitute (unless you filter) for cold conditioning if you want your beer to truly sparkle. If I fine my beer with gelatin, and then leave it for a week in the kegerator, I can obtain commercial level clarity.
That wraps up the easy, but detailed process of using gelatin as a fining agent. Cheers to clear beer!
Doesn't the microwave radiation pretty much automatically sanitize anything it irradiates? Even if it's not heated all the way to pasteurization temps?
ReplyDeleteNot that I'm aware of, so if you're overly concerned about pasteurizing the solution, heat it to at least 161*. 150* requires a 30min rest to pasteurize, and 161* it's only 15 seconds.
DeleteMicrowave ovens use radio waves -- not x-rays, gamma-rays, or anything like that -- to heat the water in foods/liquids.
ReplyDeleteIn order to sanitize, the water needs to be heated to sanitizing (usually boiling) temperatures.
Forget the marketing gimmicks where someone holds a Geiger-counter near a microwave oven to show how 'safe' their ovens are. There's never been any germ-killing 'radioactive' rays in them (unless you try cooking a household smoke detector -- but that's beside the point).
Boiling temps aren't needed. 15 seconds at 161* will pasteurize the solution.
DeleteDoes this replace the need for an additive like irish moss/whirlfloc?
ReplyDeleteI would say no. Irish moss/whirlfloc help facilitate the formation of break in the kettle. I use either Irish moss or whirlfloc for every batch. Those fining agents are so easy to toss in the kettle, i see no reason not to
DeleteScott, have you noticed that using gelatin in dry-hopped beers reduces the amount of hop aroma? It seems like this might be happening with the first two beers (both IPA's) that I have tried the gelatin on. Or maybe I am just crazy.
ReplyDeleteYa, I've found it does drop a little hop aroma. I've found two things though:
DeleteA. It gets rid of a hop aroma that I don't like. I feel like what's left is a much cleaner hop aroma.
B. I just add more dry hops, =) But seriously, I've had IPAs and DIPAs sore 43's and 44's in competitions. It doesn't strip out enough where it's a big deal to me. I doubt it strips out any more than filtering would.
thanks for the great writeup I have heard of doing this before but never done it. I will book mark this post and try this in the future
ReplyDeleteLove the article. You mension that you can botle Beer and use gelatin. Will the yeast then mix Up the Beer in the carbonate prosess after the gelatin effect has finished after 24-48 hours? You aldri say that you should chill down the Beer, you can not do that when you carbonate in bottle, then the yeast Will lose the effect. Could you Please go through the prosess when carbonate on bottle, thanks, from amateur brewer from Norway.
ReplyDeleteYou can still bottle after fining with gelatin directly in the fermenter. There are still enough yeast to properly carbonate the beer, although it will take a little longer. The beer won't be cloudier after bottle conditioning.
DeleteI used that technique for a few batches before I had a kegerator up and running.
Will the amount of Gelatin work with 11gals of beer, versus 5-6 gals? I have 11 gals in the primary right now.
ReplyDeleteI've never specially done it, but I would just double the amount. 2tsp (which is almost exactly one packet) should work just fine.
DeleteNo issues with gelatin and bottle carbonation. Different additives strip out different things. There's suspended yeast, proteins, unconverted startches, and some sort of big molecule that forms when tannins react to hop bits, then theres actually a thing called "bits" which could be foreign bodies or precipitates. I don't know the name of these big things that result from the tannins, but they're a huge issue.
ReplyDeleteYou don't deal with a shitty beer in the fermenter. You have to deal with it at the time of creation. Strong vigorous boil will chop up the floaty proteins up during the boil. Irish moss will cause bind to some of the material, a proper mash and check with iodine will ensure you got complete conversion. That's about 90% of it right there.
If your calcium is low, add more. My water only has about 20-40 ppm so I add at least enough to get it to 90ppm just to make sure I have adequate protein. This helps tremendously.
You don't have to let it sit for ages in the fermenter. I have bottled cloudy beer. It clears up just fine without gelatin. Though I've used gelatin with some stubborn beer.
Different haze causing compounds need different finings. Gelatin will clear some the haze, but not all. PVPP will clear some but not all, isinglass will clear some but not all. Cold conditioning causes a chill haze, but if you can get your beer to about 31F and keep it there for a day, it will clear in a hurry. Just a day or two at 31 is better than a week at 45F. You have to know what causes the haze before you can find a fining for it.
But in general, time and cold condition work the best. In the winter, I just set the beers outside for a week. Problem solved.
Oh, I forgot to add, read this:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.brewerssupplygroup.com/FileCabinet/WortandBeerFining_Manual[1].pdf
That will explain more.
Hi Scott,
ReplyDeleteWe're trying the "add gelatin to the serving keg" method vs. "add to secondary and then rack to serving keg a couple days later" method. I was wondering: do you ever have a problem with the junk on the bottom clogging the narrow gap around the keg beer-out poppet?
Thanks for your great blog!
-tom
Nope, the gelatin never really 'gels' for me. The downside to that method is if you bump the keg, it pours cloudy for a couple pints before clearing up again.
Delete