Pitching Rate For Gelatine

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Davy6Mac

Davy6Mac

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Hi All,
Have seen on this forum some people using gelatine to clear kegs/barrels.
I have a couple of questions that more experienced people may have the answer to.
I assume the best type to use is powder but is there a rough guide for the amount to use per litre.
 
I used to use it until I discovered that most beers would clear themselves. The way to do it is to dissolve a sachet of, say, Davis Gelatine in about half a pint of warm water in a saucepan. This needs constant stirring and it's important that the gelatine dissolves in the water at the lowest possible temperature as it's denatured by too much heat. Then mix the gelatine solution with the racked beer and stir it very well so that it's distributed throughout the beer.
I wouldn't use findings with bottled beer as it prevents the yeast from compacting properly on the bottom of the bottle.
 
An Ankoù said:
I used to use it until I discovered that most beers would clear themselves. The way to do it is to dissolve a sachet of, say, Davis Gelatine in about half a pint of warm water in a saucepan. This needs constant stirring and it's important that the gelatine dissolves in the water at the lowest possible temperature as it's denatured by too much heat. Then mix the gelatine solution with the racked beer and stir it very well so that it's distributed throughout the beer.
I wouldn't use findings with bottled beer as it prevents the yeast from compacting properly on the bottom of the bottle.
Click to expand...
I read an experiment in Brulosophy a while back which showed that boiling gelatine solution for a short while does not affect its efficacy as a fining agent. A while back I had an infected brew which I put down to infected gelatine, so I now boil it briefly. I use two teaspoons in 0.5 litres of water for a 23 litre keg, and it works a treat.
 
One sheet of leaf gelatin per keg dissolved in about 200ml of water that's been boiled and cooled to around 65C. If I were still bottling then I wouldn't use it.
 
If you can trust Wikipedia, any temperature below 100C is okay, unless kept close to 100 for a long time.

My personal experience is generally good. It needs a few days to settle even if the the beer may look clear enough. That is especially important for bottled beer. I had one occasion where I didn't leave it for long enough before bottling and it formed small jelly bits which went floating after bottle opening. After that I learnt my lesson and leave settle in the cold for some time, e.g. a couple of days after I find the beer visually clear enough. For the record, I have used gelatine in the primary fermenter only, never tried in a keg.
 
I use 1/2 tsp of dr oetker gelatine powder dissolved in 100ml of boiling water out of the kettle. Give it a good stir, let it cool a bit and drop it into the keg.

I’ve found after 3 or 4 days the beers crystal clear.
 
I used to use isinglass finings but moved over to gelatine several years ago. I bottle my beers and initially saw the gel bits until I worked out how best to do it. For a 20 litre brew I dissolve about 6 grams of gelatine powder into 150 - 200ml of hot but not boiling boiled water (you need to sprinkle it onto the surface first and leave it 10 mins and then stir it into solution. I then dissolve my priming sugar into that (about 70 grams caster sugar). After syphoning the beer into bottles I use a syringe to add about 5ml of the warm priming/fining solution into each bottle and cap them. A gentle upending and back ensures it mixes. This way the gelatine is still in solution when it goes in and is diluted out enough as soon as it goes into the beer to avoid it setting. It sounds long winded but is actually very easy.
 
I am not against anyone using finings, I have when I have rye malt or wheat in my grain bill.
There are a few things to look at in the brewing process for getting a clearer beer, pH of the mash, good rolling boil, addition of a collagen in the last 15 minutes, the transfer from kettle to fermenter (leave the trub in the kettle) a robust ferment and cold conditioning. The lower the temperature the shorter the time, cold conditioning 48 hours at -1 or -2 C depending on the ABV will clear a beer ready for the packaging.
https://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php/How_pH_affects_brewinghttps://www.morebeer.com/articles/clarifying_homebrew
 
I’ve used gelatine a few times and got some mixed results. So I tried some alternatives (which are mostly vegan/vegetarian) and they were worse.

The best method for me seems to be cold crashing and leaving my brew settle in the keg for 2 or 3 weeks. That’s ssuming I can resist the temptation!
 
I've never used post boil finings in beer but I've bought some to try out. I've noticed when I BIAB stove top, if I chuck everything from the boil into the fermenter including protofloc, trub, the lot, the beers come out clear and bright. I think there is a Brulosophy that found the same. I'm using grainfather G30 now and generally beers more hazy so going to try finings.
 
I like using a syringe to add priming sugar and finings to bottles. I've been transfering from FV to bottling bucket and bulk priming in the process but I'm planning to bottle straight from FV so will try the syringe.
 
Baggins said:
I've never used post boil finings in beer but I've bought some to try out. I've noticed when I BIAB stove top, if I chuck everything from the boil into the fermenter including protofloc, trub, the lot, the beers come out clear and bright.
Click to expand...
Same here. I chuck the lot in the fermenter (not hops - they're bagged) and let the yeast sort it out. You have to collect trub someplace and the design of my fermenter with rather a lot of deadspace below the outlet valve lends itself well to being that place. As anyone can see from the photos in my brewday thread, clarity is a given.
 
foxbat said:
One sheet of leaf gelatin per keg dissolved in about 200ml of water that's been boiled and cooled to around 65C. If I were still bottling then I wouldn't use it.
Click to expand...
Hallow mate,after 40 years brewing im in a stage to try it on a mexican Lager.
TBH,we know itll sort it out in TIME. But as they say ''I'll try it once''
Im going to try.
ill if i remember 🧠🤕 put it in my brewing thread.
Thx guys.
Off to play.
Bri
 

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