Adding gelatin to clarify your beer faster

[Garry]

I've been experimenting with gelatin over the last few brews to speed the clarifying of my beer. I seem to have had better success using the powdered gelatin than the leaf. You can buy the stuff in your local megamarket. €1.49 for 3 brews. So here's what I do:

Sanitise a mug and add an inch or two of cooled boiled water. Sprinkle the gelatin on top and cover with sanitised foil. Leave it rest for 10min or so. Much the same as rehydrating dry yeast.







Boil the kettle while you're waiting. If you've got any beer lying around, now's a good time to open one. I'm trying a Coopers Heritage Lager by our own LordEoin. He added his own home grown hops to it an' all. Nice job LE, cheers 

After 10min you should see that the gelatin has swelled up. I forgot to take a photo of this but it looks like yellow snow (don't eat it). Fill the mug up with water off the boil and give it a stir to dissolve the gelatin. Cover the mug and let it rest for another 10-15min to let it cool and pasterise and stuff.



You can add this to your primary, secondary or bottling bucket. I like to add it when racking to secondary, so I use this rest time to sanitise my secondary FV.



I just tip the mug of gelatin into the FV and rack the beer on top.





Job done. I find it's best to let it at a cool temperature (below 17'C) for a few days and you should notice the beer is much clearer than when you didn't use finings.

My photo is a terrible example. It's a dark beer and the glass is dirty  : But trust me, it works.



Edit: 11/06/2014

The gelatin will leave enough yeast in suspension to allow you to bottle condition (carbonate).

Gelatin is not suitable for herbivores  :

[LordEoin]

That glass isn't dirty, just well used
does gelatin leave enough yeast for bottle conditioning?

[Garry]

Yep, I've had no problems bottle conditioning using gelatin 

[LordEoin]

Great! I might try this so. My hefeweizens keep coming out cloudy!... (runs away)

[Beerbuddha]

Great post  I do the same, just add it in keg.
Does the temp matter ? I was led to believe as close to 0C as possible for best results. Doesn't realy matter i guess as it does the job !

[Shanna]

Any one know is the beer suitable for vegetarians if you use gelatin?

Shanna

[ferg]

Any one know is the beer suitable for vegetarians if you use gelatin?

Shanna

Absolutely not. Some might claim that because all the gelatin sinks to the bottom with the other floculated material you're not actually consuming it. It's not just about the ingestion of animal bits but utheir use in the process of making the food stuff.

[Garry]

@BB,  I'd say the colder the better. I mentioned <17'C because that's the temperature where most yeasts will start to drop out.

@Shanna, you don't have to tell the lettuce lickers about the gelatin do you? You're giving them free beer FFS! While also providing them with a much needed source of protein 

[LordEoin]

vegetarians don't seem to care much when it's in wine. picky odd bunch

[Jacob]

Any one know is the beer suitable for vegetarians if you use gelatin?

Think that you can use agar agar instead of a gelatin and then you'll get a vegeterian friendly drink.

[Eoin]

@Shanna, you don't have to tell the lettuce lickers about the gelatin do you? You're giving them free beer FFS! While also providing them with a much needed source of protein 

I'd strongly disagree, people are veggie for a multitude of reasons, some of them health related.

[LordEoin]

Still... fining have dropped out and technically are no longer in the beer/wine and don't need to be included in the ingredients.
It's purely a case of  'oh the poor little animals, i won't eat anything that harmed an animal in production'.
each to their own, let em starve.

[Garry]

each to their own, let em starve.

Or in this case, let em sober.

@Eoin, I said that tongue in cheek. If someone doesn't eat meat for health reasons, fair enough. But most of the vagitarians I know can't hack the fact that an animal has to die for dinner. Yet have no problems with leather products  : And I'd guess that they'd have no problems with free beer either.

So to put the issue to bed, gelatin comes from collagen obtained from various animal by-products like bones, cow hides and pig skin. If you have issues with that, don't use it.

BTW, if you use isinglass, that is also a form of collagen obtained from swim bladders of fish. Google it, it's disgusting 

[LordEoin]

chitosan is made from shrimp and other seafood shells

[irish_goat]

chitosan is made from shrimp and other seafood shells

Shrimp...