Hi All,
Was wondering, if I add gelatin to a corny, can I hit it with CO2 right away? Also, is this stuff capable of clogging a dip tube? And… about how much beer am I going to lose before it all pours out assuming no clogs?
Thanks, Mike
I have only used gelatin while beer was still in the fermentor, if you have not transfered the beer yet into a keg, you may want to do that before kegging. However, if you already have it in the keg, I’d be more concerned about clogging the out post than the dip tube itself with the springs, etc in the smaller post opening. Otherwise run until it is clear, but I really don’t know about how sluggy it could get in the keg. That may be good enough, if it keep flowing after doing that and waiting a day and try pouring some more and see if it works out OK. Until you start pouring the beer out of your keg or if you have a leaky out post, nothing would really get push up into your dip tube, I would think and your gunk will settle to the bottom of your main keg area.
If not and you have a spare keg, you could rack between kegs if it does clog up and get some CO2 in your fill keg to help keep cut back air during tranfer. Or get a bunch of CO2 in a carboy, rack back from the keg to the carboy, clean keg, dip tube and out post, then reassemble & transfer back, as a last ditch effort to not lose your beer. At least that is what I would try as my best guess to save a full keg.
Good luck, hope it just flows OK from the first clearing pour. If it doesn’t get moved after that, the initial pour should be your worst problem, get past that you may be alright.
I use gelatin in the keg all the time, there’s no problem with clogging. We’re not using enough to make solid gelatin like the dessert, that would be on the order of 1/2 or 1 envelope per cup of liquid. 1/2 envelope per keg works great for me.
If you add the gelatin and give it 2 days in the cold, you’ll pour 4-8 oz of cloudy sludge before you start pouring relatively clear beer. Only the small amount around the dip tube gets sucked up, so moving the keg will require another clearing pour. If you want absolutely sparkling clear beer, it may take a couple of weeks in the cold even with the gelatin, this is dependent on your water chemistry.
These words of experience sound a lot better and more encouraging to me than my guess.
Thanks! So the gelatin will not be completely sucked out, then I assume it will sit like a lump at the bottom. Understanding with any shift of the corny, there will be a shift in the gel.
Nyakavt, would you mind sharing your 1/2 envelope procedure? There’s ton’s of posts on this but maybe you’d be generous enough to cut through the gelatin 
Thanks, Mike
1/2 of a Knox (unflavored) gelatin packet per 4 oz of warm water. I boil the water and add it to a measuring cup and wait for it to cool below 150F. Sprinkle the gelatin on top and let it hydrate (bloom) on the top of the water for several minutes and then stir it into the water. The gelatin will work better if the beer is cold. Then I pop the top of the keg and gently stir the gelatin in at the top. It shouldn’t all clump together on the bottom, it will be spread all over the bottom.
I clogged a diptube once because I used the whole pack.
Greatly appreciated! :cheers:
I add it to the keg all the time. I use 2 tsp of gelatin per cup. Boil some water and let it cool to around 70 deg. add gelatin and let it sit for 15 minutes. Don’t add it to water more then 80 or it will clump. Then nuke it in the microwave until it turns clear. about 1 a minute or two.
