Im wondering if the use of gelatin or isinglass will slow down or stop the conditioning/aging process. I’m not talking about bottle conditioning im talking about bulk conditioning. I have a stout that i want to transfer to a secondary with gelatin and let it age for 2-3 months. Is this good practice?
Why would you possibly need a fining agent with that length of secondary? Your length in secondary will be more than enough to clear the beer. At least that has been the case in my experience.
The short answer is no, it will not affect the conditioning/aging process. Not at all.
But I do agree that it is not necessary.
Since chill haze is not an issue in a stout, you won’t even have to chill it down to gelatin fine it.
Let set aside the fact that it’s a stout.
Well I was looking for that brilliant jet black color where you can see that beautiful red hugh on the edge of the glass but i dont get that. Most of my beers are slightly hazey chilled or not chilled. I get a murking muddy color in my beers with anything over 12 SRM specially if you shine light through it. ill admit a much better improvement when using Super irish moss but not not crystal clear.
It is possible that your water is simply too hard and won’t clear well for you. I am not a chemist (IANAC), but water can have an effect on the clarity of your beer sometimes. Chill haze typically means there are too many proteins in the beer, but they will drop out with fining with gelatin when used in a chilled state.
But, really, don’t sweat a little haziness, if you like the flavor.
Cold-condition for a while and if it’s not clear to your liking when you’re ready to serve, hit it with gelatin. The red hue you’re looking for (garnet) is only present in a specific SRM range - I see it around 20 SRM, not sure how dark you can go and still get it, though.
