Yesterday I add gelatin to a cold keg that is carbonating, or so I thought. When putting the box of gelatin away I realize that I added pectin instead of gelatin.
Anyone have any idea if this is going to do bad stuff to my beer? Should I add gelatin now?
I don’t think the pectin will cause any problems, but how much did you add? Yes, add your gelatin now.
Thanks. I eyeballed the amount but I would say 1/2oz or a little less.
In the cider we just brewed, pectic enzyme is added to break pectin and reduce haziness. So if the inverse holds true, you might see more haziness in your beer.
That would be annoying but you might be correct. I drew off a half pint today and it was far hazier than yesterday. I was hoping it was just the pectin settling.
I added gelatin today so I’ll let them fight it out and see what wins. It is a wheat beer so the haze isn’t the end of the world. It is a Gumballhead clone and from what I have read that’s supposed to be fairly clear.
How would one go about adding gelatin to a cold, carbonated keg? Sorry if this is a dumb question.
I usually don’t have a problem with clear beer, as I use Whirfloc tablets but one night I brewed two batches and forgot to add the tablets to the boil. I am astonished at the difference. I have a cloudy cream ale and Jamil Evil Twin.
The Gelatin says to mix, then boil, then add? Do I need to stir it in?
Personally I like to rack the beer to a keg, hit it with a shot of CO2 to set the hatch tight and then get it cold overnight, then add the gel to the cold, flat beer and then begin carbing. But yes, the procedure would be to just prepare the gel, let it cool slightly, open the keg, pour it in gently, close the hatch and you’re done. It’s good to add the gel to cold beer because you can help to remove the haze that forms when the beer is cold. This can drag quite of bit of gunk to the bottom of the column (depending on how clear the beer was in the first place) so your first 2-3 pints might be heavily sedimented. But the rest of the pints should be clear. Cheers!
Thanks Ken
And the winner is…gelatin.
A few days and a few really nasty thick pours later and the beer is coming out pretty darn close to crystal clear.
Thanks for the advice.
Adding gelatin to cold beer definitely makes a big difference. I had been adding it to cellar temp beer, then chilling and carbonating and it was good, but not great. The first time I added it to already chilled beer, i got a crystal clear bitter.
