Denny, you crash in buckets, yes? Does it suck all your sanitizer back from the airlock? That’s only thing I don’t like about cold crashing.
Gelatin works, but then you have to put that nasty sh*t in your beer. I try not to add anything “unnatural” if I can help it.
If you fill the airlock to the line that doesn’t happen. A few milliliters of sanitizer isn’t going to do anything, though.
Gelatin is not “unnatural.” Quite the opposite.
It is, however, not vegan.
+1
It always does for me…
@Joe Sr. - True, but it’s gross to me. I use it on the occasion, but typically avoid it and just give the beer time and it clears just fine. I don’t usually need my beer clear RIGHT NOW anyway.
I can see the gross factor.
Time and cold work just as well. I reserve gelatin for stubborn beers that just. wont. clear.
The first couple times I used gelatin I don’t know what I did for sure, but I did it wrong. I wound up with bottles that had chunks of gelatin in the bottom. It was years before I tried it again.
I will fine a keg. Then transfer to a clean keg. All the grossness gets left behind.
What sanitizer? What airlock? By the time you crash, there’s no need for either. I out stopper in the bucket lid in place of the airlock.
I ran into that the first time I used gelatin, too. Almost gave up on using it again. I found there are a lot of different methods posted out there on how to use gelatin, but the ones that give you the gelatin chunks are the ones that have you warm the mixture excessively. Too warm and it wants to congeal when it cools in your beer. This method is bulletproof every time. It’s what I do now : How to Clear Your Beer with Gelatin – Bertus Brewery
FWIW, I don’t use it every time either. Just on certain beers and stubborn, powdery yeast strains.
Yeah. I probably boiled it the first time. But who knows? That was way back in the day.
The last few years I have followed pretty much the same method that you posted and no problems.
Tapped my first 5 micron filtered Helles the other day, it was 3 weeks in the keg. It tastes great, smooth malty and clean. Pretty similar in taste to the same recipe that I tapped after six weeks except there was still a slight chill haze.
The first pour had no yeast sludge or floaties and when you brew small 2.5 gal batches like me it can be annoying having dirty lager for the first few pints.
Filtering doesn’t seem to be that big of a deal to me, I just use gravity like I always did before but install a water cartridge filter in line to the keg. I guess the downside is one more thing to clean and sanitize as well as a little more cost for filters.
I’ve been using the Brülosaphy fast lager method all year and love it! So nice to free the chamber in only 10 days for a lager. The guys in my homebrew club are a little skeptical but the proof is in the pudding when they try the beer! I also use the bertusbrewery method for gelatin use, never had a problem. I’ll say that the biggest thing that has helped with the flavor of my lagers has been properly pitching but it’s so expensive . To combat the yeast cost I rinse yeast this way and never had a problem with infection. It’s so easy and saves a boat load of money! Highly recommend!!
