Cali common aka steam beer

[Jitters Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Jitters]

yeah try and disturb the beer as little as possible to minimize oxidation. Seems to work fine regardless.

[Toxxyc Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Toxxyc]

Thx. Hydrated it is.
Last question - when you pour the hydrated gelatin solution in the cold crached fermenter .. do do give the wort (now beer) a swirl with a spoon (sanitised of course)? .. or just pour the gelatin solution in the fermerter - and that's it.

I typically boil a kettle, fill a mug and then add the gelatin. Stir well and if it doesn't dissolve well enough, I stick it in the microwave to get it nice and hot. Also sterilises the whole shebang. While it's nuking I'll walk to the (cold) fermenter and loosen the lid. Grab gelatin mixture, open lid, pour into beer (slowly, not to splash too much), and close lid. I pour in an almost circular motion just to spread it a bit, but it's critical NOT to stir. Stirring here is a no-no. Oxidisation and a much larger risk of infection as opposed to pre-yeast pitching. A small infection before the yeast pitch still has a chance of being killed by the yeast, but in a complete beer there's nothing protecting it (unless you want to stabilize).

[JIGSAW Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JIGSAW]

I typically boil a kettle, fill a mug and then add the gelatin. Stir well and if it doesn't dissolve well enough, I stick it in the microwave to get it nice and hot. Also sterilises the whole shebang. While it's nuking I'll walk to the (cold) fermenter and loosen the lid. Grab gelatin mixture, open lid, pour into beer (slowly, not to splash too much), and close lid. I pour in an almost circular motion just to spread it a bit, but it's critical NOT to stir. Stirring here is a no-no. Oxidisation and a much larger risk of infection as opposed to pre-yeast pitching. A small infection before the yeast pitch still has a chance of being killed by the yeast, but in a complete beer there's nothing protecting it (unless you want to stabilize).

But that would make the gelatin form lumps?

You must sprinkle it onto roomtemp water and let it hydrate a few minutes ... after that you can heat it in the microwave or add warmer (65ºC+) water.

PS: I add my gelatin mixture directly to the keg when i transfer.

[Dewald Posthumus Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dewald Posthumus]

I usually use boiled then cooled water to mix the gelatin (10g) and then add boiling water as I mix to heat up the mixture, takes a couple of minutes of mixing to get perfectly clear gelatin solution, and the proceed to just dump it in the fermenter, leave it for two more and days and I have perfectly clear beer.

@Jigsaw - I still need to try your solution to add directly to the keg - it's going to stand for 5 days to carbonate in any case, so I might just save some time with my next batch.

[RudiC Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close RudiC]

What does the gelatin do to the yeast settling at the bottom? Could one still harvest the yeast and use it successfully after adding gelatin?

[Jitters Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Jitters]

I don't think it matters if you boil it or not.. or anyways for me it doesn't.. I boil in microwave

I'm to lazy to try and determine the exact temp so I just pop it in and let it rip till it's boiling, it does make a difference whether it is dissolved or not

The Gelatin Effect: Dry vs. Hydrated In An American Pale Ale | exBEERiment Results! | Brülosophy (brulosophy.com)

this is where they tested it by boiling vs no boil

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads...nt-time.679120

Looks exactly the same and mine came out exactly the same as well.

YMMV but this works for me.

[Dewald Posthumus Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dewald Posthumus]

This is what makes brewing great, find your own way to do something and make it work. You don't have to conform to any stereotypes or rules, whatever works for you is perfect.

That's why we always share the same advice to any brewer starting out, make beer and learn from it. Simple really, this brewing thing, why do people over complicate?

[Toxxyc Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Toxxyc]

But that would make the gelatin form lumps

You must sprinkle it onto roomtemp water and let it hydrate a few minutes ... after that you can heat it in the microwave or add warmer water but don't go over 70ºC ... nothing higher as it will stick together like jelly

PS: I add my gelatin mixture directly to the keg when i transfer.

It clumps and sticks together, and in a few stirs, dissolved just fine. I'm lazy. It works.

What does the gelatin do to the yeast settling at the bottom? Could one still harvest the yeast and use it successfully after adding gelatin?

Gelatin typically is ionized, in other words, it's charged. I don't know if it's positive of negative or whatnot, but essentially it attracts all kinds of stuff in the beer - most typically proteins and other haze-forming compounds. It's ironically not specifically yeast that makes the beer cloudy - there are a lot of other stuff as well. Also, there are MILLIONS of yeast cells that remains in suspension in the beer even after fining. Enough at least to ferment your priming sugar.

And yes, I treat the yeast cake the same. It's still viable, and it still works.

[JIGSAW Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JIGSAW]

It clumps and sticks together, and in a few stirs, dissolved just fine. I'm lazy. It works.<>.

OK, noted ... I've edited my post a little for anyone reading in the future.

I might start doing it different from now on ... maybe follow Dewald's route

[Toxxyc Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Toxxyc]

OK, noted ... I've edited my post a little for anyone reading in the future.

I might start doing it different from now on ... maybe follow Dewald's route

Yeah I read a few xBmt's today that also explained you should let it hydrate. I'm going to do that from now on. It seems to work (in their experiments) even better than how I do it. Mine works just fine, but I'm thinking it maybe takes a bit longer. My beers are typically clear after a few days, and only drops to crystal in a week or so.

[JIGSAW Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JIGSAW]

Yeah I read a few xBmt's today that also explained you should let it hydrate. I'm going to do that from now on. It seems to work (in their experiments) even better than how I do it. Mine works just fine, but I'm thinking it maybe takes a bit longer. My beers are typically clear after a few days, and only drops to crystal in a week or so.

So what's your "new" recommended steps after all the research ?

maybe we can all get on the same page

[Toxxyc Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Toxxyc]

I'll do it as you said from now on. Rehydrate in room temp water, and then nuke until it hits 65°C. Seems easiest as well.

[BruHaha Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BruHaha]

Took a final reading now before cold crashing... 1.013 on the nose. Love it when a plan comes together!

Must say this sample tasted bewteefull.
So much so that I almost want to do another batch cause I just have this feeling it's gonna go quick.

[JIGSAW Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JIGSAW]

My double batch Kentucky Common also went into cold crash today ... was sitting at 1.010

My kegs are empty so i want to keg these asap

Previous batch was a Cali Common and it didn't last long

[BeerHolic Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BeerHolic]

Did a Cali Common with chinok, prefered it to northern brewer.
Mmm mybe the purists will say it is not a Cali Common anymore.