Stone Levitation clone question

[Beer-lord]

Gotcha both. Thanks for the clarification.

[Kealia]

And.....it's kegged. Got my gelatin ready, poured it into the keg and then racked the beer on top to mix it well.

It went into the mini fridge to start crashing. I'm skipping any warm conditioning on this because I think I brewed it well enough to not need it. 2 weeks will tell

[Beer-lord]

How much gelatin do you use? Just boil as on the package, chill and add? It's that easy?
How long do you have to wait once it's in the keg, gassed and ready to drink? I assume the gelatin only needs a few days to do it's business but was wondering how that affects the carbing, if at all.

[Kealia]

I got my information from a seasoned guy on HBT that uses 1Tbsp in a 5-gallon batch.

The process is simple:
- Heat water to about 120 (some boil it first and let it cool back down to 120 which is what I do)
- Spoon in gelatin and let it "bloom" for 20-30 minutes
- Heat up to about 150 - 170 but do NOT bring to a boil (that breaks down it's ability to work)
* At this point it should be fully dissolved
- Let cool to about 120 and pour into keg
- Rack beer on top and chill
- Carb as normal, no affects at all (I've bottled carbed as well and can confirm this)

I will say that this is the first time I've used gelatin in the keg versus a carboy but MANY people do it this way and just pull the sludge out in the first pint or two so I have no concerns about it clogging the dip tube or anything else.

I've also read that people have had success pouring it into kegs that were already chilled without issue. So if you have a keg that isn't pouring as clear as you like you can always release the pressure, take the lid off, add gelatin, then re-seal and go.

Once cold, it takes about 2-3 days to work it's magic.

[FrozenInTime]

I did this the last 3 days in the fermentor. Was the clearist beer I have ever made.

[Inkleg]

Stuck my head in on mine today along with a hydrometer, it's at 1.012.
A change of plans will not allow me to brew the SSR this weekend. So I'll secondary, dry hop, brew and pitch next weekend.

[Kealia]

Nice, I'm jealous. Mind didn't finish that low, so good you. Next time I brew this I am definitely mashing lower (152-152 range).

[Inkleg]

Just an observation I seen posted here and in my own brewing. When mashing over 156 fermentation seems to hang high.
I try and go no higher than 154 now to make a full body beer.
148 with a pound of dextrose substituted for a pound of grain makes IPAs ROCK.

[Kealia]

Yeah, I never mash that high on my own recipes. I tend to hand in the 151 - 153 range but wanted to follow Jamil's advice on this one to the tee. Stupid me, I just forgot to adjust from the first time around.
Oh well, RDWHAHB (in 2 weeks), right?

[Beer-lord]

Ya'll are making me rethink what I did but if Jamil likes 157 (I did 156) I gotta give that a shot. Heck, what's the worse that can happen? I have to drink it all myself and make some more?

[BlackDuck]

Maybe the higher mash temp is how Stone gets it to be a lower ABV beer, but with all the other characters that go with a good ale.

[Kealia]

I think that's definitely part of it. Paul, I mashed at 156 and finished at 1.016 for a final ABV of 4.0%. The last time I finished right about that same range and noted that I wanted it to finish *just* a bit crisper this next time, but forgot to change my mash temp. I can say that even finishing that high it was a GREAT beer. Just take not of where you finish and whether you think it would be better a little drier.

Honestly, If I didn't have a bottle of it side by side it's not something that I would have noticed or even commented on because the beer was so good.

Don't let this conversation worry you. I'm talking about how to make this beer EVEN BETTER by tweaking it for my taste. Yours is going to be a great beer as-is, trust me.

[Kealia]

Every time I hear this song it reminds me of this beer, am I weird?

(Some swearing so maybe NSFW) and it's crappy video quality but the song is there:

[Inkleg]

Nice video, guess I'm weird too.

[Kealia]

I'm assuming yelling at the keg doesn't make it carb up any faster, right?
*sigh*