Cross Czech Pilsner

[BlackDuck]

Took another gravity reading today. It's at 1.102, so it's finished. I'll start the 5 degree per day drop in temps until it reaches 35 degrees. Then I'll let it crash for a few days before kegging and lagering. Also, the taste was right where it should be. When comparing this one to the last one with the low mash pH, this one seemed more balanced and smooth at this point. Good sign for sure.

[mashani]

1.102, so it's finished.

Holy calories batman. (I'm sure you meant 1.012 LOL).

[BlackDuck]

Ooops. Yea, I did.


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[BlackDuck]

I kegged this one last night. Now it's on gas and at the back of the fridge. Time to forget about it for two months......wish me luck!!!

[Beer-lord]

I'm sure it will be good but when you had this before, didn't you try it after about 3 weeks and said it was fine. I know you don't need it until an event but I bet it's good in less than a month. You'll need it to cut you lawn between now and then, right? Oh wait, that's me I was talking about.

[BlackDuck]

Yes, I've tried this after 3 to 4 weeks and it's good, but it really is better after it lagers for 6 or 8 weeks.

[Kealia]

That's why I left the last bottle in my fridge for so long....I knew it would be better if I waited.

[BlackDuck]

This has been in the keg for 3 weeks, so Saturday whilst brewing, I decided to pull a pint. For two reasons, first to taste it of course. It was really good, I'm happy with it again. The second reason is to clear some of the crap from the bottom of the keg. This keg will travel in a couple months to my brothers for a graduation party, so I want to clear as much junk from the bottom before I do a keg to keg transfer. I have to say I was a little disappointed in the clarity of this beer. Just seems to be more cloudy than I thought it would be. So I think I'm gonna give the gelatin a try on this one by adding it directly to the keg.

Here's what I found on how to do it:

1. Add 3/4 cup of water to your measuring cup (more if doing more than 5 gallons of beer)
2. Heat the water slightly before adding the gelatin, this helps it dissolve quicker.
3. Add 1 tsp of gelatin – I stir with the thermometer to get a reading. You’re looking to heat the solution to 150-155F, I do this by microwaving in short 5-10 second bursts. Obviously, all microwaves are different, just avoid boiling it.
4. Once you hit the target temperature, take the lid off of your keg and pour the solution directly into your beer.
5. Make sure you reconnect your CO2 line and purge the headspace
6. Wait 24-48 hours while the gelatin works its magic

I know a few of you have used gelatin to clear beer. Are these directions how you do it, or do you do it differently?

[Beer-lord]

That's how I've done it but only twice. To me, it's not something I care about but I bet in another 2-3 weeks, it's crystal clear anyway.

[BlackDuck]

It's usually not something that I care about either, but I am also going to send this one off to a competition. And this style is usually crystal clear. I may give it a few more weeks and see what happens. If it doesn't clear, then it's going jello!! I figure it can't hurt at all if I add the gelatin.

[Kealia]

Here's what I found on how to do it:

1. Add 3/4 cup of water to your measuring cup (more if doing more than 5 gallons of beer)
2. Heat the water slightly before adding the gelatin, this helps it dissolve quicker.
3. Add 1 tsp of gelatin – I stir with the thermometer to get a reading. You’re looking to heat the solution to 150-155F, I do this by microwaving in short 5-10 second bursts. Obviously, all microwaves are different, just avoid boiling it.
4. Once you hit the target temperature, take the lid off of your keg and pour the solution directly into your beer.
5. Make sure you reconnect your CO2 line and purge the headspace
6. Wait 24-48 hours while the gelatin works its magic

I know a few of you have used gelatin to clear beer. Are these directions how you do it, or do you do it differently?

A few differences for me:
1) I boil 1C of water first (just to kill anything that might be in there, remove chlorine, etc.) and then let it cool to near room temp
2) I use 1 TBSP gelatin (I've seen wild variances in this amount but this is what I found people using on HBT when I did my research and it's always worked well for me) and let it bloom for about 30 minutes (covered)
3) Stir, heat up for 10-15 second blasts in the microwave until it hits about 180 (no higher)
4) Open keg, pour in (beware, the hot liquid causes foaming quickly)

If you can then roll your keg around it mix it, that would be best.

Let it chill for another 48 hours.
Pull sludge (about a pint).
Enjoy REALLY clear beer.

[BlackDuck]

The only major difference I see in your process is your step 2, where you mention to let it bloom for 30 minutes. That's interesting because I found a couple of places where it didn't mention blooming. Do you know what advantage this has over not doing it?

[Kealia]

I *think* that allows the gelatin to fully dissolve - more than what you see visually. It may not be needed, but this is the way I saw it discussed a lot when I started doing it so I may be guilty of "monkey see, monkey do" but it has worked well for me.

[BlackDuck]

Thanks Ron. I'll probably have it later this week. Might as well bloom it since you've had good success with it.

[Kealia]

Agreed. Until I/you/we can figure out *why* to bloom it, there's certainly no downside to doing it.