Gelatin As A Clearing Agent?

[roadwarriorsvt]

My local home brew store sold me a small packet of gelatin he said is used as a clearing agent. I've added an F-pac to my blackberry wine today and I'm ready for a clearing agent. Seems sparaloid and a couple of others are popular. Anyone use gelatin granules as a clearing agent? On the label is says to clear beer and reduce tannins in red wine. Am I ok is using the gelatin. The home brew store is about 18 miles away.....

 

[Manimal]

Gelatin does work well, but there are a few things to consider before you use it. It works well to soften tannins in reds, and can clear whites and fruit wines really quickly and effectively, but if you're using it in a wine without a lot of tannins (like whites or most fruit wines) you should use it in conjunction with a colloidal silica product (eg. Kieselsol) which will help prevent over fining and possible protein instability.

If you decide to use gelatin, I've had good success with 1/8 to 1/4 tsp. of gelatin powder/22L (Recommended rate is 1-5 g/hl, I try to keep on the low end of this.) Dissolve gelatin in about 25X its weight of boiling water (this doesn't have to be precise.) Mix well and let sit for about 10 minutes and add the gelatin to the wine while still warm. Stir the wine well while adding. Rack off the sediment in 2-3 weeks.

 

[Tom]

Not used it ine Wine but, I use it all the time in BEER

 

[ajhughes]

I use gelatin in my wines made from Juice (i.e. not kits) at a slightly higher rate than has already been mention, about 1/4 to 1/2 level tsp dissolved in a couple oz. of boiling water and let to cool for about 20 mins. I use this with kieselsol in the white wines as was mentioned. I have used gelatin on it's own for red wines. This was what was recommended to me by the company I source my juice from. I have been happy with the results. I usually allow 2-3 weeks to clear. Hope that helps.

 

[Manimal]

Andrew, I'm guessing that you get your juice from Kamil? I know that they're big proponents of gelatin/Kieselsol fining for their products and the 1/2 tsp rate is generally what they recommend. That rate definitely works well, but it's at the high end of the recommended rate and I've found that I've had equally successful results with lower amounts. I personally like to use the least amount of fining agent that will do the job, so if a small amount will clarify well, I'd rather do that than to add too much.

 

[roadwarriorsvt]

Thanks for the replies guys. I don't have any kieselsol so I may try just a small amount of the gelatin by itself. If this does not sound prudent, let me know.

 

[ajhughes]

Manimal, I do get most of my juices from Kamil. I was introduced to wine making using their juice, even before I tried kits. It's good to know that less than the recommended amount will work well. I would agree that adding less if you can is better. I'll probably try reducing the amount I add in the future. Thanks for the info.

 

[applelover12]

Hi

Do you use gelatin first and then kieselsol or how is your procedure?
How long time do you wait before you add the second component?

I use gelatin in my wines made from Juice (i.e. not kits) at a slightly higher rate than has already been mention, about 1/4 to 1/2 level tsp dissolved in a couple oz. of boiling water and let to cool for about 20 mins. I use this with kieselsol in the white wines as was mentioned. I have used gelatin on it's own for red wines. This was what was recommended to me by the company I source my juice from. I have been happy with the results. I usually allow 2-3 weeks to clear. Hope that helps.