Does using gelatin effect aromatics or flavor appreciably?
I was reading this post about using gelatin. I have one keg that I use as a cold conditioning vessel (sort of like secondary), and I was going to try experimenting with gelatin for a few beers to see if I liked the results.
Thoughts on the negative, if any, impact of gelatin.
There are no real drawbacks that I know of.
It's odorless, translucent, and very nearly tasteless. I've used it as a fining agent in my secondary. It does the job a bit better than a cold crash does to drop fine particulates out of solution. You can make some nice clear beer with a gelatin fining.
The only time I've had any problem is when I didn't prepare the gelatin properly, per the instructions on the box. Then I got some gelatin chunks on the bottom of my fermenter. Not a big deal, but irritating.
I ran across good advice on another site for using the gelatin when fining the beer. Presumably just before bottling, but I don't know. Still reading up on the subject.
The link below is 404-ed. It does have a record in the Wayback Machine:
I usually use just whirlfloc tablets for fining, but I'm also very interested in trying gelatin as it is not consistently clear enough. I was going to try it on my most recent brew but it didn't work out and I went ahead and kegged it without trying the gelatin.
At any rate, I've read quite a few forum posts from people who say it works well, and very few that were unsatisfied with the results. The bit I read that really convinced me was on Brulosphy. I thought it was well written and it allayed my concerns about flavor and mouthfeel.
