Gelatin Fining - Mandarina Bavaria

[Springwell19]

Hi all,

I kegged a Mandarina Bavaria Smash beer on Saturday morning and force carbed it for 6 hours or so at 40psi. By 2pm it was nicely carbonated and I had a few pints from it whilst watching the rugby. The orangey flavour from the mandarina hops were very forward and obvious however the beer was hazy.

Ever in search for the perfect instagram photo I fined the beer with gelatin on Sunday and let it do its thing until Monday evening when I pulled a glass which was clear as you like as expected.

Now, here is where things get interesting. The intense orange flavour was almost gone. Still in the background but much more subdued. I'm now have a much cleaner beer but ever so slightly bland!

I've fined with gelatin before - on a similar base beer which had MB and Citra (dry hopped) On that one the beer was again crystal clear but the tropical notes were very intense.

This has led me to think that gelatin may strip certain compounds from beers and leave others - this may be why some brewers experience the same stripping of flavours I've experienced and others not so.

Could this be to do with hop choice?

For the future I may just by-pass the insta photos and the inevitable haze haters and just embrace a flavourful hazy beer.

Anyone had any similar experiences?

 

[Dutto]

Any method of clearing a beer (including the "Gravity + Time" system) means that something is removed from the brew that you drink, so a change in taste is to be expected.

Add on the fact that a "hoppy taste" will reduce or even disappear over time and your brew is performing as expected; even if not as planned!

Personally, I have never used anything other than "Gravity + Time" to clear a brew.

 

[Ghillie]

I don't think gelatin takes away from beers. Time does and your palette adapts or becomes desensitised to a degree.

The latter I notice if I'm having a few good scoops of a really hop forward IPA; either home-brewed or commercial. After three of four pints on the bounce, the flavours are somewhat dulled. The same is true when I brew a new beer, with a different/new hop combo. The first pint almost blows your head off, as it's something new - after that initial taste, it can often taste a bit "normal". Not dull or bland, just normal.

What I have personally found is that you become accustomed to taste. I always find that my first glass of a new beer is banging, and the more you have over a period of days seems to subtract from the flavour and aroma. I put this down to getting used to it.

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi @Springwell19
I assume you de-pressurised the keg to add the finings?
You will have lost a lot of the hop aroma by doing this.

 

[Clint]

How cold was it? I've had the hop fade in the pub...I was drinking Gamma Ray on draught which was very nice then tried another beer the barman recommended...and couldn't taste it!

 

[Dutto]

.......... then tried another beer the barman recommended...and couldn't taste it!

Lesson 1 for all Sailors is "NEVER drink a beer OR go with a woman recommended by a barman!"

They are both expensive, exceptionally tasteless (especially the woman) and may bring you out in spots!

 

[Bigcol49]

bring you out in spots

. . . spots you wouldn't go within a mile of, normally

 

[BeerCat]

Did you open the keg to add gelatin?

 

[The Baron]

one thing I have notice with adding gelatin to the corny/keg is that you get a opposite effect to normal time/age clearing as with normal clearing the last couple of pints are always the clearest as all debris has passed in previous beers however gelatin takes all the crap to the bottom and locks it in and when you get to the last pint it can be pulled through hence a opposite to the norm and a cloudy last pint