Just racked a 2.5 week old IPA (that I forgot to Whirfloc) into kegs. Plan was to use gelatin in 3 or 4 more days to help clear the beer. Problem: This has the potential to be the best tasting IPA I've made and I'm having a hard time pulling the trigger on the gelatin. I have not dryhopped yet, but the late additions of Galaxy, Citra, Nelson Sauvin, and Columbus make me wonder if I want to take the chance of stripping some of the hop goodness away by using the gelatin. What would you do? I know, RHAHB : )
I've faced this same delimma and didn't really get any confidence inspiring feedback: http://beeradvocate.com/community/t...in-primary-and-dry-hopping.27275/#post-336756 In the end I didn't use gelatin. The beer turned out great... who knows if would have been any different if I had clarified. Maybe just go with a cold-crash and deal with whatever haze is left over. Or will the yeast drag the hop oils out of suspenssion while they settle??? Real nail-biter of a quandry.
Fine it, It'll be fine ... I've done this a bunch for competitions and improving shelf life using Biofine and/or PVPP to remove chill haze, hop polyphenols and yeast and the beers were still glorious hop bombs.
Is there any specific reason you want the beer to be clear? If it's just you and other beer geeks drinking it, no one cares. For competition, yes, clarity might get you one point. Two great brewers go different ways. Vinnie Cilurzo fines Pliny with gelatin. John Kimmich at the Alchemist doesn't use finings and Heady Topper looks like blonde mud if you pour it into a glass. Both have plenty of hop character . For the record, I think Heady is a little better (like 4.9 vs. 4.7), but that really has nothing to do with fining or the lack thereof. IMO, cold crashing is all you need, but a little gelatin won't hurt anything.
When I use gelatin finings (in the keg) I don't notice any drop off in hop aroma or flavor. Another option would be to choose a more flocculant yeast (I like 1272 in place of 1056 for this reason). Ferment beer -> Cold crash below freezing -> Dryhop -> Keg w/ finings if you like or Ferment beer -> Dryhop -> Cold crash below freezing -> Keg w/ finings if you like I'm pretty sure Pliny is centrifuged and not fined these days. The idea of clarifying the beer prior to dryhopping is to increase the surface area of beer on hops (less yeast in the way).
I like your idea as I am lazy and will drink 90% of the aforementioned hop bomb, but I've never used gelatin before either so the process intrigues me. 3 days and I'll make my decision/toss a coin.
I just dry hopped an IPA that I made from scratch.. Let it sit for 2 weeks before doing anything, and used Irish moss. It's a bit murky, but I made a pull tonight, while it's carbing and one day in, I didn't expect much. Taste is out of this world amazing. Best I've made, period. Citra is doing it job on the dry hop in the keg too. Would I like it clear? Yeah, for no reason other than feeling like I made it clear. I'm gonna be the only one drinking it.. well, maybe a few friends/ co workers, but they don't give a shit about clear beer, if it gives you a beer boner, it's good to them. It'll settle out, with time in the keg- I'm gonna leave my hops in for atleast 1.5 weeks. I expect it to be murky, and I'm getting used to my IPA's being that way when they are loaded with hops.
