Hello all,
I've just finished keg carbonating a delicious graf and have stumbled across something strange that I cannot find elsewhere on the internet. I will give details of the process and then describe what I saw.
Recipe
5 Gallons 1.050 fresh apple cider (2 gallons from farm stand, 3 gallons from whole foods)
1/2 gallon solution of 1.100 DME and 1 oz Eureka! hops (flameout!) was added to cold(ish) cider in fermentor. It bumped up the gravity about 4 points.
Hefty yeast starter that I had stepped up twice to overbuild by 100 billion cells (WL English Cider)
60 seconds O2 and a ferm at 67 to 70 range locked in. Here's where it gets fun...
I cold crashed at 38F for 2 days, added my ~150F gelatin solution (1/2 tsp in 1/4 cup water) and let sit another 2. I proceeded to keg about 4 out of the 6 gallons and backsweetened with 3/4 gallon honeycrisp apple cider (no yeast killing because always cold and we'll drink it fast). I've now flash carbonated at 40 PSI for 48 hours and gave it a taste. Amazing banana esters with great guava notes from the Eureka! and a balanced apple sweetness. It even keeps a bit of a head because of the DME on a strong pour!
As I was drinking, I looked on the edge of my glass and saw a clear, thin "worm" looking squiggle. Its very squish and melts to the touch and leaves a bit of sticky residue behind on my fingers. There's been a few on the 2 glasses I've drank so far (various sizes) since tapping the keg. Is it possible the gelatin was able to react in some way with the pectin from the cider? It's freaked me the hell out and I'm rational enough to know it's not toxic but I've not seen anything about this on the internet yet! The beer line did actually get clogged with what looked like a gelatin "poop." I racked from the top of the fermentor without ever getting close to the crashed cake. This has never happened in my beers. Please help me figure it out! Also this is my first post, so it's real nice to meet you all!
I've just finished keg carbonating a delicious graf and have stumbled across something strange that I cannot find elsewhere on the internet. I will give details of the process and then describe what I saw.
Recipe
5 Gallons 1.050 fresh apple cider (2 gallons from farm stand, 3 gallons from whole foods)
1/2 gallon solution of 1.100 DME and 1 oz Eureka! hops (flameout!) was added to cold(ish) cider in fermentor. It bumped up the gravity about 4 points.
Hefty yeast starter that I had stepped up twice to overbuild by 100 billion cells (WL English Cider)
60 seconds O2 and a ferm at 67 to 70 range locked in. Here's where it gets fun...
I cold crashed at 38F for 2 days, added my ~150F gelatin solution (1/2 tsp in 1/4 cup water) and let sit another 2. I proceeded to keg about 4 out of the 6 gallons and backsweetened with 3/4 gallon honeycrisp apple cider (no yeast killing because always cold and we'll drink it fast). I've now flash carbonated at 40 PSI for 48 hours and gave it a taste. Amazing banana esters with great guava notes from the Eureka! and a balanced apple sweetness. It even keeps a bit of a head because of the DME on a strong pour!
As I was drinking, I looked on the edge of my glass and saw a clear, thin "worm" looking squiggle. Its very squish and melts to the touch and leaves a bit of sticky residue behind on my fingers. There's been a few on the 2 glasses I've drank so far (various sizes) since tapping the keg. Is it possible the gelatin was able to react in some way with the pectin from the cider? It's freaked me the hell out and I'm rational enough to know it's not toxic but I've not seen anything about this on the internet yet! The beer line did actually get clogged with what looked like a gelatin "poop." I racked from the top of the fermentor without ever getting close to the crashed cake. This has never happened in my beers. Please help me figure it out! Also this is my first post, so it's real nice to meet you all!