This is my first time trying brewing... Its pretty cold atm, and I kept the fermenter on the heating-pad pretty much all the time, wrapped in a towel. Temps were pretty stable around 20.5~21.9.
Now that I added my gelatin based finings - am I correct in thinking I need to turn off the heat and let it cool down for the finings to work?
Thanks!
Yes remove it from heat, after fermentation is done.
Mechanical finnings aid gravity and assist the cold crash. I add gelitan and start the cold crash at the same time.
Enzyme based finings work best at fermentation temps, so a cold crash after a couple days is best.
Assuming that the beer has finished fermenting, then yes, turn down the temperature.
Ideally gelatin fining should be added after you have dropped the temperature. When it gets cold proteins in the beer clump into larger particles. This makes the gelatin finings more effective. It is nothing to worry about, though. The beer will be just fine. Most of the brewers I know don't use finings at all.
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