Irish Moss (whirlflock)

[Tony]

When i did my double brew day yesterday, i was so busy i forgot to chuck in the irish moss tablet when i was boiling the dunkelweizen.

I did notice a lack of break in the botton of the boiler when i ran it into the firmenter.

It only clicked thismorning that i had forgotten it.

I have forgotton to ues it a couple of times before and i found that the beer took a bit longer to clear, but it did clear out eventually.

Is it one of these things we use "because to brew shop told up too" Of cause "palmer said so"

I do find i get more break with it.

who uses and who doesnt?

cheers

 

[KoNG]

i use it like you do Tony.. when i bloody remember.
to be honest i'm not entering competitions so clarity isnt a great concern to me, which is probably why i forget sometimes.
i do think it makes a bit of difference though.

 

[T.D.]

I forget to add it more often than not, which kind of explains why I have only ever bought one pack of 10 tablets from the home brew shop!!

I did make sure I put in 1/2 a tablet in the weekend's brew that was the Xmas in July case, but that was just to try and make it a bit more aesthetically presentable since fellow brewers will be drinking it instead of me. When I am brewing my own beers I am pretty much entirely indifferent between using it and not.

 

[beerbelly]

Hi tony i am no expert but i always use irish moss in my boils.Helps with chill haze as well as clearing the wort.

 

[warrenlw63]

Tony.

Most notes on the stuff tell you to add it 5 minutes from flameout. I'm hazarding a guess with the "no chiller" method you may be rendering the stuff useless anyway from extended heating.

Open to conjecture here. h34r:

Warren -

 

[Doc]

I use Koppafloc (powdered version) @ 15 mins except in Wits and hefeweizens.
Haven't forgotten in a long long time so can't actually recall if it makes a lot of difference or not on my system.

Doc

 

[Tony]

Well i was told a while back by a respected microbrewer that it has something to do with protein being negative and the irish moss being positive or visa versa.

when you chuck it in the brew it atracts the proteins (opposites atract) and settles them up faster.

something like that.

I use it all the time, forget maybe 1 in 10 brews and i do notice it when i froget.

cheers

 

[Gough]

I forgot it for the first time in ages 2 brews ago and definitely noticed a difference when chilling/whirlpooling. The brew is currently lagering so I can't comment yet on final clarity issues. Other than that I've pretty much always used it...

Shawn.

 

[bindi]

I use it in every boil 10 min from flame out funny I also forgot when doing the "no chill" <_< last week which is now in 2nd from today and looking [clear] and tasting very good.

 

[timmy]

I've always used it at 20mins, maybe I'll try it at 10.

 

[PeterS]

It is interesting to note that we have as many variations to its use as we have brewers. I see that some introduce it into the boil 20 min, some 10 min and some 5 minutes before flame out. Just to be different at the time I purchased some whirlflock, I did some research and on that basis I have been using 1/2 tablet in 23L batch 15 min before flame out.

In summary now we have users that throw the stuff in the boiler 20, 15, 10 and or 5 minutes before flame out. As to its effectiveness I must say I never experimented, therfore no comment.

Cheers,
PeterS.... :chug:

 

[Trent]

I try to always use it, especially in my pale beers, 15 mins before flameout. I forgot to add it to an APA a mont or so back, and it was quite hazy, took ages to clear, but I am now getting a little chill haze in it, so I will try not to forget again in future. I dont think that the extended heating time will affect it, I am pretty sure it works in the kettle, reducing the amount of break you will siphon out.
All the best
Trent

 

[Jye]

At the beginning of my boil I hydrate my irish moss in half a glass of water and then add it in the last 2 minutes.

 

[Doc]

I add koppafloc @ 15mins, which is usually in conjunction with a hop addition.

Beers,
Doc

 

[johnno]

I use a quarter of a tablet 15 mins before flameout.

johnno

 

[Batz]

I add koppafloc @ 15mins, which is usually in conjunction with a hop addition.

Beers,
Doc

[post="117029"][/post]​

Ditto

Batz

 

[razz]

G'day Tony, I concur. I have forgotten to add it several times in the last 12 months and the difference in hot break is noticeable. In beers that have dark grains it doesn't seem to be much of a problem as they have some effect on the beer turning out very bright. Pale coloured beers seem to benefit more from the addition of irish moss. Overall, I only brew about 8 double batches each year so time is my friend and irish moss or not, I end up with brilliantly clear beer. (6-8 weeks cold conditioning)

Regards, John

 

[Gough]

I'm a 15 minute 1/2 tablet adder of whirlfloc, again, usually with a hop addition.

Shawn.

 

[Tony]

I add a whole tablet (cruched to a powder) to a 45 to 50 liter brew at 15 min and it works for me.

I tried re-hydratring it but i didnt see any improvement but maybe i did it wrong.

Interesting replys.

Seems most feel it doesa make a difference and its worth using.

cheers

 

[mika]

I thought the purpose (or one of) of the Irish Moss was to reduce the chance of boil overs ??