Will I need a whirlfloc tablet?

[Xander]

Quick question -

I'm brewing an imperial coffee stout tonight, but just realised I have no whirlfloc tabs left.

I'll be putting about 10 grams of coffee at the end of the boil and another 10 as a dry hop.

Will I need a whirlfloc for this??

I haven't used coffee before, so I'm not sure what to expect?

I will be doing a secondary fermentation with oak chips when I hit my FG (not sure if this is relevant???)

Thanks for your help!

 

[MastersBrewery]

My last brew missed whirfloc and yeah you can tell but only with your eyes open(it's a pale). You can clarify at the end of ferment with gelatin. if it was a pale it wouldn't end up crystal but for a stout it should be fine.

 

[klangers]

All grain?

I use Irish Moss rather than whirlfloc, being without wouldn't stop me brewing a stout.

As far as coffee goes - how are you preparing it?

I strongly recommend avoiding boiling the coffee at all, as you'll extract the caffeine (highly better), oils (kill your head retention) and astringency. The best way I've used is to roughly grind the roasted coffee beans and cold steep these for a few days in a sanitary bowl, covered and left in the fridge. This cold extract method gets you the lovely coffee taste without the caffeine, oils or astringency. Filter this liquor and pour into fermenter AFTER krausen has died.

Edit: Avoid instant coffee! Also, for coffee beans, 20 g in total is no where near enough. I'd do 100-200g for a 23 L batch, cold steeped as above.

 

[kaiserben]

All whirfloc does is helps haze-forming proteins to clump together and drop out of solution.

Not really super-important in a stout.

It's more a cosmetic thing (although some say it can help with beers you plan on storing for long periods (like upwards of 6 months).

 

[manticle]

Whirlfloc helps coagulate proteins, the kinds of proteins you generally want to leave behind after your boil. Its use is not solely cosmetic.
It's not likely to have much effect on coffee one way or the other.

It's a good product, worth having and using properly but you can still make lovely beer without it.

 

[Xander]

All grain?

I use Irish Moss rather than whirlfloc, being without wouldn't stop me brewing a stout.

As far as coffee goes - how are you preparing it?

I strongly recommend avoiding boiling the coffee at all, as you'll extract the caffeine (highly better), oils (kill your head retention) and astringency. The best way I've used is to roughly grind the roasted coffee beans and cold steep these for a few days in a sanitary bowl, covered and left in the fridge. This cold extract method gets you the lovely coffee taste without the caffeine, oils or astringency. Filter this liquor and pour into fermenter AFTER krausen has died.

Edit: Avoid instant coffee! Also, for coffee beans, 20 g in total is no where near enough. I'd do 100-200g for a 23 L batch, cold steeped as above.

Yes, All Grain (BIAB) - 20L batch

The coffee has been ground - I got a high quality from my local coffee shop.
I was just going to tip in after the boil - as soon as I start to chill the wort - IO thought this would be best otherwise it would be far to bitter. the second lot, I was going to pour in the primary fermenter and leave it for about 2 days before transferring to the secondary.

The recipe I'm using the from the DIY Dog (all of Brew Dog's Recipes you can download from their website) - recipe 21.


Hop this helps?

 

[klangers]

Yeah, I'd still recommend cold-steeping over pouring in, and definitely wouldn't boil any of it.

 

[Xander]

Yeah, I'd still recommend cold-steeping over pouring in, and definitely wouldn't boil any of it.

For both late addition and "dry hop"??

 

[manticle]

Yes.
I'm not klangers but yes all the same.

 

[verysupple]

To answer the first question, I agree with manticle's first post. Whirlfloc is a great product and kettle finings serve a purpose other than final beer clarity, but they're not a necessity per se. I wouldn't put off a brew day just because I'd run out of kettle finings.

 

[BDD]

Wouldn't say whirfloc is a necessity especially in a dark beer such as a stout. But in saying that I've used it in every AG brew I have done so far. Funnily enough its helped me keep track of how many AG brews i have done haha. Just bought a new pack (10 tabs) this morning and realised its the third bag I have bought, so the beer I'm brewing today will be my 21st AG brew.

 

[Coodgee]

I wouldn't be too worried about having no whirlfloc. you're not a brewer until you've forgotten the whirlfloc!