Irish moss question

Hi all. This has become a very addictive hobby and I am preparing to brew my third ever batch of homebrew this weekend.

I am thinking about an Irish Red Ale and have been researching different recipes. I noticed that many of them call for the addition of Irish Moss. As far as I can tell, this helps with the clarity of the brew. The recipes I've read don't really mention when to add the Irish Moss and I've seen the amount vary greatly.

Can someone out on this great forum give a newbie an Irish Moss primer?

Thanks!

Last 15 minute of the boil.

Some rehydrate the moss in hot water first. Many don't.

whirlfloc tablets are another way....drop in with 20 minutes left

I too am curious about this compared to gelatin? they both are clarifiers right? is there a any reason to use one over the other?

edit never-mind search has answered my question.

According to the instructions on my packet: 1 tsp at the beginning of the boil. Oddly at odds with every recipe I've ever seen.

Grimm said:

I too am curious about this compared to gelatin? they both are clarifiers right? is there a any reason to use one over the other?

edit never-mind search has answered my question.

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you can use both. just follow the instructions for each.

I just take a big pinch and throw it in for the last 15 minutes of the boil. Like you say, there's a lot of varying info out there, anywhere from half a teaspoon to 3 teaspoons. It settles out completely, so I don't think it matters all that much.

My Irish Moss is a very course cut or a fine chop depending on how you look at it, but my buddy's is a very fine powder. When we brewed at his house the other night I noticed his fine powder Irish Moss clumped up and was a mess. I just dump my chopped Irish Moss in the boil; Am I supposed to be grinding this stuff up? This is what I use:

never mind read the post wrong

Is the Irish Moss just for clarity? Or does it add to the flavor at all? Also I currently have an Irish Red which I just racked over to secondary. Is there anything I can do with Irish Moss now or is this something for a future batch?

Thanks for the help guys. Unfortunately my local HBS has a pretty lame selection of ingredients, so I'll have to put off the Red Ale for the time being. I'll definitely acquire some Irish Moss, however. Sounds like it should be a standard addition for all brews.

setag9 said:

Thanks for the help guys. Unfortunately my local HBS has a pretty lame selection of ingredients, so I'll have to put off the Red Ale for the time being. I'll definitely acquire some Irish Moss, however. Sounds like it should be a standard addition for all brews.

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I think so. I always used Irish moss, but a couple of years ago I bought whirlfloc. It's the same ingredient as Irish moss, but in a tablet form. It seems to me that it works much better than Irish moss. I got much bigger gobs of stuff after switching to whirlfloc.

I realize that "gobs of stuff" doesn't sound too appealing but that's what you want! It causes suspended proteins in the wort to coagulate and then fall out, which results in clear beer. I love whirlfloc even more than Irish moss!

What's your experience with either of those and flavor addition/modification? Do they do anything to the flavor, or just clarify with no flavor modification?

setag9 said:

What's your experience with either of those and flavor addition/modification? Do they do anything to the flavor, or just clarify with no flavor modification?

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The Irish moss and whirlfloc? They are kettle finings, meant to be used in the boil to coagulate proteins and clarify the beer.

I would guess that since they are made from seaweed, they'd taste bad if you used too much. But in the correct amount, there is no flavor contributed.