Irish Moss to Clear Up Beer

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GioGomez2010

GioGomez2010

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I I used Irish Moss for the first time on my last batch and Jesus was that beer clear. I poured it an couldn't believe how clear it was! I could see straight through the glass and see the dishes sitting in the cupboard in the other side! If you haven't already, I suggest you use it for enhanced clarity in beer. My other batches have been decent clarity wise but the I M really helps.
 
It is a very popular fining agent. Doesn't produce near as much cold break trub as whirlfloc. How much I'M did you use for what batch size?
 
I used 1 teaspoon, maybe a little bit over a teaspoon for a 5 gallon. Do you use a different amount?
 
Can you add Irish moss during fermentation or can you only add during the boil? Never used before.
 
I typically use two big pinches of flakes for five gallons. I'm likely to stop using whirlfloc soon, as the cold break production is huge (using 1 whole tablet). I have seen the same clarity in both techniques at 21 days of cold keg storage.
 
blarsen71 said:
Can you add Irish moss during fermentation or can you only add during the boil? Never used before.
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It only helps with the cold break, so post boil it won't do anything.

I typically add mine in the last 10-15 minutes of the boil. I have had clear beer without it though. I also usually add one teaspoon for my 6.75-7 gallons into primary batches. Obviously, I add more for larger batches. :ban:
 
As said above, Irish Moss only works near the end of the boil. If you have a cloudy beer after fermentation, your clarifying options are isinglass and gelatin. Of those two, I've only used gelatin, and I've found it works wonderfully. A quick forum search will provide lots of useful info on that.
 
Aha! I'm glad I found this thread. I used a whirlfloc tablet for the first time in my last beer and I couldn't believe how much trub I had. It was a new recipe so I wasn't sure what was the cause. Wish I would have known this sooner as I just bottled today and ended up siphoning a bunch of trub into my bottling bucket because I had sunk the siphon too low for how much trub I had. Totally sucked because I ended up losing a few bottles because it clogged my bottling wand near the end. :(
 
BPal75 said:
Aha! I'm glad I found this thread. I used a whirlfloc tablet for the first time in my last beer and I couldn't believe how much trub I had. It was a new recipe so I wasn't sure what was the cause. Wish I would have known this sooner as I just bottled today and ended up siphoning a bunch of trub into my bottling bucket because I had sunk the siphon too low for how much trub I had. Totally sucked because I ended up losing a few bottles because it clogged my bottling wand near the end. :(
Click to expand...

Invest the 3$ in a racking cane, well worth it.
 
I was using an auto siphon, so the racking cane was built into it. I marked the side of my auto siphon with a sharpie to indicate about how low I can go and still stay above the trub (since I use a pail and can't see the trub in a full 5 gallons). The mark was based on past experience as my earlier beers all had about the same amount of trub in 5 gallons. The whirlfloc created so much trub tho that my marking was off. That was my problem, not that I wasn't using a racking cane.
 
I've used Irish moss on all my brews except my last all grain IPA.

While it cleared well anyway, it was noticeably less clear than when I used the Irish Moss, which resulted in a really crystal clear beer.
 
0202 said:
I've used Irish moss on all my brews except my last all grain IPA.

While it cleared well anyway, it was noticeably less clear than when I used the Irish Moss, which resulted in a really crystal clear beer.
Click to expand...

I just used it as I said in my OP and I couldn't believe how clear it was! I've never had beer I've made be this clear so I loved it! Definitely gonna be a staple of all my brews.
 

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