Irish moss.

I picked up some Irish moss for my next batch of beer (last was a bit too cloudy when cold.)

The curmudgeon at the LHBS told me to put it in at the beginning of boil because it won't work if I use it as usually directed unless I re-hydrate it first.

Anyone else ever hear of this, or how to best re-hydrate Irish moss?

dantodd said:

I picked up some Irish moss for my next batch of beer (last was a bit too cloudy when cold.)

The curmudgeon at the LHBS told me to put it in at the beginning of boil because it won't work if I use it as usually directed unless I re-hydrate it first.

Anyone else ever hear of this, or how to best re-hydrate Irish moss?

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Everything I've read about irish moss is that you add it in the last 10-15 minutes of a boil. This includes two kits I've brewed that had irish moss in them, as well as everything I've read in any book, and what I've read on the Internet.

I'd probably just go with majority opinion on this one.

greg75 said:

I'd probably just go with majority opinion on this one.

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That could have me drinking bud light!

dantodd said:

That could have me drinking bud light!

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I guess I never looked at it that way!

greg75 said:

I guess I never looked at it that way!

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I'm a smart-ass, just ask my wife.

I re-hydrate my IM in a small glass, like a juice glass.

Fill it about 3/4 full and add 1-2 tsp of IM. It'll expand several times its dried size. Dump the whole thing into the pot with 15 mins to go.

Just rehydrate it in a bit of water 10 minutes before you toss in the boil at the last 15 min.

desertBrew said:

Just rehydrate it in a bit of water 10 minutes before you toss in the boil at the last 15 min.

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Damn... really. Live and learn I guess.

I was thinking he didn't sound quite as crazy when he said that as he did when he referred to sales of Belgian candy sugar since "That stupid book Brewing Like a Monk"

Cregar said:

Damn... really. Live and learn I guess.

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Guess HB99 was a minute faster while I typed.

not to stick my nose in but I don't think he was being attitudinous.

I think yours was just the bottom post and he was responding that he didn't know.

RDWHAHB

I didn't catch the attitude...I read it as something you say to yourself when the light bulb turns on over you head (you get the idea).

Eh, we've all had misunderstandings. I'm kinda the king of those (read the "nickel brazing stainless" thread). Can't we all just get along?

Ahh, probably me then. It all starts with starting to drink at 11a, wife out of town for a week and a fair amount of paint fumes from painting the shed today. If not Cregar, I recant. HBT Love :cross:.

Making edits...

Well getting back to the topic here.... you know you never mentioned what your brewing. I am assuming that everything being equal, your beer is meant to be clear. A lot of things account for cloudy beer. Sanitation, yeast, beer style, procedure, how fast the wort cooled, yeast. Oh and did I mention yeast is a big factor

Seriously though. I recall a thread of someone putting Irish Moss in a stout This make as much sense as the person who put it in a traditional wheat right?

ESB. I prefer it to be clear!

Beer Snob said:

Seriously though. I recall a thread of someone putting Irish Moss in a stout This make as much sense as the person who put it in a traditional wheat right?

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That's funny, because the oatmeal stout kit I bought at a LHBS had Irish Moss in it. I was kind of perplexed by it, but I went ahead and used it anyway.

As it turns out, the oatmeal stout is more of a medium brown color, not anywhere near the deep black I expected. It has seemed to darken up a bit as it's been aging, but nothing too significant. Regardless, I'm not really sure how necessary the Irish moss is for that particular brew.

dantodd said:

I'm a smart-ass, just ask my wife.

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Me, too!!!

ESB and cold don't go well together IMHO.

-a.

Beer Snob said:

Well getting back to the topic here.... you know you never mentioned what your brewing. I am assuming that everything being equal, your beer is meant to be clear. A lot of things account for cloudy beer. Sanitation, yeast, beer style, procedure, how fast the wort cooled, yeast. Oh and did I mention yeast is a big factor

Seriously though. I recall a thread of someone putting Irish Moss in a stout This make as much sense as the person who put it in a traditional wheat right?

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I put IM in my stouts. Clarity is not just a matter of how well you can see through the beer---even if your beer is dark like a stout, it can still be "cloudy", and you can still perceive that cloudiness. Next time you're drinking Guinness (I don't drink it myself, but I have in the past), check out the distinct line between the beer and the head. That's "clear" stout right there.

Also, nobody's mentioned it here, but chill haze is another cause of cloudy beer. And short of filtering, there isn't too much to be done about it. I don't worry so much about clarity. Clear beer is nice, but I have a thousand other things to try to perfect before I worry about how well I can see through my beer. I use IM because it doesn't require any effort, of course...and I've only used KC finings once---on my punkin beer, because the pumpkin solids refused to fall, and it looked pretty disgusting.

At the stout level, I believe, it's a personal taste issue analogous to whether you prefer pulp in your Orange Juice.

olllllo said:

At the stout level, I believe, it's a personal taste issue analogous to whether you prefer pulp in your Orange Juice.

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Agreed...but then, isn't this all a matter of taste (unless you're entering into competitions)? From what I've seen, Papazian's stout recipes call for it. And it's not like it hurts anything---unless it's a weizen.

ajf said:

ESB and cold don't go well together IMHO.

-a.

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I'm not sure what you mean. Do you simply mean that you prefer to drink your ESBs at a warmer temperature or that cold storage damages the flavor?

OK.. what happened?? Did I miss something? If it had to do with my comment earlier in the post, I meant it to mean I didn't realize you were suppose to re-hydrate the irish moss. I don't remember reading about it anywhere. Sorry for the misunderstanding, if thats what it was about.

I read your quoted post of mine as if it was sarcasm but others set me straight. Think I had in my response to you why the negativity or something to that affect. My reasoning for thinking that way (besides alcohol consumption that day) was HB99 pretty much said the same thing I said in the post above mine.

No I'm not the d!ckhead that pick fights in taverns either

desertBrew said:

...No I'm not the d!ckhead that pick fights in taverns either

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Good, now that that's settled...I just read in Palmer's book that he/they don't recommend IM for extract brews...I use IM all the time...unless it's a HW.

dantodd said:

I'm not sure what you mean. Do you simply mean that you prefer to drink your ESBs at a warmer temperature or that cold storage damages the flavor?

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I mean I prefer to drink ESB at a warmer temperature.

I doubt that cold storage permanently damages the flavor, but it certainly doesn't taste as good when it is chilled as it does when it is about 55 - 60 degrees.

-a.

all cool I will make sure next time I explain myself better.

ajf said:

I mean I prefer to drink ESB at a warmer temperature.

I doubt that cold storage permanently damages the flavor, but it certainly doesn't taste as good when it is chilled as it does when it is about 55 - 60 degrees.

-a.

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Ahhh.. I think you can still crash chill the yeast out of suspension and then bring the ESB back up to cellar temps for serving.