Using Irish Moss

I am trying to get clearer beer and have been using irish moss at the end of the boil with extract recipes. I have an IC and usually get to pitching temps in 20-30 minutes. I may try adding some ice to the sink to help as well. My question is, does the irish moss do its job in the wort before going into the fermenter or does it need to be in the fermenter? I pour my wort through a strainer before it goes into the fermenter so I catch the irish moss, hops, etc. After bottle aging at room temperature my beer is crystal clear. Then after going to the frig it has a bad case of chill haze. I am wondering now if I should not strain the wort before going into the fermenter and let the irish moss go into the fermenter? Would that help the clarifying?

By the way, is 1 tsp. of irish moss a teaspoon or tablespoon? I can never figure that out what a tsp is in recipes or cook books.

I'd recommend using Whirlfloc instead. It fully dissolves so straining is a non-issue, although I'm not sure it's an issue even with Irish moss. I believe it does its job before you strain the wort so straining it out is okay. a tsp. is a teaspoon, a tbs. (or tbsp.) is a tablespoon.

Try cold crashing your beer for a few days before bottling/kegging as well, it will clear it considerably. OR, try using gelatin in your fermentor prior to bottling or kegging, that will do the trick too.

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Primary- Circle City Haus Ale
Secondary- Orange Cascade APA (dry hop)
Keg1- Centennial Blonde (On tap)
Keg2- Oktoberfest (On tap)
Keg3- Christmas Spice
Keg4- Fire In The Hole
Keg5- AIR
Keg6- AIR
Keg7- AIR
Keg8- AIR

Yeah cold crashing, if you have the ability to, works like a charm.

Irish moss works great and it's cheap, especially when you buy in bulk. 1/2 teaspoon for 5 gal batch is all you need in the last 10 min of boil, then you can strain out.

But if you don't strain out, it's no big deal in the fermentor.

There are differences in "Irish Moss" The generic term is carrageenan. It is derived from a seaweed found mostly along the Irish coast. Different suppliers use different types of carrageenan along with other ingredients.

I was involved with the development of Super Moss for Five Star. I tried out quite a few different types of carraggenen during the tests.

No matter which type you use, it does work best if you rehydrate the moss for 15 minutes before you add it to your wort.

Add it 10-15 minutes before the end of boil. Let the beer rest for at least 5 minutes after the boil is done before you transfer it. That should allow the carrageenan enough time to remove the haze causing proteins.

Huh. I hadn't heard of the rehydrating bit. I'll give that a go next batch...

That's good to know Wayne1. I haven't used "Irish Moss" in any of my brews yet, but it is on the list for my next brew. Like jkarp, I haven't heard the rehydrating portion, so I'll keep that in my before I throw it in the wort.

Irish Moss works best if left in the kettle.

If you can, try to whirlpool your wort in the kettle after flameout.

Let the trub settle for about 5-10 minutes. Siphon from the edge of the kettle. You should end up with a cone of trub in the center of your kettle.

Here is a shot of my kettle at the end of the brew day.

From what I understand, IM facilitates clumping of proteins at the hot break, which occurs as the wort is being cooled from boiling temps to pitching temps. For most of us, that all happens in the kettle.

headfullahops said:

From what I understand, IM facilitates clumping of proteins at the hot break, which occurs as the wort is being cooled from boiling temps to pitching temps. For most of us, that all happens in the kettle.

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You might be a bit confused between Hot and Cold Break.

From HoW To Brew by John Palmer:

"[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Hot Break: Proteins that coagulate and fall out of solution during the wort boil.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
Cold Break: Proteins that coagulate and fall out of solution when the wort is rapidly cooled prior to pitching the yeast."

You are correct that Irish Moss help settle out the haze causing proteins post boil.

It will continue to work in the fermenter after the krausen has lowered. You should see tighter clumps at the bottom of your fermenter when you use Irish Moss.

I was wrong about it remaining in the Kettle. I was confusing the trub pile with the haze causing proteins.
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If clear beer is important to you. Also consider gelatin before you bottle/keg

+1 on Whirlfloc. I have an awesome pic on my camera of a carboy right after chilling with Whirlfloc being used. Let me upload it later to my PC at home and post it. Whirlfloc isn't cheap but it works great!

TommyBoy said:

+1 on Whirlfloc. I have an awesome pic on my camera of a carboy right after chilling with Whirlfloc being used. Let me upload it later to my PC at home and post it. Whirlfloc isn't cheap but it works great!

Click to expand...

please do!!

So, I'm in PEI which has an abundance of Irish Moss this time of year due to storms at sea and nice winds coming into shore. You can pick the stuff up right on the beach. I cleaned it and rinsed it several times and then dried it in the sun. I plan to chop it up later before adding it to the boil to increase the surface area on the fibers when rehydrating it in the boil.

If I understand the process of creating the collagen by soaking the moss, then mixing that with the wort to create a flocculant to clear the wort, then most of what is posted in this thread makes sense. I wonder why a liquid or paste form of the collagen isn't offered for home brewers since that's what the cosmetics and toothpaste industries use. Seems to me the rehydration and boil time could be reduced. Anyone had any experience using natural moss right out of the sea? Am I missing an important step other than getting it super dry prior to packing it into baggies for the freezer?

Could some one enlighten me as to how you rehydrate IM. Is it as simple as just letting it soak in water before adding it to the wort? Also, should I put it straight into to wort, or in a steeping bag with hops and grains?

Let it soak 24 hours in fresh water, change the water after 12 hours. It should be pale and plump (like most of our politicians) when it's ready. Add it directly to the boil, no bag needed as it will precipitate out in the primary.

hahnderosa, you might have confused collagen with carageenan. While the first is a protein that acts as a rigid structural component in animal tissues and of late is injected into the faces of vain middle-aged women to make their lips look more puffy, carageenan is a polysaccharide that is derived from many types of seaweed. You can think of it as a "sticky" carbohydrate that proteins stick to and form a big mass of stuck-together molecules. The increased mass of the carbohydrate/protein clump makes them more prone to fall to the bottom of the fermenter rather than remain suspended.

Edit: Oh yeah, harvesting fresh seaweed is very resourceful. I would be interested to hear how it turns out. Good luck! I intend to try the rehydration idea on my next brew.

You're right, I meant carageenan.

Right now, the moss is dried and chopped and sitting in the freezer. I had a whole newspaper sheet covered with the live stuff while drying it and it barely fills a glad snack bag now that it's dried and chopped. I'm beginning to understand why it's fairly pricey considering it's abundant. I'll know how things worked once I'm back home. I'll keep you posted.

I've been doing research on figuring out of I want to strain my wort or leave it with the hops for primary. I came across this "Adding too much Irish moss negatively affects small proteins responsible for head retention. Too much finings may also reduce Free Amino Acid levels that are crucial in healthy yeast growth and clean fermentation." here: http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/how-to-brew/take-the-luck-out-of-clear-beer-with-irish-moss/

Anyone have further thoughts?

HOOTER said:

I'd recommend using Whirlfloc instead. It fully dissolves so straining is a non-issue, although I'm not sure it's an issue even with Irish moss. I believe it does its job before you strain the wort so straining it out is okay. a tsp. is a teaspoon, a tbs. (or tbsp.) is a tablespoon.

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Irish moss hasn't been an issue for me at all. It stays behind when I rack from kettle to fermenter.

I use Irish Moss tablets.

I've used whirlflock and irish moss. Both work about the same for me, but my LHBS gives me a pack of irish moss every time I buy my grain and hops so I use that most of the time.