Irish Moss powder or dried moss?

I have always used the HB store's dried Irish moss. I recently obtained some powdered Irish Moss. Anyone with experience using one over the other. Since it uses positive-negative opposing charges to precipitate out proteins, logic would dictate that powder would have more service area and should work better than chunks of dried moss.

So.... Does powder dis-flavor the beer?

Better luck using one over the other?

I use whirlfloc, which is essentially powdered irish moss in a tablet form and never had an issue. Since it "grabs" protiens and settles out, there wouldn't be any off flavors to worry about since it never makes it to the finished product..

I switched from IM to whirlfloc about 6 months ago. My beers are much clearer now, and no off flavors. At least none that I can blame on Whirlfloc.

Evets said:

I switched from IM to whirlfloc about 6 months ago. My beers are much clearer now, and no off flavors. At least none that I can blame on Whirlfloc.

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How much Irish Moss were you adding? I have never noticed any off flavors with one teaspoon per 5 gallon batch.

I switched to Whirlfloc myself. Problem is, I have no idea if it helps my beers since I started using a 50' wort chiller and went AG at the same time. All I know is that the combo of the 2 gives me some crystal clear beers.

I use whirlfloc also. I used to use dried moss then switched to Whirlfloc all this before my wort chiller. I noticed better protien coagulation even without rapid cooling.

Now that I have used my wort chiller it all settles out Oh SO nicely!!

Whirlfloc tabs!! The way to go....There is another product out there. Super moss I think!?!?

I've used all three. I would use either the powdered or whirlfloc over the dried Irish Moss. Whirlfloc is convenient but expensive. You can halve the cost if you do 5g batches by breaking the tablet in half. It is not noticeably better then the powdered stuff though.

GT

Great info, I am using powder obtained by my wife, a compounding pharmacist. A 10 year supply cost around $30. I use 1 tbs/5 gallons. It is still in the primary. I can't tell anything until I transfer to carboy. I will re-post results.

Whirfloc for me as well...beautifully clear beers. I cant imagine I would ever switch. I have had nothing but great results.

According to my math and Northern Brewers prices, a 1 oz bottle of IM costs $1.30 and last approx (6) 5 gal batches (1 tspn per batch). Thats $0.21 per batch

A 10 pack of Wirlfloc tabs are $2. Thats $0.20 per batch, so Wirlfloc is actually cheaper than IM.

bgrubb7 said:

According to my math and Northern Brewers prices, a 1 oz bottle of IM costs $1.30 and last approx (6) 5 gal batches (1 tspn per batch). Thats $0.21 per batch

A 10 pack of Wirlfloc tabs are $2. Thats $0.20 per batch, so Wirlfloc is actually cheaper than IM.

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FWIW, I use half that quantity of Irish Moss per batch and don't have any clarity issues.

bgrubb7 said:

According to my math and Northern Brewers prices, a 1 oz bottle of IM costs $1.30 and last approx (6) 5 gal batches (1 tspn per batch). Thats $0.21 per batch

A 10 pack of Wirlfloc tabs are $2. Thats $0.20 per batch, so Wirlfloc is actually cheaper than IM.

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Also for whatever it is worth, I only use half a tablet per 5 gallons.

Also FWIW, I've been using about 5x that much - a heaping tablespoon of dried IM. I guess I'll switch to tablets next time cause I ran out quite fast.

one question does the irish moss actually impart any flavours to the beer or is it purely for clarity?

NitrouStang96 said:

Also FWIW, I've been using about 5x that much - a heaping tablespoon of dried IM. I guess I'll switch to tablets next time cause I ran out quite fast.

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Zoikes!!


kinghellsfire_NZ: IM is for clarity....it helps you remove some of the proteins that can cause haze