I use Irish Moss and yeast nutrient. Irish moss is added dry - yeast nutrient is dissolved in a cup of warm water. They are both added at around 10 - 15 minutes before flameout. I'm thinking this could be improved by putting the Irish Moss and the yeast nutrient in the same cup of warm water, at the beginning of the brew day to give the Irish Moss time to rehydrate. Is there any problem with doing this?
Hydrating Irish Moss and Yeast Nutrient
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FloppyKnockers
Well-Known Member
Only that Irish moss does not need to be rehydrated. That's like rehydrating your hop pellets before adding them.
I read somewhere to rehydrate Irish moss in order for it to work better.
So I rehydrate it for 10-15 minutes in a 1-2 oz scoop of boiling wort. It's gelatinous by the time I pitch it into the wort, 10' before flameout. I get perfectly clear wort with a good trub layer on the bottom. I often do 20-50' of whirlpooling. All hops are bagged (plate chiller).
What kind of yeast nutrients are you adding that need to be pre-dissolved? I add 1 tsp of a 50/50 MgSO4/DAP mixture to a 5 gallon batch at flameout. It dissolves immediately.
So I rehydrate it for 10-15 minutes in a 1-2 oz scoop of boiling wort. It's gelatinous by the time I pitch it into the wort, 10' before flameout. I get perfectly clear wort with a good trub layer on the bottom. I often do 20-50' of whirlpooling. All hops are bagged (plate chiller).
What kind of yeast nutrients are you adding that need to be pre-dissolved? I add 1 tsp of a 50/50 MgSO4/DAP mixture to a 5 gallon batch at flameout. It dissolves immediately.
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I have Super Moss. It says to dissolve in water. I have put both in dry and both in wet. It doesn't seem to make any difference.
Y'all are making this more difficult than needed 
IM - it's friggin' kelp - it's not going to dissolve when soaked, it's just gonna go limp, so why bother with hydrating before tossing it in the boil?
As well, I can't see any reason to dissolve yeast nutrient before tossing that in, either...
Cheers!
IM - it's friggin' kelp - it's not going to dissolve when soaked, it's just gonna go limp, so why bother with hydrating before tossing it in the boil?
As well, I can't see any reason to dissolve yeast nutrient before tossing that in, either...
Cheers!
I used to add Irish Moss dry. But after rehydrating it in water, it was apparent that 'activating' the moss with the water was likely to help.
It gets all slimey and viscous and that has to be good for something. Since its a fining agent, I like that its slimey and sticky. It probably works better that way.
It gets all slimey and viscous and that has to be good for something. Since its a fining agent, I like that its slimey and sticky. It probably works better that way.
But wouldn't it just get that way after a couple minutes in the boil??
I'm betting that it probably does. The one element that gives me pause is that whirlfloc is reported to be more effective than irish moss. If I understand correctly, whirlfloc does have finely ground irish moss in it. I'm just extrapolating (without any other guidance) that the pre-hydration that I do, helps the fining process on its way.
I've never rehydrated either one. I use whirlfloc and some WYeast nutrient. I measure each hop addition into a custard cup and stack 'em in order of addition. That way I just grab the top one when the timer goes off. The whirlfock and yeast nutrient go into a custard cup and get added to the stack in the correct spot....I just dump 'em in the boil.
Am I doing it wrong? This is the first time I've heard of rehydrating the nutrient or kettle fining agent.
Am I doing it wrong? This is the first time I've heard of rehydrating the nutrient or kettle fining agent.
This! ^
PS: Do you folks know that Irish Moss need has been correlated to wort gravity. I recall seeing an British website that presented a curve for IM addition rate vs SG.
I don't follow that graph, but its interesting to note.
I don't follow that graph, but its interesting to note.
Thanks for the comments. Clearly I should have given more info.
I use Wyeast Beer Nutrient Blend. Instructions call for dissolving it in warm water.
This article https://www.morebeer.com/articles/clarifying_homebrew instructs rehydrating Irish Moss in a cup of warm water. I've been getting chill haze in some of my brews lately, so thought rehydrating would be worth a try.
I don't think there would be a problem with mixing the yeast nutrient and the Irish Moss in the same cup of warm water, but thought it would be good to see if anybody knew of a problem. Since adding the cup of warm water kills the boil for a short time, I'd like to only do it once.
I use Wyeast Beer Nutrient Blend. Instructions call for dissolving it in warm water.
This article https://www.morebeer.com/articles/clarifying_homebrew instructs rehydrating Irish Moss in a cup of warm water. I've been getting chill haze in some of my brews lately, so thought rehydrating would be worth a try.
I don't think there would be a problem with mixing the yeast nutrient and the Irish Moss in the same cup of warm water, but thought it would be good to see if anybody knew of a problem. Since adding the cup of warm water kills the boil for a short time, I'd like to only do it once.
...you probably wouldn't want to trap your yeast nutrient in any gel formed by the irish moss.
I'd mix and add separately.
Mix and add separately...that's probably true. I just mixed them for the first time together on my last brew. I agree that it was probably not a wise move.
Wouldn't the yeast nutrient get trapped it the gel formed by the Irish Moss as soon as they both came together in the boil anyway?
See? Y'all are overthinking this ****!
Lots of interesting thoughts on the rehydration. It seems to be one of the many aspects of brewing with no definite answer. I'll probably rehydrate them separately just to be on the safe side. If after several batches, rehydrating the Irish Moss doesn't seem to help, I'll go back to adding it dry, and maybe try Whirlfloc.
Cheers.
Cheers.
If you dissolve the yeast nutrient before adding it, no.
Shwagger
Well-Known Member
This forum is so funny
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So tell me why it would do that if you rehydrated them together, but can't in the boil. If Irish Moss works so well why wouldn't it "trap the yeast nutrient" in the wort also?
When you mix them in the same liquid together, the irish moss gel would catch and hold the yeast nutrient granules before they dissolved. Mind you, this is a SWAG based on my understanding of how the two components work. I've never tried mixing the two together before -- nor would I based on what I just said. Irish moss coagulates clumps of protein, and the yeast nutrient, if mixed and added separately, would already be dissolved into liquid.
Reading this I wonder if it would be better to finish the boil using the Irish Moss, cooling, then add the yeast nutrient at the same time as pitching the yeast so that the Irish Moss is less active and can't strip some of it out during the cold break.
I'd worry about contamination from the yeast nutrient going into cooled wort.
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