Irish Moss, How much?

[BrewTaster]

Stupid question but ive never used the stuff before and theres no info on the packet. How much should I use, and 15 mins is the general consensus on time?

Cheers

 

[Yooper]

1 tsp is the amount. In my opinion, it works best if it's rehydrated in about 1/4 cup warm water before using. I like to get my boil started, and then rehydrate the moss. By the time 15 minutes is left in the boil, the water is absorbed and the Irish moss is soft and soggy. Then I put it in the boil

 

[homebrewer_99]

I also pre-re-hydrate mine...

 

[velotech]

I've read 1/2 tsp, but I usually put more in. Probably about 1 tsp. I just dump it in the boil @ 15 and have never had a problem.

 

[david_42]

Strangely enough, the manufacturer of the moss I have says 1/2 tsp at the beginning of the boil. Can't say the timing makes any difference.

 

[BrewTaster]

Does it seem to make little clumpy bits in the fermenter at first? I assume that I didnt filter it out well, but it will drop to the bottom. First time AG, first time plate chiller, first time irish moss, so im trying to decide what may have caused this. It seems to have all settled out though. Cheers

 

[trig]

Em yeah I have a bit of an issue with the moss myself. This is my first time brewing and I bought a brewing kit, and a separate recipe kit. The irish moss came with the brewing kit and almost everything else with the recipe kit. So what I'm trying to say is in the midst of dumping all the recipe kit items in there... I dumped about 1/4 cup of irish moss in as well when the recipe calls for a TSP.

My immediate observations are the beer seems to be clearer than I would expect, but I just did it this evening and fermentation hasn't had a chance to kick in yet. Hopefully it won't have a problem with all that moss.

So is my beer just going to taste like seaweed or what?

 

[Jaybird]

I use a TBLS (I think that is a table spoon) in a 10-12 gallon batch. Yes Yes Yes re-hydrate the moss with HOT water. Works Sooooo much better. I re-hydrate mine when I fire up the system.

 

[Jaybird]

Em yeah I have a bit of an issue with the moss myself. This is my first time brewing and I bought a brewing kit, and a separate recipe kit. The irish moss came with the brewing kit and almost everything else with the recipe kit. So what I'm trying to say is in the midst of dumping all the recipe kit items in there... I dumped about 1/4 cup of irish moss in as well when the recipe calls for a TSP.

My immediate observations are the beer seems to be clearer than I would expect, but I just did it this evening and fermentation hasn't had a chance to kick in yet. Hopefully it won't have a problem with all that moss.

So is my beer just going to taste like seaweed or what?

If your going to bottle condition.... Add a little yeast at bottling time. I have had a customer come into my store and say he used the entire 4oz pack he bought from me and his beer was SUPER clear, but didn't carbonate in the bottle. Just a thought for you

 

[trig]

Thanks for the info, I don't have any more yeast though I guess I could try taking a sample and starting it in a separate container. I added a 1 oz packet not 4 so maybe it will be ok.. I hope.

 

[Denny]

Al Korzonas, I believe, did some tests years back that found the best amounts were 1/2 tsp. for extract and 1 tsp. for AG. I also rehydrate it.

 

[boydak]

I use a teaspoon right in the boil. I don't think you need to add more yeast when using it though.

 

[Yambor44]

Its amazing that only one person has said how much they use per what size batch!

I believe a Teaspoon per 5 gallons and like Jaybird said 1 Tablespoon per 10-12 gallons.

Haven't tried the re-hydration thing with Irish Moss yet. I'll have to give that a try next time.

 

[DrinkNoH2O]

What about straining?

Does it do it's job during the actual boil, or in the fermenter?

I always strain from the boil kettle to the fermenter, so I guess I would lose my Irish moss...

 

[BadgerBrewer]

I use 1 tspn for a 5 gallon batch. I have not tried the rehydration method, but my brews seem to be pretty clear after 2 weeks in the primary and a week in the keg cold crashing. I have also used geletin and am a huge fan as it gets the final product sparkling clear!

 

[JVD]

What about straining?

Does it do it's job during the actual boil, or in the fermenter?

I always strain from the boil kettle to the fermenter, so I guess I would lose my Irish moss...

Same here,Good question?

 

[BadgerBrewer]

BY putting it into the boil, the Irish Moss gives off particles that enter the final wort (much too fine to strain out). When the yeast do their work and the sugar is used up, the yeast will clump together in groups of thousands and fall out of suspension (flocculation). The remaining proteins however are smaller and don't clump as nicely and remain in suspension, making the beer appear cloudy. The Irish Moss makes the smaller particle aggregate together into heavier/larger particles which makes them fall out of suspension, making your beer clearer. Boiling it releases the k-carrageenan, which is some sort of polymer which is what forces the particles of protein together.

Too much science! I need a beer!

 

[IrregularPulse]

Its amazing that only one person has said how much they use per what size batch!

unless noted, it's safe to assume any batch size spoken of is 5G. I use Whirfloc tablets and never tried re hydrating. It's my understand that whirfloc is irish moss. Should I be re hydrating my whirfloc tablets for better performance or with it matter?

 

[febbrewro]

Is there much of a difference between using straight irish moss, or using whirlfloc tablets when it comes to beer clarity? If there isn't, I'd think whirlfloc is the way to go. No rehydrating, just toss the tablet it in at 15min and forget about it. From my understanding, whirlfloc is just concentrated irish moss anyways, right?

 

[Yambor44]

unless noted, it's safe to assume any batch size spoken of is 5G. I use Whirfloc tablets and never tried re hydrating. It's my understand that whirfloc is irish moss. Should I be re hydrating my whirfloc tablets for better performance or with it matter?

Good to know. I wasn't aware of that.

 

[BadgerBrewer]

There is no material difference between Whirfloc and Irish Moss. They basically contain the same elements and work the same way. I ran out of Irish Moss on my last batch, so I might give Whirfloc a try. Seems pretty easy and no need to bring out the measuring spoons!

 

[DrinkNoH2O]

BY putting it into the boil, the Irish Moss gives off particles that enter the final wort (much too fine to strain out). When the yeast do their work and the sugar is used up, the yeast will clump together in groups of thousands and fall out of suspension (flocculation). The remaining proteins however are smaller and don't clump as nicely and remain in suspension, making the beer appear cloudy. The Irish Moss makes the smaller particle aggregate together into heavier/larger particles which makes them fall out of suspension, making your beer clearer. Boiling it releases the k-carrageenan, which is some sort of polymer which is what forces the particles of protein together.

Too much science! I need a beer!

Ok, so straining after the boil in no way changes the effectiveness of the Irish moss.

 

[snevey]

I'm not trying to hijack your thread, but am curious if it's OK to harvest yeast after using Irish moss in a batch? It doesn't "ruin" the yeast, or otherwise kill it, correct?

 

[BadgerBrewer]

Straining it doesn't do anything to the effectiveness since is mostly disolves anyway. I have even read that you can add the Irish Moss at the beginning og the boil so that it fully rehydrates and dissolves ensuring maximum effectiveness.

It will not ruin the yeast either as it only forces proteins in suspension to clump together making them too heavy to stay in suspension which clears your beer.

 

[Denny]

Is there much of a difference between using straight irish moss, or using whirlfloc tablets when it comes to beer clarity? If there isn't, I'd think whirlfloc is the way to go. No rehydrating, just toss the tablet it in at 15min and forget about it. From my understanding, whirlfloc is just concentrated irish moss anyways, right?

There's no difference I've been able to detect. Someone on another forum recently raised concerns about the baking soda and carbonate in Whirlfloc and what that do to your water chemistry, but I haven't been able to find any info on how much is actually in there. Since I use 1/2 Whirlfloc tab for 5 gal., I'd guess not much.