Whirfloc vs Irish Moss

The thread in the General Discussion forum has me thinking i might as well share my recent, unscientific experiment with the masses, which resulted in my loss of faith in irish moss.

Saturday i brewed up 10gal of a pumpkin lager, and split the pre-boil into two 7gal portions, destined for two different carboys for fermentation. I added the irish moss but forgot to add my standard 1/2 whirfloc tablet to the first boil. To the second boil i added both, and the resulting post-boil clarity difference between the two is night and day (sorry, no pics). True, this is before fermentation and pre-lagering, so they both could clarify equally given enough time, but the amount of trub that settled/was discarded in the boil with whirfloc leads me to the conclusion that i'm wasting my money on irish moss. Though, it could be argued that the combination of the two resulted in the difference, but like i said, "unscientific".

Just thought i'd share for anyone new to the subject or who is on the fence about the two.

Irish moss and Whirlfloc are almost the same. Why would you add both to the boil?

That doesn't make a case for Whirlfloc being better than irish moss.

If you had the exact same recipe, boiling in two pots at once, kept boil volumes, temperatures, boil strength, chilling method and time the same and did irish moss in one and Whirlfloc in the other - both in the amounts that are suitable for that size batch - then maybe you could say something.

But honestly I don't know why there'd be much difference... as samc said, they're essentially the same thing.

Right. As my justifier "unscientifically" suggests, there's not much basis to my statement. A more accurate statement should be that I "prefer" irish moss + whirfloc as opposed to only irish moss, because all other variables were as constant as possible - one pre-boil split in two, same gravities, same boil volumes, same times, etc.

I've typically added both to the boil for the reason i've stated - i get very clear wort post boil. I'm not discrediting anyone else's preference here - i'm just commenting on what has objectively worked for me by means of comparison.

Whirlfloc is made form irish moss. Instead of adding both, you could just add more of one and it'd be the same thing. It's just odd using both.

I used to use IM all the time, then gave Whirlfloc a try for the first time about 2-1/2 months ago. I've stuck with Whirlfloc b/c it doesn't have to be measured and, IMO, seems to be like 'IM on steroids'. I just seem to have more break material left behind and my beers seem clearer. Anecdotal, I know.

I just use a whole tab of Whirlfloc per 5 gallon batch (I start with a 6 gallon pre boil vol).

I also agree with it being easier to measure... just grab one and plop it in along with my chiller.

Rhoobarb said:

... Anecdotal, I know.

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Same thing with me. I'm using Five Star Super Moss (just about the same as Whirlfloc) and just by observation, I think it works better than straight Irish Moss.

I better like it because at 1/4 teaspoon per 5 gallons, the 1lb container will last me the rest of my life! :cross:

Rhoobarb said:

I used to use IM all the time, then gave Whirlfloc a try for the first time about 2-1/2 months ago. I've stuck with Whirlfloc b/c it doesn't have to be measured and, IMO, seems to be like 'IM on steroids'. I just seem to have more break material left behind and my beers seem clearer. Anecdotal, I know.

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Me too. I've been using whirlfloc for a couple of years now, and I think it's so much better than the Irish moss I used to buy. I even started rehydrating the IM, and it worked slightly better but the Whirlfloc is amazing. I realize it's basically the same thing, but the Whirlfloc must have more "oomph" to it.

Is there any way to cut a Whirlfloc tablet in half -- for someone who only does 2.5 gal batches and doesnt need the whole tab?

I bite it in half - it's a bit crumbly, but ~half a tab for 5gal works for me.

Naked_Eskimo said:

Is there any way to cut a Whirlfloc tablet in half -- for someone who only does 2.5 gal batches and doesnt need the whole tab?

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Yes. Use a knife. It will crumble a bit, but just throw the chunks into the boil.

I'd also recommend to drop down to 1/4 tablet for you, since 1/2 is plenty for a five-gallon batch.

You could use a pill splitter, also I second the 1/4 or 1/2 tablet recommendation. One tab of whirlfloc is good for 10-15 gallons of wort.

Naked_Eskimo said:

Is there any way to cut a Whirlfloc tablet in half . . .

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Consider using Five Star Super Moss. The advantage of Whirlfloc over Super Moss is the convience of the tablet. If you start messing with cutting it in half you might as well switch products. And Super Moss is cheaper on a per batch basis.

SUPER MOSS is a negatively-charged, red seaweed based, Kapa and Lambda carrageenan coagulant designed to attract the positively-charged, haze forming proteins together in the brew kettle and primary fermenter then settle out. Supper Moss has been formulated to mix rapidly in cold water. This feature allows it to be added directly to the bowl without creating fish eyes of undissolved carrageenan. Properly used, it can help reduce chill haze. ​

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Naked_Eskimo said:

Is there any way to cut a Whirlfloc tablet in half -- for someone who only does 2.5 gal batches and doesnt need the whole tab?

Click to expand...

Pill Cutter