Gypsum & Irish Moss = Miso Soup???

[Franzi]

What are your thoughts about using Gypsum and/or Irish Moss?

I made a batch this pass weekend and put a 1/2 teaspoon of each in the boil...the gypsum towards the beginning and the moss at about 30 minutes remaining. This was my first time brewing with these 2 ingredients.

When I put my 3 gallon crockpot in the sink for cooling, I noticed a clear layer of wort on top and about a centimeter or so beneath that clear wort surface, things looked a little cloudy and funky looking.

The only way I can describe it is the way miso soup looks...when you leave the soup alone for a while, the cloudy stuff goes to the bottom and the clear liquid stays on top (they separate), but when you stir it up, it all mixes together.

a) I hope this post makes sense
b) I hope somebody out there has eaten miso soup in the past and knows what I'm talking about
c) I can't wait for the comments

 

[Glibbidy]

I use Gypsum to lower the PH in the mash, and irish moss for finings with about 20 minutes left in the boil.

The cold break kinda does remind me of miso soup now that you mention it.

 

[blacklab]

Yep - the snotty looking stuff is your protein break, which the moss helped with. it will settle and you can rack to secondary and leave it behind. Best case would be to leave the protein break behind in the brewpot, but it sounds like you are beyond that step and in primary? Either way, I move the break to primary nearly every time and it settles out nicely.

 

[uglygoat]

it tastes better than miso soup, even before it's been fermented.

 

[Franzi]

After cooling I poured it through a strainer and in to the primary bucket so it collected all of the moss and other junk (junk = hop SEEDS that floated to the top...the seeds look just like the ones you find in crappy reefer)

 

[david_42]

Seeds happen. And, yes, they're related.

 

[Funkenjaeger]

Did you use gypsum for a particular reason, or just throw it in to see what would happen?

 

[sjwelna]

Seeds happen. And, yes, they're related.

Yup, same family; Cannabaceae. This site is great, I'm just learning about home brew and there is so much information here.....

-Steve

 

[Franzi]

I used gypsum since others said that it helped with the clarity of beer when used with irish moss. Figured I'd give it a try.

I typically brew hefes, so had no clue what to expect.

It's in secondary now and looks fine...smells BEAUTIFUL too