Irish moss, who cares?

[inchrisin]

I may get reamed for this one, but here goes. I'm wondering if Irish moss really does anything to your beer?

May I start by saying that I don't really have an issue with my homebrew being a bit cloudy. It's still delicious and that's 99% of what matters to me. I usually do darker beers and I usually just add the sediment at the end of the bottle anyway. Cold crashing is always an option too.

Anyone have any side-by-sides of a beer that they did with Irish moss, and one without?

I've just never heard anyone say anything definitive that Irish moss is worth messing with. Shun the nonbeliever

 

[Nateo]

Are you doing all-grain? I forgot to add Irish moss to one of my batches, and it ended up chunky. Cloudy is fine, but no one likes a chunky beer.

 

[wyzazz]

The guys at Basic Brewing Radio did just such an experiment, here is a link to their photos. Link to the podcast Here.

 

[pwndabear]

meh. to each his own. the look of a beer is every bit just as important to the taste of it for some people. It also has to do with style of the beer as well. I've used it a few times and it's always done the trick for me.

Cold crashing isn't always a feasible option for some people who don't have the room in their fridge to bring the temp down. Irish moss is a very easy means to help the finished product.

 

[Baldy_Beer_Brewery]

Most people who have a belief that home brew is full of floaties and whatnot are suprised when they see my beers. I use only Irish moss in the last 15 minutes of the boil which I feel is easier than cold crashing and have excellent results.

In fact for giggles one time I added Irish moss to my wheat beer recipe. Clear as a bell. A buddy of mine said it was the best Kristall Weizen he ever had. I tried to explain but he seemed happy with what he thought it was.

 

[barleyhole]

I've never brewed without Irish moss or Whirlfloc tablets. Irish moss seemed to do pretty well at getting the proteins out, but most of my beers had chill haze until I started using Whirlfloc. Similar to Baldy, I had a Belgian Wit I used Irish moss in, and it came out clear as day - though pouring in some of the yeast sediment took care of that!

 

[avidhomebrewer]

I haven't used Irish moss in over a year with my ag batches and haven't had any negative impact with excess floaties, turbid beer, etc. I used to use it religiously with every batch, figuring it was helping out. I forgot to get it one day from my lhbs and haven't gotten it since. Try it for yourself and see what happens.

 

[seanybubbles]

I suggest you brew to batches and take photos of the results (beer poured in a glass). I always secondary, so I find Irish Moss really helps to bring the yeast out of suspension. I find the combination of irish moss and cold crashing can produce crystal clear beer.

 

[Zamial]

I have a mutual friend another home brewer that lives a few hours away and we got together last weekend for a friends party. We have often talked about doing a brew day together but life seems to always interfere lol. Well, he saw my crystal clear beers and was simply floored. He wanted to know my secret and I told him Irish moss, he chuckled and said that he thought it didn't do anything and was a myth. We should get together within a month or 2 and I bet he will have a different tale tell then.

 

[ChshreCat]

If you don't need what irish moss gives you, then don't use it. You don't have to do anything just because most other people do it. My big rule of home brewing: "It's your own damn beer so do what you want with it and to hell with anyone who says you're wrong." If you don't want to put irish moss in it, don't. If you want to put gummi bears in it, go right ahead.

 

[steinsato]

Irish moss costs pennies. Whether it works or not, I put it in my beer everytime. I usually get pretty clear beer.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Meh. Seems like such a waste to put so much care and effort into making a beer only to skip a simple step and allow it to be cloudy. Presentation has as much to do with the food as the flavor.

 

[Quan]

Well, your question was "Does Irish Moss really do anything to the beer?" And then you follow it up with "I don't care if my beer is clear."

To answer your first question- Yes, it does do something to the beer. It aids in clarity. Done and done. It's proven by countless folks. In my experience, Whirlfloc is like Irish Moss on steroids and I love it. I love handing someone a beer and seeing the disbelief on their face when I tell them I made it. As opposed to my pre-Irish moss/Whirlfloc beers where people were hesitant to drink it because it "looked funny." Sure, maybe they're ignorant, but sometimes you just have to cater to the ignorant... not everyone wants to be a beer snobs like us. =P

The latter part of your post basically negates your question. So this post overall seems kind of silly. It's like asking:

"I'm wondering if (bleach) really does anything to your (colored clothes in the washing machine)?

May I start by saying that I don't really have an issue with my (colored clothes) being (ruined in the washer). It still (can be worn) and that's 99% of what matters to me."

Anyway, like others have said, if you don't care about clear beer, then I wouldn't bother with Irish Moss because that's all it does.

 

[Ender]

You can get clear beer without Irish Moss. I also had forgotten to pick it up one day and needed to brew. It was an IPA, also did a Pale Ale the next week with out it. Looked like the pictures from the basic brewing folks.

Just did a promary and then crash cooled it after a week and a half. Used a broken tube in my cobra faucet and filled a few bottles for the state fair. Got 4th with the IPA and nothing with the pale (misjudged the hop degredation, waaay to hoppy). None of the judges said anything about clarity. It was pretty clear when I entered it, and just got clearer the longer it sat in the keg.

So use, dont use.. if you're patient enough it'll all come out the same. That being said, next time I went to the LHBS I picked up some and have been using it since.

 

[NorCalAngler]

Fred Armisen as Joy Behar says, "So what? Who cares?"

I only left irish moss/whirlfloc out of my hefeweisen. I brew partial mash so I don't have as much break material as all grain, but still enough that I want to drop out. I may try a brew without it to see what happens. Even when I use whirlfloc I still get chill haze, which drives me nuts. Chill haze goes away after a few days in the fridge though.

 

[vinyl_key]

Meh. Seems like such a waste to put so much care and effort into making a beer only to skip a simple step and allow it to be cloudy. Presentation has as much to do with the food as the flavor.

IMO, a beer being cloudy doesn't detract from the presentation at all. As long as you don't have floaties, I think a prefer a beer that has a bit more turbidity than the average person

 

[mlyday]

If you don't need what irish moss gives you, then don't use it. You don't have to do anything just because most other people do it. My big rule of home brewing: "It's your own damn beer so do what you want with it and to hell with anyone who says you're wrong." If you don't want to put irish moss in it, don't. If you want to put gummi bears in it, go right ahead.

That last line made me think of this:

Homer Simpson: I'm feeling kind of low, Apu. Got any of that beer that has candy floating in it? You know, Skittlebrau.
Apu: Such a product does not exist, sir. I think you must have dreamed it.
Homer Simpson: Oh ... well, then just give me a six-pack and a couple of bags of Skittles.

 

[febbrewro]

I get clear beer with or without whirlfloc. Half the time I forget to drop the stupid tablet into the boil, so I have several batches using it and several without. The batches that use it are crystal clear after spending 2-3 days in the fridge. Batches that don't use it are crystal clear after spending 2-3 weeks in the fridge. I brewed a basic wheat beer that got so clear you could read a book through it after spending enough time in the fridge.

You can get clear beer using either method, it all depends on how long you want to wait I guess.


I'll also note that my beers also seem hazy if I just put them in the fridge for a couple hours before opening, no matter if I used whirlfloc or not. Not sure if this is my brewing technique that is flawed, or you just can't expect a clear beer unless it spends at least a few days chilling.

 

[Pivovar_Koucky]

I used to use it, now I don't. I'm not sure I notice a difference. I think a good hot and cold break does more to clear my beer than irish moss ever did for me. Of course, when I did use irish moss I was on the stove top and had a shallow sink, now I'm on the propane burner and have a deep basement sink which I fill with ice water. So maybe it has more to do with equipment than anything else.