Shelflife of Irish Moss

[BrewRI]

Hey I was looking at some add ins that might be helpful for brewing and irish moss looks like its worth it, clarifying beer for about 1$. I have a few questions though.

1) How do you store it and how long does it last?
2) How do you calculate how much to use (Based on malts or volume or...etc?)
3) Have you used it, did you like it, are there alternatives you recommend instead?

Thanks ahead of time.

 

[Clonefarmer]

I would recommend using whirlfloc tabs. They are made from Irish moss.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

In a jar. Never seen a shelf life published. Keep it dry and it should last long enough to use it up.

1 tablespoon per 5 gallons, IIRC.

I actually porefer SuperMossHB by 5 Star. It's refined powdered IM. You use way less. many others prefer Whirlfloc for it's superior clarifying abilities. Those are in a tablet form.

 

[maida7]

I have some irish moss that is at least 5 years old and it still works OK. I store it in a tuperware type container. I add a big pinch to the boiling wort with 10 min to go.

IMHO the whirlfloc tablets works better.

 

[Urban]

Ive had mine around 5 years, i keep it in the ziploc pouch it came in. The directions say to rehydrate it but i ahvent noticed much difference between rehydrating it before adding it to the boiling wort and jsut adding it to the wort dry.

 

[david_42]

I'm still on my first packet after 8 years. The instructions say 1/4-1/2 tsp at the beginning of the boil for 5 gallons. Every recipe seems to say something different, but following the manufacturer's directions works well.