Whirlfloc vs. Irish Moss, my observation

[Silver_Is_Money]

I have not been getting as pronounced, clean, and/or distinct a hot break from Whirlfloc tablets as I do with Irish Moss. I'm going back to Irish Moss. What has your experience been here?

PS: I'm fully aware of the Brulosophy tests of Whirlfloc and Irish Moss.

 

[Yooper]

Mine is exactly the opposite! Irish moss seemingly did very little whether I rehydrated or not, added it at 15 minutes or early or later etc. But one whirfloc tablet makes the clearest wort for me.
It could also be that some of my techniques have changed since the Irish moss, but I'm not buying more to actually do a head-to-head test.

 

[Soulshine2]

Im watching this thread. I've used whirlfloc only. I've brewed one batch without using anything , just quick chilling ,by advice from another HBT member . Didn't seem to matter.

 

[bierhaus15]

The best course of action when using any kettle finings is to run a small optimization trial for your process. It is very easy to do - you only have to do it once (for all malt styles) and it makes a huge difference in wort clarity and trub density.

 

[danielthemaniel]

My experience has been that Whirfloc tablets give me a noticable difference in clarity while Irish moss seems inconsistent. Considering whirfloc tablets contain both Irish moss and kappa Carrageenan; I dont see the purpose of just using Irish moss.

 

[lowtones84]

Both work in my experience. Whirlfloc does seem to be more consistent and probably do a bit more for me as well, but that's purely anectdotal. Have been using it a bit, but was pretty impressed at it's work with a saison with 25% unmalted spelt in the grist and a couple ounces of late hops.

 

[Spin711]

Anyone notice that using Whirlfloc vs no finings that it takes longer for break material to settle in the kettle after whirlpooling?
I have found that when I do not add kettle finings, that a whirlpool to pitching temps will settle trub fairly quickly with clear wort to transfer.
When I use Whirlfloc I find that the wort is cloudier and I can’t get as good of a cone in the center of the bk. It seems as though it suspends particles longer after flameout. I just find that strange

 

[Redpappy]

So out of curiosity, do you use 1/2 tablet or a full tablet of whirlfloc in a 5.5 gal batch?

I have used both whirlfloc and irish moss, but have not done a trial as to see which does better.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

So out of curiosity, do you use 1/2 tablet or a full tablet of whirlfloc in a 5.5 gal batch?

I have used both whirlfloc and irish moss, but have not done a trial as to see which does better.

I've been tossing a full tablet into roughly 6.5 gallons to the fermenter sized batches. I believe this is somewhat of an overkill.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

I have not been getting as pronounced, clean, and/or distinct a hot break from Whirlfloc tablets as I do with Irish Moss. I'm going back to Irish Moss. What has your experience been here?

PS: I'm fully aware of the Brulosophy tests of Whirlfloc and Irish Moss.

I'm confused by your post. Don't the instructions say to add the whirlfloc in the last 5 minutes? For a 60 minute boil, that'd by 55 minutes after the hot break.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

I'm confused by your post. Don't the instructions say to add the whirlfloc in the last 5 minutes? For a 60 minute boil, that'd by 55 minutes after the hot break.

My bottle says to add it with 15 minutes remaining in the boil. And that's what I've been doing.

https://bitterandesters.com/products/whirlfloc-tablets-10-pack

https://www.amazon.com/Home-Brew-Ohio-86-I3P4-OUHO-Whirlfloc/dp/B00A6RWEPQ

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

My bottle says to add it with 15 minutes remaining in the boil. And that's what I've been doing.

https://bitterandesters.com/products/whirlfloc-tablets-10-pack

https://www.amazon.com/Home-Brew-Ohio-86-I3P4-OUHO-Whirlfloc/dp/B00A6RWEPQ

OK, but the hot break occurs at the start of the boil.

 

[Alex4mula]

Everywhere I read says at last 5-15 min of boil. When I use it I drop a tablet around the last 10 min for 5gal recipe. I don’t use it on wheat, stouts nor porters. Seems to make a difference.

 

[javert]

Regular raw irish moss has given me results. Haven't tested Whirlfloc. On the other hand, I got zero clearing with the Super Moss powder, anyone has similar experience? Tried to dissolve it in refrigerated wort before adding it to the boil and still got almost null results.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Mine is exactly the opposite! Irish moss seemingly did very little whether I rehydrated or not, added it at 15 minutes or early or later etc. But one whirfloc tablet makes the clearest wort for me.

I have seen the exact same. For years I just tossed in a handful of Irish Moss (some brewer gave me a baggie a long time ago that I recently used up and purchased some new Irish Moss). I don't know what impact it had. I brewed a Belgian Pale Ale two weeks ago and threw in a Kick Carrageenan tablet that came with a kit...WOW the difference. I picked up a bottle of Whirlfloc tablets and used one today with the same results. Crystal clear wort with those big globs of "stuff" that settles out that I see people post pics about.

I don't know if it will impact the final beer (just kegged the Belgian Pale Ale yesterday). With my process, much of the break material still makes it into the fermenter. It actually seemed a little hard to tell the break material from the hop material.

 

[seatazzz]

I've used both, but I get better results with the whirlfloc, and the convenience appeals to me as well; no measuring, just toss in a tablet and done. I don't whirlpool, and my keggle diptube leaves most of the break behind anyway.