Irish Moss

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dean2k
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Irish Moss

Post by dean2k » Tue Jul 02, 2013 10:26 am

So... 1st time using irish moss this weekend. For those of you with glass carboys, is the look of irish moss in action suppose to scare the fuck out you at first?
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mr x
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Re: Irish Moss

Post by mr x » Tue Jul 02, 2013 10:45 am

I wouldn't know the difference, always use it, except the occasional wheat beer.
At Alexander Keith's we follow the recipes first developed by the great brewmaster to the absolute letter. :wtf:

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dexter
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Re: Irish Moss

Post by dexter » Tue Jul 02, 2013 11:03 am

Doesn't irish moss go in the boil?
Last edited by dexter on Tue Jul 02, 2013 11:08 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Irish Moss

Post by jacinthebox » Tue Jul 02, 2013 11:07 am

It's cool to watch the wort seperate during cooling...
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Re: Irish Moss

Post by adams81 » Tue Jul 02, 2013 11:41 am

Forgot to add this to a batch I did last night. What does it look like dean2k?

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Re: Irish Moss

Post by dean2k » Tue Jul 02, 2013 11:42 am

dexter wrote:Doesn't irish moss go in the boil?
Yeah, it did go into the boil. :banana:

After a few hours in the carboy it looked like I had croutons floating on top. However, as of this morning it looks like rather abnormally large (for me anyway) super clumpy flocculation. Just worried something might have snuck in that shouldn't be there. It's been just over 24 hours so I'll wait and see how things settle out.
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Re: Irish Moss

Post by jeffsmith » Tue Jul 02, 2013 11:45 am

I'm guessing you'll be fine. What yeast did you use? I usually get a really chunky looking krausen when I use British yeasts.

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Re: Irish Moss

Post by dean2k » Tue Jul 02, 2013 12:00 pm

jeffsmith wrote:I'm guessing you'll be fine. What yeast did you use? I usually get a really chunky looking krausen when I use British yeasts.
It was in fact my one and only packet of dry Nottingham that I had.
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Re: Irish Moss

Post by CorneliusAlphonse » Tue Jul 02, 2013 12:04 pm

i had some floaties that were crouton shaped, but they came from dumping 5L of cold water into my beer 30 minutes into the boil. instant cold crash
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Re: Irish Moss

Post by jeffsmith » Tue Jul 02, 2013 12:34 pm

dean2k wrote:
jeffsmith wrote:I'm guessing you'll be fine. What yeast did you use? I usually get a really chunky looking krausen when I use British yeasts.
It was in fact my one and only packet of dry Nottingham that I had.
That'd be your culprit right there I'd guess.

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Re: Irish Moss

Post by dean2k » Wed Jul 03, 2013 10:48 am

Things look back to normal this morning. Flocculating like a mofo. I won't lie though, I got scared when I saw egg drop soup and dumplings floating on top. Thanks for the moral support.
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Jimmy
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Re: Irish Moss

Post by Jimmy » Wed Jul 03, 2013 10:50 am

I've stopped using Irish Moss, didn't find it really made a difference. Most of my brews are clear within a couple weeks of being in the fridge..

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Re: Irish Moss

Post by mr x » Wed Jul 03, 2013 2:28 pm

I think the moss helps coagulate the hop pellet particles in the kettle, so that's the main reason I use it now.
At Alexander Keith's we follow the recipes first developed by the great brewmaster to the absolute letter. :wtf:

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Re: Irish Moss

Post by Maritimer » Wed Jul 03, 2013 3:17 pm

I'm on my last whirlfloc tablet, switching to irish moss, how much have you guys found is necessary in a 5 gallon batch?
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Re: Irish Moss

Post by canuck » Wed Jul 03, 2013 4:05 pm

I use just one tablet per 5 gal batch.

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Re: Irish Moss

Post by Maritimer » Wed Jul 03, 2013 4:31 pm

canuck wrote:I use just one tablet per 5 gal batch.
Thanks, but I was wondering about the loose irish moss, 5 grams? 1 tablespoon?
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Re: Irish Moss

Post by Ladd » Wed Jul 03, 2013 5:07 pm

I usually use 1 tsp per 5 gallons
"If you want to make wine all you have to do is tread a few grapes. Try treading some barley and all you'll get is sore feet" - Dr. Charles Bamforth

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Re: Irish Moss

Post by canuck » Wed Jul 03, 2013 5:13 pm

Maritimer wrote:
canuck wrote:I use just one tablet per 5 gal batch.
Thanks, but I was wondering about the loose irish moss, 5 grams? 1 tablespoon?
Sorry, thought you were talking about whirfloc tablets. :)

Like Ladd, when I used irish moss I typically added 1 tsp or so.

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Re: Irish Moss

Post by dean2k » Thu Jul 04, 2013 3:36 pm

Jimmy wrote:I've stopped using Irish Moss, didn't find it really made a difference. Most of my brews are clear within a couple weeks of being in the fridge..
I'm just starting to fiddle around with the clarity of my beers. I don't (current) have a dedicated beer fridge, so I store my beers at cellar temp and then move them to the fridge to cool before drinking. Probably take a considerable amount of will power on my part leaving a beer in the fridge that long without drinking it.

Here's a question: do you bother with a protein rest or a cold break rest period?
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Re: Irish Moss

Post by chalmers » Thu Jul 04, 2013 11:52 pm

CorneliusAlphonse wrote:i had some floaties that were crouton shaped, but they came from dumping 5L of cold water into my beer 30 minutes into the boil. instant cold crash
Didn't taste bad, though! :)

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