32 replies to this topic

[drewseslu]

I will be pouring beers for 23rd St.in St. Louis, Id like to continue this discussion then.

What could Bucky possibly have going on that weekend? I'm not sure of the brand name we use at Schlafly as it comes in a giant box, but I will look it up. It appears to just be a granular formulation of Whirlfloc, At MBC I use Whirlfloc in tablet form (I believe it is the Whirlfloc T formulation), and it calls for something like two tablets per bbl of wort per 10 degrees plato, and works like a charm.

[Big Nake]

I used Supermoss for the first time on Thursday in an American Amber Lager. I took about 4 oz of my late runnings and put them into a bowl and let it cool. I measured out ¼ teaspoon of the Supermoss, put the lid on the bowl and shook it every once in awhile until there were 10 mins left in my boil. I dropped it in, finished the boil, chilled, stirred, whirlpooled, etc. The brewpot sat in the sink for an additional 20 mins with some ice. Results: The solids in the brewpot did settle but not as well as with Whirfloc. There was a loose, silty sediment on the bottom of the brewpot that was not as compact as it would be with Whirfloc... the separation of solids and liquids was not as defined. I got semi-clear wort going into the primary for most of the siphon. With Whirfloc, I would get ultra-clear wort for maybe 4 gallons and then I would get some Schputz. This way, I was getting a small amount of Schputz the whole time... which might end up being the same in the end. Bottom line though... Whirfloc is easier to use and settles solids better, at least for me. I will use it again and see if anything changes and I will probably take the next chance I get to pick up more Whirfloc. Cheers!

[djinkc]

It sounds like you had a lot better luck with it than I did. I kegged that batch Thursday and it did clear relatively well in the fermenter - I really wanted to get that beer off all the crap. Oh, my Whirlfloc showed up in time to use it when I brewed Thursday too. Worked like a champ.

[BlKtRe]

Considering Super Moss and Whirlflock both contain Irish Moss and Kappa Carrageenan says to me they are the same thing but in different form. So since i cant get a lifetime supply of Whirlflock for $16.00 and the results are similar at the very least negligible, its pretty much a no brainer.

[djinkc]

Considering Super Moss and Whirlflock both contain Irish Moss and Kappa Carrageenan says to me they are the same thing but in different form. So since i cant get a lifetime supply of Whirlflock for $16.00 and the results are similar at the very least negligible, its pretty much a no brainer.

I wonder if the difference is that I have coldbreak in the kettle and you don't.

[BlKtRe]

I wonder if the difference is that I have coldbreak in the kettle and you don't.

Meaning what? Are you saying chilling method plays into this?

[djinkc]

Meaning what? Are you saying chilling method plays into this?

Nope, just wondering why you have success with it and the only time I tried I didn't. I'd hate to toss it if it can work for me.

[Big Nake]

Again, getting super-clear wort from brewpot to primary seems a bit overly paranoid considering you're just going to add yeast to it and muck it all back up again. But I'd like to keep as much of that crap out of there as possible and while I was racking from brewpot to primary with the Supermoss, I was not very happy or impressed. Seriously, if I use Whirfloc on one of my "American Lagers" that are very light in color, it looks almost like I'm racking water into the primary... that's how clear the Whirfloc gets my wort. I'm not going to lose sleep over it because I will send all of these beers to secondary with a gel solution and let them chill in the keg for X number of weeks before they hit the taps. 2¢. Cheers!

[BlKtRe]

Again, getting super-clear wort from brewpot to primary seems a bit overly paranoid considering you're just going to add yeast to it and muck it all back up again. But I'd like to keep as much of that crap out of there as possible and while I was racking from brewpot to primary with the Supermoss, I was not very happy or impressed. Seriously, if I use Whirfloc on one of my "American Lagers" that are very light in color, it looks almost like I'm racking water into the primary... that's how clear the Whirfloc gets my wort. I'm not going to lose sleep over it because I will send all of these beers to secondary with a gel solution and let them chill in the keg for X number of weeks before they hit the taps. 2¢. Cheers!

Sounds like you justified using the lifetime supply of SP to me. Id be more interested in whats in your glass and not whats coming out of your kettle for comparison.

[BlKtRe]

Here are some pics of a few of my beers using Super Moss. No other clarifying agents used. The first is a IpA brewed 1 month ago. Cold conditioned for 2 weeks then kegged. Currently being served at 42*. Pacman was the yeast which helps. You can see my building and dog running thru the beer. Not sure why i would spend more money using Whirlflock? I know Ken has beautiful beers as well using Whirlflock. German Pilsner. Super Moss, Gr. Pilsner yeast, and Lagered using general protocols.

[ANUSTART]

I followed the directions last weekend and mixed the super moss with cooled wort before adding it to the boil. All I did was take out an estimated 3 oz into the hydrometer jar with about 15 mins to go and threw a couple ice cubes into the jar and swirled until they melted. Then I added the super moss, shook it like crazy and dumped it in with about 10 mins to go.When I was chilling, it did appear to be a little more egg drop soup-like, compared to what I remember of just throwing the powder straight into the boil, but that could just be my imagination.That being said, I don't know if it makes a difference in the final product, as I have always had very clear beer with just super moss in the boil and a couple weeks of cold conditioning. Same with whirlfloc. It'd probably be the same with IM, but I havent used that since I brewed extract.

[Big Nake]

Those beers that Andy posted look great, no question. When I think about all of these measures that we take (Irish Moss, Whirfloc or Supermoss, gel solution, some secondary time, cold-conditioning, etc.) it occurs to me that all of these things do help some amount... but it takes a bit of time for beer to get REALLY clear. I just killed a keg over the weekend and I knew it was getting low because the last 3-4 glasses were so unbelievably clear that they looked filtered. But the first 30-40 glasses were just "sorta" clear. I also think that we all have different definitions of clear. Some brewers come to my house, pull a beer and say, Damn, that is one clear homebrew! while non-brewers will look at my beer and consider it slightly cloudy and/or murky. The more time that goes by, the more I'm considering ChadM's beer filter!

[Big Nake]

I was getting a little peeved because there seems to be a wide range of results on the Supermoss. I used it again this morning and another local brewer told me that he added the SM to the cooled wort right before adding it to the boil. Last time, I added it much earlier than that. Here's my update from our local board...Supermoss update: On the batch this morning, I measured out my 4 oz of late runnings and put it off to the side. I measured out my ¼ tsp of Supermoss and added it to the cooled wort exactly 5 mins before I was to add it to the boil. I put the lid on the bowl and I shook it vigorously (in accordance with the scriptures). In fact, as I walked around chanting for that 5 minutes before adding it, I never put the bowl down or stopped shaking it. I shook it right up to the point of popping the top. I added it, got on my knees and prayed. I chilled, let the wort sit in the sink with ice and water and then racked to primary. Much better. There were very small trace amounts of Schputz in the tubing but it was MUCH better than last time. I'm not sure if it was the shaking or the timing on when the SM was added to the cooled wort, but whatever it is, it's a key component to this stuff working. Cheers!