31 replies to this topic

[MyaCullen]

Which do you use?I use Whirlfloc, has anyone any experience with Supermoss? any good?

Edited by miccullen, 21 May 2012 - 06:38 PM.

[Deerslyr]

Irish moss here.

[Big Nake]

I chose Whirfloc. Somewhere I heard of people saying that Supermoss made Whirfloc look like Irish Moss. So I picked up some Supermoss where you just add ¼ tsp to some warm water and then add that with about 5 mins left. The label says you can use less but not more. What the hell does that mean? Anyway, my results were very lukewarm. I got some settling but nothing like Whirfloc. Then some people said not to mix the Supermoss with the water until just before you add it. Others said that it didn't matter when you mixed but it should be added more like 7 minutes before the end of the boil. I decided that all of that was madness and I went back to Whirfloc. I usually transfer around 4 gallons of ultra-clear wort to my primary. Once I get into that last gallon, I pick up some hop & break schputz but at least it's minimized. Whirfloc FTW!

Edited by KenLenard, 21 May 2012 - 07:49 PM.

[MyaCullen]

I chose Whirfloc. Somewhere I heard of people saying that Supermoss made Whirfloc look like Irish Moss. So I picked up some Supermoss where you just add ¼ tsp to some warm water and then add that with about 5 mins left. The label says you can use less but not more. What the hell does that mean? Anyway, my results were very lukewarm. I got some settling but nothing like Whirfloc. Then some people said not to mix the Supermoss with the water until just before you add it. Others said that it didn't matter when you mixed but it should be added more like 7 minutes before the end of the boil. I decided that all of that was madness and I went back to Whirfloc. I usually transfer around 4 gallons of ultra-clear wort to my primary. Once I get into that last gallon, I pick up some hop & break schputz but at least it's minimized. Whirfloc FTW!

I am happy with Whirlfloc myself, it does the job and doesn't require any special preperation, I have to get more so I figured I'd see if the consensus had changed

[beach]

I chose Whirfloc. Somewhere I heard of people saying that Supermoss made Whirfloc look like Irish Moss. So I picked up some Supermoss where you just add ¼ tsp to some warm water and then add that with about 5 mins left. The label says you can use less but not more. What the hell does that mean? Anyway, my results were very lukewarm. I got some settling but nothing like Whirfloc. Then some people said not to mix the Supermoss with the water until just before you add it. Others said that it didn't matter when you mixed but it should be added more like 7 minutes before the end of the boil. I decided that all of that was madness and I went back to Whirfloc. I usually transfer around 4 gallons of ultra-clear wort to my primary. Once I get into that last gallon, I pick up some hop & break schputz but at least it's minimized. Whirfloc FTW!

Whirlfloc is just so easy and works so well. A club member swears by Supermoss and gave me a little container to try. I thought it was very meh when I used it, just didn't see the coagulation of proteins like I did with Whirlfoloc.Beach

[Mindblock]

Used Irish Moss for years, and after my first use of Whirlflock a few years ago, I never looked back.When I saw the survey,, I asked myself why I might consider switching:(1). Does the alternative work better than Whirlflock?.....I don't see how that is possible.....proteins coagulate.....(2). Is the alternative easier to use than Whirlflock?.....I don't know what would be easier than tossing a tablet into a pot with 11 gallons of boiling liquid.....(3). Is it as good, as easy, and cheaper to use than Whirlflock?.....doubtful, at least not enough so to be meaningful when Whirlflock costs $0.02 to $0.05 per gallon of finished product depending upon how much the brewer uses, and the purchase price.As always, YMMV.....

[HVB]

I use whirlflock because it is so easy. I will just throw a single tab ion for 5 or 10g batches. When I first started I used Irish moss primarily because that is what I was used to from the kits I was buying. These days whirlflock is too easy.

[djinkc]

Whirlfloc - easy and it works. I haven't used Irish Moss in years. Tried Super Moss a while back. It seemed to work in the kettle but it wasn't as clear in the glass.

[Jdtirado]

I chose Whirfloc. Somewhere I heard of people saying that Supermoss made Whirfloc look like Irish Moss. So I picked up some Supermoss where you just add ¼ tsp to some warm water and then add that with about 5 mins left. The label says you can use less but not more. What the hell does that mean? Anyway, my results were very lukewarm. I got some settling but nothing like Whirfloc. Then some people said not to mix the Supermoss with the water until just before you add it. Others said that it didn't matter when you mixed but it should be added more like 7 minutes before the end of the boil. I decided that all of that was madness and I went back to Whirfloc. I usually transfer around 4 gallons of ultra-clear wort to my primary. Once I get into that last gallon, I pick up some hop & break schputz but at least it's minimized. Whirfloc FTW!

I am such a dumbass!!!! So you siphon the wort into your fermenter in order to not transfer junk? Heck, I thought whirloc helped everything settle during primary, so I didn't siphon from my brewpot.

[beach]

I am such a dumbass!!!! So you siphon the wort into your fermenter in order to not transfer junk? Heck, I thought whirloc helped everything settle during primary, so I didn't siphon from my brewpot.

All these kettle finings being discussed are used to coagulate proteins in the boil so that it can be left behind in the kettle. Getting coagulation is one thing, keeping it from getting to the fermenter is another. It takes practice with your own set up to get good at racking to the fermenter while leaving break and hop matter in the kettle, but maximizing the amount of wort you pick up. There is endless discussion as to whether keeping the break out of the wort makes a difference in the finished beer. Personally, I do my best to get clear bitter wort into the fermenter, but, I don't sweat it if some break and hops make it over to the ferm. That being said, I am currently working on some system changes to help minimize the schputz that gets carried over.Beach

[Jdtirado]

All these kettle finings being discussed are used to coagulate proteins in the boil so that it can be left behind in the kettle. Getting coagulation is one thing, keeping it from getting to the fermenter is another. It takes practice with your own set up to get good at racking to the fermenter while leaving break and hop matter in the kettle, but maximizing the amount of wort you pick up. There is endless discussion as to whether keeping the break out of the wort makes a difference in the finished beer. Personally, I do my best to get clear bitter wort into the fermenter, but, I don't sweat it if some break and hops make it over to the ferm. That being said, I am currently working on some system changes to help minimize the schputz that gets carried over.Beach

I currently pour from my kettle to my fermenter in order to increase oxygenation before pitching my yeast. When making my last batch, I saw this ring of stuff during cooling ( I'm assuming this is the much talked about cold break), but I didn't see how I could avoid getting this into the fermenter. I was also assuming that whirfloc would work in the fermenter.

[MtnBrewer]

I use Whirlfloc but I have some IM around as backup.

[MyaCullen]

I actually was contemplating making my own whirlfloc like substance last night, except I realized I would take 5 years to use it up minimum

[Big Nake]

JD: Some brewers have gizmos that reduce the amount of hop and break schputz that end up in the fermenter. You can look into hop bags (which keep the stuff contained so that there is less loose-hop bits in the wort) or muslin bags which do the same thing. I feel that keeping most of that stuff out of the fermenter will decrease the compounds that form, react and cause haze. I also like to reuse my yeast and the less schputz in the fermenter means the more of that slurry is actually yeast and not hop and break material. After getting 4 gallons of clear wort and another gallon (or so) of cloudy wort, I have maybe a half-gallon of sludge in my brewpot that must be 95% hop schputz. That gets poured down the drain. Cheers.

Edited by KenLenard, 22 May 2012 - 10:30 AM.

[Jdtirado]

I used hop bags a well, and whirfloc too. I thought that I might be missing something because my first brew had a lot of sediment in some of the bottles. I'm guess that I wasn't careful enough and tried to drain too much sludge before bottling.

[Deerslyr]

I actually was contemplating making my own whirlfloc like substance last night, except I realized I would take 5 years to use it up minimum

Ok... I'll bite (and plead ignorance at the same time)... how does one do this?

[MtnBrewer]

I used hop bags a well, and whirfloc too. I thought that I might be missing something because my first brew had a lot of sediment in some of the bottles. I'm guess that I wasn't careful enough and tried to drain too much sludge before bottling.

But your first beer was a hefeweizen right? Hefe is German for yeast so that sediment could have been just yeast settling out.

[Jdtirado]

But your first beer was a hefeweizen right? Hefe is German for yeast so that sediment could have been just yeast settling out.

No my first beer was an amber ale. The second was a Hefe...thanks to noticing tho!

[MyaCullen]

Ok... I'll bite (and plead ignorance at the same time)... how does one do this?

one contemplates buying kappa carrageenan in bulk, and mixing it with finely powdered Irish Moss, then measuring out small specific amounts into the kettle, in lieu of the pre dosed tabletsone would be nucking futs to really do this

[djinkc]

one contemplates buying kappa carrageenan in bulk, and mixing it with finely powdered Irish Moss, then measuring out small specific amounts into the kettle, in lieu of the pre dosed tabletsone would be nucking futs to really do this

So, I guess it'll be a busy weekend.