Some stout recipes use irish moss in the last 15 min of wort boil. Is the moss exclusive for stouts or it can be use with all beer? Does it add any flavor to the beer or is just used as a clearing aditive?
Im asking cos is pretty cheap and if this help me get a clearer beer then i should use it in all my brews
Irish moss can be added to any recipe for any style as a clarifying agent. Whether it actually does very much in this regard remains an open question. I think maybe it does help sometimes, but isn't a cure-all either. I used it on my most recent batch just to see if I get crystal clarity, which without it I don't often get. So if this helps then maybe I'll become a believer. I've had far better luck with gelatin -- this is added at the end of fermentation, a couple days before bottling or kegging.
You can use Irish Moss for any beer style but I personally choose it when I brew beers intended to be non-clear (e.g., Wits). It adds no flavor; it is just a clarifying agent. I personally add Irish Moss to my homebrewed beers. It is cheap and the 'science' indicates it is effective. Cheers!
Gelatin? Sound good, ill look for it too and try both like you did and stick with the one that gives me a better result. Tx a lot for the quick answer
Crap, too many ideas lol, and what if you use irish moss and gelatin in the same batch? Is that allowed? Anyone has any experience with this?
I use Irish Moss in every batch. I have forgot to use it and my beer is definitely not as clear. I highly recommend this product.
You can do both, it will probably give you the best chance for a clear beer. Gelatin works very fast. What it does really well is to clump up and remove any yeast that remains suspended after fermentation is complete. About 24 hours after adding it, your beer will clear substantially and you can bottle or keg. In extreme cases, you can actually watch over the course of a few minutes while the yeast begins to sink to the bottom.
Have you ever experienced any issues with obtaining proper carbonation via bottle conditioning when utilizing gelatin? In your opinion does gelatin strip more than yeast from the beer; in particular flavor? Below is something that Dave Green (@telejunkie) posted in a past thread concerning fining with gelatin: "Gelatin i have associated with bringing a rocket launcher to a knife fight...it can strip just about everything, even wanted characteristics from the beer." Cheers!
Hard to argue with actual testing… http://brulosophy.com/2015/01/05/the-gelatin-effect-exbeeriment-results/ You'll notice that there was maybe a slight edge given in aroma, taste & mouthfeel for the non-gelatin beer, but not significant enough to call it so
Dave, thanks for that link. From the Discussion section: “Aroma Three tasters preferred the aroma of the beer with no gelatin while the other 2 preferred the gelatin-fined beer; similarly, 3 tasters thought the aroma of the no gelatin beers was somewhat similar to the gelatin-fined beer, while the others perceived them as being not at all similar. Flavor Four tasters preferred the flavor of the no gelatin beer while the other taster perceived no detectable differences; in terms of similarity, 2 reported the beers were not at all similar, 2 thought they were somewhat similar, and 1 felt they were exactly the same. Mouthfeel Three tasters chose the no gelatin beer as having better mouthfeel white the others preferred the gelatin-fined beer; 3 tasters believed there to be some similarity between the beers, while the other 2 experienced them as being exactly the same.” I am not a professional scientist but the above indicates to me that from an aroma/flavor/mouthfeel perspective the no gelatin beer was ‘better’. The most telling result to me was: “Four tasters preferred the flavor of the no gelatin beer…” Based upon this experiment I have zero desire to ever add gelatin to my beers. Cheers!
To be honest, I believe I've only used gelatin in my ciders and meads. I don't recall the last time I had to use it in a beer, if ever. In a cider or mead that seems to be permanently hazed, it's amazing how fast gelatin clears it up, and it has not hurt the flavor in my experience. But of course, this post will probably be deleted in a few minutes now.
Did you say this correctly, Jack, or is a 'NOT to use' missing from your sentence after the word 'choose'?
Yup, I am grammatically challenged there; missing a not in that sentence. I do not use Irish Moss when brewing non-clear beers (e.g., Wits). Cheers!
Yeah i had the same though as jack there. Does the gelatin affect carbonation? If it clumps the yeast am i gonna have enough yeast for carbonation?
Gelatin removes most but not all of the yeast. There's still millions of the buggers leftover to carbonate your beer.
