Hello folks! It’s the first time I post a topic here. I’m a beginner in the brew world, i’ve made 3 batch’s by now. I’ve been using irish moss in the boiling to clarify the beer. Here’s the cuestion: it’s allright to put the brew in the primary fermentation with the irish moss in it? That’s what I did, and the results didn’t disappoint me, but I’ve read some articles that suggest that after boiling I should make a whirlpool so that the sediments remain at the bottom. Is that bad?
I’d like you to give me advice about the filtration of the beer and how I can get rid off that particles that remains in the bottom of every bottle, and I apreciate any sugestion or advice!
Welcome to party. The clarity looks really good in the lowers and you have to keep in mind that gunk in the bottom of your bottles is what is carbonating your tasty brew. As far as the whirlpool, that really is a preference. When done correctly it will keep more from piling up in the bottom of your fermenter, but there are plenty of brewers getting the results they want by just dumping the whole works in. At the end of the day there will always be opposing views so make beers that interests you, take detailed notes and know that not every batch is going to turn out the way you envisioned it.
irish moss is great and I use it almost every time. The top picture looks like you poured a bit too vigorously as well. the best way to keep the gunk out of your glass is to pour slowly and carefully and leave the last ounce in the bottle. If you want the vitamin B swirl it up and drink it.
you don’t have to worry too much about keeping trub out of the fermenter. it makes racking to the bottling bucket cleanly a bit easier but that’s really the only upside.
The gunk at the bottom of the bottle is from adding sugar to the bottle for carbonation, which isn’t bad. Like the others said, you pour all but 1/2 inch of beer at bottom and your ready to drink. You could always go to a keg and force carbonate. It shouldn’t be more than a one time cost of $70-80 for a keg and $50-90 for the Co2 tank. It pays for itself after about 150 bottles, or 6 cases of bottled homebrew.
Whirlpooling is a must, and it’s easy.
The clarity of beer has a lot to do with floating proteins and suspended yeast. Proteins don’t affect the taste, but yeast does. A lot of people remove yeast by “crashing the beer” (lowering the temp) to the point of freezing for a few days, rack off the beer and bottle/keg.
If there is any remaining haze (typically at cold temps), it’s from floating proteins. Using the Irish Moss certainly helps, but a strong boil along with adjusting the pH balance in the mash, whirlpooling and a clarifying agent will clear up the beer quite a bit. My favorite clarifying agent is Polyclar along with a size 5 water filter. My beer is typically brilliantly clear. Filtering Polyclar is recommended due to the use of Silicone, which is not recommended for ingestion by the FDA. However, most homebrewers rack off the top of the Polyclar without issue.
No reason to worry about the Irish Moss going into the fermentor. It will settle out quickly once the fermentation is complete.
As far as the rest of the trub goes I’m in the “try to keep the big chunks in the kettle but transfer as much wort as possible” camp (if infact, it had a name). Some trub in the fermentor is actually good for the yeast and it will all settle to the bottom in the end. I wouldn’t age a beer on all that stuff but it doesn’t hurt anything to be in there for 2 or 3 weeks.
