Brewed an IPA yesterday. All went well. Enjoying the sun, watching wife paint. Then a thunder storm rolled in. Slightly distracting. I just realized I didn’t add nutrients or whirlfloc. So an accidental test is in progress. Will see if it’s really needed in an IPA.
Second thought. If yeast pulls some hop character out why wouldn’t whirlfloc? Maybe one shouldn’t use finings in an IPA ?
Anyone ever figure that one out?
Kettle finings like whirlfloc will remove protein haze, but unlike the large amount of yeast I don’t think it would be enough to remove hop flavor. If your IPA is going to be a bit cloudy from hops or yeast, I wouldn’t personally worry about it.
BYO and Basic Brewing did an experiment…
I haven’t listened to this yet but will…
http://www.basicbrewing.com/index.php?page=basic-brewing-radio-2010
Scroll down to this…
June 10, 2010 - BYO-BBR Irish Moss Experiment
James, Steve, and Blake Lyon evaluate the experiment that attempts to determine whether Irish Moss or other fining agents make a difference in homebrew.
Thanks. I’ll check it out next time I find 3G