Chilling the wort for an American Premium Lager and realized I forgot to drop whirlfloc at 15 min. Will be interesting to see the difference if any.
Even if its nice n clear I’m not going to stop using it. But instead of freaking out I’ll just see the difference
Actually I can tell already that whirlfloc does its job cuz it’s no where near as clear as I am used too. Looks like a wheat beer
I’ve found that time may not work quite as fast as whirlfloc, but it works nearly as well. I’d be willing to hazard a guess that by the time you’re done lagering you probably won’t see much of a difference.
Well, there’s five kegs ahead of it in the tap lineup, so hopefully I experience the same. I’m guessing this one will get kegged in two weeks and will lager at least a month
Whirlflock (and Irish moss in general) works great, but you can still get crystal clear beer without it. Ever hear of the reinheitsghebot? 
Sounds familiar
I went for a long time without using whirlflock or IM in my beer. In fact, I didn’t start using it again until recently a year ago or so. That mean, I was brewing commercially without using it. Then I just happened to use it once on a small batch and noticed immediately how much clearer the hydrometer flask was. The other hydrometer flasks without WF cleared up over night. With WF you could see huge chunks of break. So now I use it for ever batch. Except for wheat beers.
+1 to whirlfloc. It’s pretty effective.
I’ve never not used it till now. But, this lager has no chicken scratch in it so maybe I’ll see what reinheitsghebot tastes like.
I use Irish Moss and whirlfloc on occasion, but I don’t feel like it makes enough of a difference for me to freak out about forgetting to use it. The beer clears up in 2-3 weeks for me either way, typically.
I just ran out but doubt any more will be purchased. WF is fairly inexpensive and effective, but also is just another thing to keep track of and that list is continually under revision.
If it came down to it and you only had so much $$ to spend and a choice to be made, would you buy whirlflock or yeast nutrient?
Yeast nutrient, 100 times out of 99. I have used Irish moss 2-3 times, and never noticed a difference.
This made me think a bit. I’ve been using yeast nutrient in my stirred starters, but I don’t typically add it to my boiling kettle. Do you guys use yeast nutrient as a boil addition?
Also, I’ve been working through a big bag of Irish moss, but have been wondering about Whirfloc. I’d like to hear comparisons between the two, if anybody out there has done trials with them.
Yup. 1/2 tsp at 10-15 minutes left in the boil (whenever I add my IC). I use it on every batch, and I find it to be very useful if I am underpitching slightly, or plan to harvest the yeast cake.
Yeah, I’m in the camp that generally uses those items for different points in the process. Nutrient generally only goes in starters and whirlfloc only goes in the kettle. So, if I had to pick one I’d go with the nutrient. Neither one is worth freakin’ over though.
+1 to nutrient. I can get the beer clear, I need the yeast energized and ready to work.
I’d use 4oz less specialty grain and spend that 30 cents on whirlfloc and a half tsp of nutrient. Thankfully my budget isn’t quite that tight yet
Thankfully you can add wf and nutrIent at the same time so it isn’t a procedural issue. Could be a cost issue to some but I’d argue one is in the wrong hobby if $3 is a serious matter.
Whirlfloc is maybe $0.25 per batch and nutrient is maybe $0.10. I’m cheap, but I won’t fret over $0.35 per batch.
For me it’s all or nothing on the whirlfloc vs nutrient question. But that’s because I add them at the same time. If I forget one, then I’ve forgotten both by default. Honestly, they’re both just insurance policies. I’ve never missed either one the times I did skip them.