Whirfloc

Quick question, if I wanted to use whirfloc to clarify my beer but I only brew 1 gal batches how much do I use? Half a tab? Do I even bother?

Closer to like 1/4 tab would work. I use half tab for 5 gal batches and full for 10. Irish moss works the same. You could measure it more easily.

Ok I’ll give it a shot. I’m experimenting on a porter. Would you even use tabs on porters? Are they generally used in lighter beers?

I use whirlfloc in everything except New England Ipas.(NEIPA): even a porter looks better when not murky.

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If your doing 1-eees, then after fermentation is complete, put it in the fridge for a few days… Its amazing what cold can do for you! Sneezles61

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1 tablet for five gallons so I agree that 1/4 would do it. Yes to the fridge also. Try to cold crash it a a lower temp than serving, close to freezing if possible. Your fridge should be in that range anyway.

I also put whirfloc in everything except something like a Hefe Weizen that should be cloudy. If you hold your pint of Porter up to the light to check out the color, you will want it not to look cloudy, just dark.

Still a newb here so could you explain cold crashing?

Hey no problem. It’s a simple as it sounds. Just placing your finished beer in a cold environment to clear it.

“Cold crashing is a process used to clarify home brewed beer by cooling it to near-freezing temperatures before bottling. Cooling the beer actually encourages yeast and other sediment suspended in the beer to flocculate (group together) and sink to the bottom.”

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When fermentation is complete and prior to bottling you can give your beer a couple of days of cold conditioning. This helps to precipitate clearing. It’s called a “cold crash” when you take it from room temp to cold storage. As mentioned above you want to get it colder than your normal serving temperature so you don’t get cold haze. So treat it like a short “lagering” and get it as close to freezing as possible.

So after the two week fermentation just throw it in the fridge for a few days?

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Yup, pretty much that… Simple, eh? I can set my cold chamber(fridge) to 32*. Sneezles61

I see that it may add another 4 weeks to conditioning though. That true?

Nope… so my practice is as such… Verify fermentation is done… Same gravity reading 3 days apart… I will then let it set at room temp for another week… Plus or minus a day… Set the cold chamber to 32, then put that sucker in there. If I get too busy it may sit up to a week… My usual time frame is 3 days… So, since I keg, I will prep my keg, purge it, and I will pull the cold brew out of the cold chamber, quietly rack into the keg through the the liquid port… I don’t even use gelatin either… Sneezles61