Whats this tablet with my hops? and a carbonation query

I ordered my first all grain kit (won't mention names as I am about to bash the supplier, but you order a kit and they send the malts mixed with the right yeast etc).

I can see the recipe is this one here http://www.beersmith.com/Recipes2/recipe_362.htm

and in the photo you can see the packet the hops came in, with some tablet that I don't see mentioned in the recipe. Any idea what this is?

It is for a weiss so doubt it is an Irish Moss Tablet (which is the only thing a friend can think it is). I have sent an e-mail to the supplier but he is always slow at getting back and I want to brew tonight.

Also the recipe (see link above) doesn't include any instructions about carbonation for bottles. Do i not need to or do I just follow one of the carbonation charts?

Looks like whirl-floc.
Unless you want flat beer , you need to carbonate it.

I think it might be Irish moss. If it Irish moss, you put that in your boiling worth after 45 minutes to help the sediment coagulate together

I've never seen Irish Moss as a tablet, so don't think its that.

Without knowing what it is, I wouldn't use it - whatever it is, its not essential, unless I've been leaving out something essential in my beers

As for carbonation, did they include priming sugar? If not, you can use 3/4 cup regular white sugar dissolved in two cups of boiling water, cooled and added to your bottling bucket or vessel.

Pappers_ said:

As for carbonation, did they include priming sugar? If not, you can use 3/4 cup regular white sugar dissolved in two cups of boiling water, cooled and added to your bottling bucket or vessel.

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Thanks will ditch the tablet, i just hope the supplier has given me the right hops!

No priming sugar was included.

What volume of beer is the 3/4 cup of sugar recommendation based on? I am curious as I see this recommended frequently.

It's a whirl-floc tab. Throw it in your boil at 10-15 min left in your boil.

Looks like a Whirlfloc tablet to me, too. Whirfloc is the same thing as Irish Moss, only it is pressed into a convenient tablet.

I would throw it in there.

Zogman100 said:

It's a whirl-floc tab. Throw it in your boil at 10-15 min left in your boil.

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Yes, it's definitely whirlfloc. I use it every batch. When I remember.

Whirlfloc is going to clear out the material caused during a boil, the yeast during fermentation will cause the cloudiness of a weiss. You dont want all of the break material from the boil so i would use it as others have said.

Likefully said:

No priming sugar was included.

What volume of beer is the 3/4 cup of sugar recommendation based on? I am curious as I see this recommended frequently.

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If we are talking about table sugar, by my calculations, that is 3.1 volumes of carb for a 5 gallon batch @ 68 degrees. In other words, overcarbed for a lot of styles.

If you are wanting to hit a given carbonation profile, you'll do a lot better to use a priming sugar calculator (like the one in my sig).

I usually put my whirlfloc in at flameout. Like yooper, when I remember, which is a huge caveat as I tend to forget pretty frequently. In fact, I suspect I don't even have any whirlfloc tablets on hand right now...


For all of you saying to put it in at 10-15 minutes before the end of the boil, throw away those instructions and put it in at flameout.


Think about the name: whirlfloc.

Whirlpool. That is when pro brewers use it.
Flocculation. That is what happens.

weirdboy said:

I usually put my whirlfloc in at flameout. Like yooper, when I remember, which is a huge caveat as I tend to forget pretty frequently. In fact, I suspect I don't even have any whirlfloc tablets on hand right now...


For all of you saying to put it in at 10-15 minutes before the end of the boil, throw away those instructions and put it in at flameout.


Think about the name: whirlfloc.

Whirlpool. That is when pro brewers use it.
Flocculation. That is what happens.

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The manufacturer states:

Wort Clarification, Cooling and Aeration

Whirlfloc® added towards the end of the boiling process facilitates protein coagulation, formation of a compact trub and the production of clear worts.

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Not at the end, towards it. Probably doesn't make a difference either way.

Whirlfloc takes a while to break up into the boil even with a hard boil, since it's pressed and compacted. Kinda like a brewing Fizzy tablet, if you recognize that name you're an old fart like me. Add 10-15 minutes before flameout if you want to actually break it down so it can do it's thing.

Yooper,
I thought you were more anal than to forget something like Whirlfloc. I line up all my additions in a neat row so nothing (hopefully) gets overlooked, because I've long crossed the line from detail oriented to anal....

ThatGeekGuy said:

Whirlfloc takes a while to break up into the boil even with a hard boil, since it's pressed and compacted. Kinda like a brewing Fizzy tablet, if you recognize that name you're an old fart like me. Add 10-15 minutes before flameout if you want to actually break it down so it can do it's thing.

Yooper,
I thought you were more anal than to forget something like Whirlfloc. I line up all my additions in a neat row so nothing (hopefully) gets overlooked, because I've long crossed the line from detail oriented to anal....

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I forget it all the time. In fact I've found that my plate chiller has made more of an effect on clear beer than any magic tablets.