I’ve recently been made away of the negative health benefits of Irish Moss. Why do we, as homebrewers, use if we crash cool and/or fine with plain gelatin? What is the benefit of using Irish Moss?
I know there are a lot of knowledgeable brewers here and this is why I ask.
Negative health benefits?? It’s a form of seaweed. How can that be bad? Please cite your source of information.
I haven’t seen any information (that I recall, at least) concerning negative health issue from using Irish Moss. Like Martin, I’d be interested in seeing what is telling us that.
Thanks!
Paul
I was unaware until now (I’m blissfully out of the social media loop) but it appears, on Googling, that of late there has been mass hysteria on the internet over the supposed dire effects of carrageenan. As is to be expected it’s all false, traced to a gross misunderstanding of a single, discredited (for highly flawed methods, materials and documentation) study that did not even study carrageenan at all, but another substance, poligeenan, which has been confused with carrageenan because of the similar name, and which is not a food additive. A mountain of legitimate studies have been done on carrageenan, the food additive, all of which confirm its completely safe nature. But of course, one ignorant blogger glomming onto one piece of misinformation can spread hysteria halfway around the world before the truth gets its pants on, to paraphrase. Get your kids vaccinated, use your Whirlfloc, and don’t worry about falling off the edge of the world.
Irish Moss is actually carrageenan.
Dangers and side effects of carrageenan
Products with carrageenan may be labeled as “natural,” but limited studies show that carrageenan may promote or cause:
inflammation
bloating
irritable bowel syndrome
glucose intolerance
colon cancer
food allergies
Increased inflammation can lead to a greater likelihood of other diseases, such as:
inflammatory bowel disease
arthritis
tendonitis
chronic cholecystitis, or gallbladder inflammation
There are many sources on the 'net. Above from Carrageenan: Safety, Side Effects, and More
Now, some might say/think “So, what. We’re putting alcohol into our body, so what’s the risk of Irish moss?” My opinion is I’d rather not compound the negative things. If Irish moss is truly bad and we really truly don’t need it in brewing, if we cold crash and perhaps fine with plain gelatin, then why use Irish moss?
Irish Moss is optional. It is a clarifier.
PS. I use it.
No, carrageenan has not been associated with any of those symptoms or risks. Not in any legitimate scientific studies, only in internet rumors. Calm down.
Further, you clearly misunderstand the function of Irish moss in brewing. It is not interchangeable with gelatin used downstream. Irish moss is used to coagulate haze active proteins in the post boil wort. It then precipitates out and is separated with the protein material, so neither passes into the beer itself. Gelatin is used to aid flocculation of yeast post fermentation, similarly being separated. Neither passes into the finished product as either would when used as an emulsifier in other food products – where they are both still perfectly safe.
What I was going to say.
Hey, the Germans allow PVVP, which is a polymer, in their beer as a clarifier. It is not present after filtration, so it is allowed. Not natural either, but arsenic is natural.
This is a timely subject.
I recently brewed an American Red and realized during chilling I forgot to make and add Irish Moss. I did use Brewtan B in this batch so not too worried. Thought the Brewtan B might help and am going to cold crash cooler and add an extra day. Any thoughts or comments are welcome.
BrewTan B does help in a similar way, selectively binding proteins. Gallotannin has historically been used as a kettle fining though Irish moss has been preferred. Using both together is highly effective. BrewTan B added at least 1 minute before Irish moss or Whirlfloc will greatly enhance the performance of the latter. So you have some insurance. My schedule is BrewTan B at 7 minutes, Whirlfloc at 5, and PVPP at 3. This provides the elements of the commercial brewer’s Brewbrite, but with the ideal timing of each element, so better. Crystal clear, chillproof and highly flavor stable beer every time. But I guess we’re derailing this particular topic… sorry.
The articles you point to are referring to carrageenan as a dietary supplement or food additive and there seem to be several conditions that must exist before any ill effects. As a homebrewer you are only using about one teaspoon per 5 gallon batch which is a minuscule amount compared to someone using it as a daily supplement. If it scares you then there are many other kettle and post fermentation finings that you can choose from.
THIS^^^^
Being a seaweed, it may be the inherent iodine in Irish Moss that is related to at least some of the OP’s list of potential human maladies. I’m not sure if I ever discovered its nominal iodine level though. But likely it is measurable, and therefore people who might panic over adding a gram of table salt because it has a minuscule amount of iodine and then toss in a TSP of Irish Moss with potentially far more iodine are clearly not thinking things through all the way.
I don’t have nearly enough time to dig into the science, but I went deep enough down the rabbit hole to see that the first source for the primary source for that article was the number of results in an internet search.
No one has yet said " The dose makes the poison".
As far as I got down the rabbit hole, there’s no poison to be found, no matter the dose.
A large enough dose of water is fatal, no poison there.
That’s true. And it’s even more ominous if you call it oxidane.
I was just on my way here to say that!
I stopped using IM a few years back. In my opinion, I believe it to be a needless additive. Whirlpool for 20 minutes, cool and off to ferm tank. No perceived difference that I have noticed or could even tell. FWIW, I didn’t stop using it based on any internet rubbish. I just stopped.