help me give my brother an answer to his goof

[jimmywit]

so my brother brewed a great beer today only problem is he forgot about the iodine solution in his carboy. He had 1 gallon of solution in his 6.5 gallon carboy. He used 1/4 teaspoon of iodine in the 1 gallon and dumnped his wort on top of it. Is his beer ok and safe. I don't use iodine so i can not give him a good answer

 

[jamesnsw]

Iodine is poisonous. 2-3 grams can kill an adult.

You'll need a chemist to figure out how many grams are in a 1/4 tsp., but I'm guessing in 5 gallons, you wouldn't have enough to kill someone.

Now, will you get sick off of a bottle? I don't know. Will you get sick if you drink 1 sixer? Maybe.

Unless someone with more knowledge here chimes in, I personally would feel very apprehensive about drinking it.

At the very least, he's diluted his beer- but it still could turn out just fine.

 

[jmo88]

There is no way I'd drink that beer. Sorry. That sucks. But 1/6 of a beer being iodine sanitizer is too much for me to try. Why chance it?

 

[jimmywit]

I figured as much. I just never use the stuff and was hoping to pass on some good news. Thanks alot for the quick replys.

 

[rritterson]

1/4 tsp is about 1.23 mL. If you used IO Star, the MSDS says it's 1.6% iodine, which I assume is weight by volume, so 1.6g iodine per 100mL of solution. Based on those numbers you have about .02g iodine in your solution, or about .4mg per beer, and 1mg/liter. The WHO says the taste threshold for iodine is .15-.2mg/L (http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/chemicals/iodine.pdf). However, you can drink .3mg/kg of body weight of iodine per day without ill effect according to the same page. For a 50kg person, which would be pretty light, that would be 15mg/day, which would be, for your brother's brew, about 40 beers a day.

So, long story short, best I can tell the iodine concentration is not toxic or harmful, but it will taint the taste of the beer. I would finish the brew and then see if the off-flavor is present. If it is, toss it, if not, drink it!

 

[jamesnsw]

1/4 tsp is about 1.23 mL. If you used IO Star, the MSDS says it's 1.6% iodine, which I assume is weight by volume, so 1.6g iodine per 100mL of solution. Based on those numbers you have about .02g iodine in your solution, or about .4mg per beer, and 1mg/liter. The WHO says the taste threshold for iodine is .15-.2mg/L (http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/chemicals/iodine.pdf). However, you can drink .3mg/kg of body weight of iodine per day without ill effect according to the same page. For a 50kg person, which would be pretty light, that would be 15mg/day, which would be, for your brother's brew, about 40 beers a day.

So, long story short, best I can tell the iodine concentration is not toxic or harmful, but it will taint the taste of the beer. I would finish the brew and then see if the off-flavor is present. If it is, toss it, if not, drink it!

Thanks for doing the calculations!

 

[jmo88]

I wonder if it'll even ferment...

 

[coryforsenate]

You could always just switch to starsan.....

The foam is your friend

 

[jimmywit]

I wonder if it'll even ferment...

That is the same thing I told him and waa wondering myself.

 

[artyboy]

I know guys who use iodine tinctures to sterilize drinking water when they're in the boonies. It should be fine as long as it actually ferments.

 

[funkapottomous]

star saaaaaaaaaaan to the rescue

 

[KevinW]

Yeah the ferment is my worry too.
Who knows, maybe he'll have a new flavoring for his beer. "Hospitale"(get it, Hospital+ale)!
Woo hoo I am on a roll this morning!(meant to sound sarcastic)
Good luck I hope it turns out OK!

 

[rritterson]

I don't know anything about how yeast process extra iodine, but I would guess they have a way to render it inert/non harmful as long as they don't get exposed to too much at once. (the same way your liver can get rid of alcohol as long as you don't slam back 20 at once). You may kill a bunch of the pitched yeast while they try and deal with it, but there are so many cells you pitch that at least some will survive through that period. In essence, it will be like seriously underpitching the beer. You'll probably have a long long lag phase, and then it will start fermenting.

 

[mximus11]

I used to go backpacking a lot and when I didn't have a water filter with me I had iodine. I would put a couple drops in a quart of water and drink it down. Never hurt me. But... It did kinda taste like crap!

 

[JefferyL]

I just switched to StarSan for all the plastic. I am not a fan of iodine.

 

[DavidHawman]

I've been backpacking and used iodine to treat the water. I am pretty sure the concentration is much, much higher than what levels we use to sanitize. At that level it tastes pretty medicinal.

I say take a sip before you bottle and see if it tastes bad. If it does, then dump it. However, if you cant taste it I would wager its safe to drink as long as you don't drink it all in one day. Iodine is after all a necessary nutrient.

 

[JNye]

the solution to pollution is dilution

 

[jimmywit]

Thanks to all that responded. I spoke with my brother today about 36 hours after the goof, and so far all signs are good fermentation has taken off but slowly. He will check it in a week and if need be repitch. From all accounts if the fermentation goes ok I don't believe it will be harmful to him but may have some off flavors.

 

[tj-los]

IMO, If it ferments you should be ok. I think the amount being taken into the body will be ok. You will have one health Thiroid Gland.

 

[tom777]

the solution to pollution is dilution

I like this!