Overdose of Irish Moss

I was taking a gravity measurement on my third batch today and decided to have a sample to see what's happening. It had a very distinct unpleasant taste to it, kind of a sourness / bitterness that's definitely not hop bitterness. It's something I haven't tasted in any beer before and I'm trying to track down what might have happened. The recipe is a ginger saison I took from Sam Calagione's Extreme Brewing.
I'm not sure if it's the root of the problem, but it should probably be noted that instead of the 1 tsp of irish moss the recipe called for, I added the whole 1 oz. bag from my LHBS. I'm awesome.
I was reading around here and people were talking about how too much IM could kill your head retention, but is there any chance it can impart off flavors as well when used in such gargantuan amounts?


Recipe as Intended
Preboil Tea
1 lb crushed Cara-Munich barley
2 tsp gypsum

Boil
6.6 lbs light liquid ME
1 lb light DME
2 oz. Green Bullet hops (bittering / flavor)
0.5 oz. Styrian Golding hops (aroma)
1 lb Belgian candi sugar
1 tsp Irish moss
2 oz. crystallized ginger

Fermentation
White Labs WLP565 Saison - Starter cultured two days prior to brewing w/ light DME

Wow... I can't really say from experience that this is what's causing your off-smells and flavors, but it could definately be one of the causes. I usually take my 1 tsp. of Irish Moss and rehydrate that overnight in the fridge with some water. When I'm ready to toss it in with 15 left in the boil, it does have a funky smell to it. Seaweedish basically because that's what it really is. I wouldn't worry about it too much right now though. Just continue on with your primary, secondary, and then bottling as you normally would. You may need to bottle condition this a little longer, but hopefully those flavors will dissipate over time in the bottles.

ironically i did the same exactly thing. didnt realize on my first batch that i had to portion the irish moss and tossed the whole 1 oz bag in not really paying attention to direction. i lost some head retention but no off flavors. i say be patient and wait till the finished product comes out and enjoy your homebrew.

time will kill most rank flavors...but not the burnt bag flavor in my belgian tripple

78kombi said:

time will kill most rank flavors...but not the burnt bag flavor in my belgian tripple

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Ugh that sucks. Thanks to all for the input. I'll sit tight and see what happens.

The first time I read about Irish Moss I figured I'd order enough for a few batches so I ordered 4 ounces!

I did realize in time that the dosage per batch was only a tsp but I could see that mistake being made easily. I'm still on the first ounce.