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A lot of the homebrew I make is made with organic ingredients - organic grain and hops. However, I have never come across organic yeast (!?) or irish moss. Can I rightly call this beer organic, or does the addition of yeast and irish moss relegate it to "beer with organic ingredients"?

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Update: EU regulations also state that 95% organic ingredients is the minimum for a food product to be called "organic". ec.europa.eu/agriculture/organic/consumer-confidence/… – Poshpaws Aug 11 '11 at 15:29

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up vote 6 down vote accepted

Most organic products are not 100% organic. Compare organic carrots to organic carrot cake. The FDA or USDA has allowed that a small percentage of the ingredients not be organic as long as the primary and majority ingredients are organic. There are several organic beers out there that don't use all organic hops, yet the still retain the organic label.

I am sure your beer is organic enough to tell your friends its organic.

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Yeah, as long as it's 95% organic it can be labeled as USDA certified(usda-fda.com/articles/organic.htm). – Room3 Jun 7 '11 at 21:04
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Yeast itself is organic. The medium it's grown in may not be, but you;d have to contact the yeast manufacturer to know.

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Yeast is not organic if it was cultured with non-organic malt, just as a cow that has been fed non-organic grain cannot be labeled organic beef. But, like Brewchez stated, it doesn't really matter as long as the majority (95%) of ingredients are organic. – Room3 Jun 7 '11 at 20:59
Sorry Denny, got to downvote this one. – Poshpaws Jun 28 '11 at 15:28
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Guys, read what I wrote..."Yeast itself is organic. The medium it's grown in may not be". – Denny Conn♦ Jun 28 '11 at 17:21
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Denny - I was under the impression that some beer yeast strains have been genetically modified. I'll getback to you on this. – Poshpaws Jun 30 '11 at 10:15
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OK, looks like no GM yeasts have yet been permitted as far as I can tell. So, without taking account of the culturing medium, we can call yeast "organic". Denny - will upvote when I have the privileges. – Poshpaws Jul 3 '11 at 15:31
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