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Author Topic: Brewday bummer  (Read 1131 times)

Online erockrph

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Brewday bummer
« on: May 13, 2014, 10:36:45 pm »
Just had some crap luck on my brewday. I brewed a doppelbock today. Everything was going great - hit all my temps and gravity readings within a point. I was planning on pitching on the yeast cake from a Dunkel I brewed recently. I was looking forward to getting the Dunkel kegged as well, since the pre-lagering sample I took tasted fantastic.

Unfortunately, when I cracked the lid on the Dunkel I got hit with a pretty strong sour aroma. The beer has a thin, shiny skin on top. It is undoubtedly contaminated :( It's been a hectic winter/spring, and I've definitely taken my chances and rushed through some cleaning/sanitization. Of course it has to catch up to me at the most inopportune time - with a big lager ready to pitch on the yeast.

Thankfully, I had a pack of 34/70 in the fridge. It's a bit less than I'd like to pitch in this beer, but not such a drastic underpitch that I'm worried about it.

On the bright side, I have an extra keg open now. The best plan of action is to get back on the horse and brew something easy. Looks like I'll be brewing some IPA soon...
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Eric B.

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Offline euge

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Re: Brewday bummer
« Reply #1 on: May 14, 2014, 06:43:11 am »
Bummer man. :(

I had a recent infection on a batch split between fermenters. One half was one of the best beers ytd and the other was awful. Turbid- the brew tasted like meat almost. Or rubberized broccoli. :-\ Monitoring this half up to racking time revealed that it was obviously still working despite reaching expected FG. Regardless, I kegged it. And it didn't condition out. The solution was to spike my glass with limeade to make the beer palatable and managed to finish it off last week.

I also suspect rushing the sanitation process. 

It's a good idea to keep backup yeast for emergencies!
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Offline denny

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Re: Brewday bummer
« Reply #2 on: May 14, 2014, 08:57:21 am »
I recently ended up with a slightly infected porter.  I told people it was a Belgian smoked porter and everybody loved it!
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Online erockrph

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Re: Brewday bummer
« Reply #3 on: May 14, 2014, 10:09:34 am »
Quote from: denny on May 14, 2014, 08:57:21 am
I recently ended up with a slightly infected porter.  I told people it was a Belgian smoked porter and everybody loved it!

The smell seems distinctly lactic. I'll have to chance a taste, maybe I can pass it off as an Oud Bruin...
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Eric B.

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Offline euge

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Re: Brewday bummer
« Reply #4 on: May 14, 2014, 10:45:58 am »
If the flavor is ok why not stun it with some campden tablets? Might salvage it to some degree in order to drink it up.
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The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. -Richard P. Feynman

Laws are spider-webs, which catch the little flies, but cannot hold the big ones. -Anacharsis

Offline HoosierBrew

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Re: Brewday bummer
« Reply #5 on: May 14, 2014, 11:01:51 am »
+1 to Oud Bruin (or similar).
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Jon H.
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