Majikcook

Recipes 

Hey all, brewing 1st batch and have read enough to know contamination is not a good thing for your beer. Everything seems to be to plan and just got into secondary. But.. how do you know if it's contaminated?
Is it a taste thing or anything visual?
All replies appreciated!

NUCC98

Recipes 

I think you can tell from the smell. But one of the vets could shed more light on that....

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You Won't Find Moments In A Box...And Someone Else Will Set Your Clocks...

Janx

Recipes 

Put it this way: You can tell.

Sometimes there are visual clues (scummy layer on top, greasy looking bubbles). Often it will smell funky (tangy, piney, etc, etc). Usually it'll taste really REALLY nasty. Like you wouldn't want to drink it.

There are a bunch of different "flavors" of infection. I don't know their names, but I've run into several of them over the years and can tell them by smell. In the end, you won't want to drink your beer because it tastes so bad. That means it's infected.

If you were careful, your beer isn't infected. With good sanitation and a big yeast pitch, it rarely goes wrong.

Janx

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Oh don't give me none more of that Old Janx Spirit
No, don't you give me none more of that Old Janx Spirit
For my head will fly, my tongue will lie, my eyes will fry and I may die
Won't you pour me one more of that sinful Old Janx Spirit

Witbier

Recipes 

I've had a couple of yeast starters go bad. They had a odors that left no doubt that they had gone bad... very foul smell. As long as your batch smells ok, 99.9% chance it is.

rightwingnut

Recipes 

What about drinking contaminated beer? Will you get sick, or get a bad stomach?

Janx

Recipes 

Nope...you probably wouldn't be able to drink enough of it at any rate...

Now, if you choke down a gallon or two of the stuff, you may feel queasy, but it's one of those things that usually doesn't get that far.

As far as I know, you can't get a truly toxic infection (salmonella, etc) in beer. It's just not the right environment.

__________________
Oh don't give me none more of that Old Janx Spirit
No, don't you give me none more of that Old Janx Spirit
For my head will fly, my tongue will lie, my eyes will fry and I may die
Won't you pour me one more of that sinful Old Janx Spirit

NUCC98

Recipes 

We used to ferment Cider up at school using raisins in gallon milk bottles. Couple friends of mine fermented a bit too long, and I think they ended up with cider vinegar...but, well, being desperate college kids in the middle of nowhere, they drank it anyway...I'm pretty sure there was some degree of sickness involved...I mean, not counting the mental amount...heheh...

__________________
You Won't Find Moments In A Box...And Someone Else Will Set Your Clocks...

tipsymonkey

Recipes 

I just moved my batch from the primary to the secondary, and when i move it I took a smell and it was the first time that I've made a batch and seriously thought it had been contaminated. It didn't smell bad, but it didn't smell good either, so I moved it over and in the process got a bit in a cup to taste. It didn't taste horrible, but what it did taste like was watered down. its sitting now in teh secondary hopefully it will turn out ok.

Janx

Recipes 

Watered down flavor is no biggie. The taste of infection is usually a horrid horrid thing. Like just freaking awful. I bet you're OK if it wasn't outwardly disgusting.

__________________
Oh don't give me none more of that Old Janx Spirit
No, don't you give me none more of that Old Janx Spirit
For my head will fly, my tongue will lie, my eyes will fry and I may die
Won't you pour me one more of that sinful Old Janx Spirit

rightwingnut

Recipes 

OK, so how do the Belgians get away with it with their Lambics? They leave the wort (prononuced "wert"...ick!) exposed overnight to be "spontaneously fermented" by wild yeast and bacteria. What, they just have really yummy bacteria over there? That's not fair! I have a homebrew buzz right now, and I think I like it.