The dreaded neck ring

Rahbek · 10-18-2004, 09:18 AM

I have brewed an all-grain stout and now app. two weeks after botteling I get the dreaded rings around the bottle necks, according to Papazian a 100% sure sign of bacterial infection. The beer doesn't really taste or smell off, but being a stout it has quite a full taste on its own. My worry is that a bacterial infection will make the beer dangerous to drink? Is there any possibility that the rings are caused by yeast from the fermantaion of the priming sugar? I haven't had them before, but now I fear loosing two brews (the other one is in secondary fementation now) to poor sanitation...

BitterRat · 10-22-2004, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rahbek

I have brewed an all-grain stout and now app. two weeks after botteling I get the dreaded rings around the bottle necks, according to Papazian a 100% sure sign of bacterial infection. The beer doesn't really taste or smell off, but being a stout it has quite a full taste on its own. My worry is that a bacterial infection will make the beer dangerous to drink? Is there any possibility that the rings are caused by yeast from the fermantaion of the priming sugar? I haven't had them before, but now I fear loosing two brews (the other one is in secondary fementation now) to poor sanitation...

Well, it's possible the brew is infected, but 2 weeks is a bit soon to know for sure. If it is contaminated, it won't really hurt you, it may make you use the bathroom a bit more, but that's about it. You can wait longer and see, the if it's infected, it will become overcarbonated.Or you can start drinking it fast and won't have to worry about, you'll kill it before it really takes hold. But in the future, I'd start being very anal about cleaning and sanitizing, there's nothing worse than losing a batch to something you have complete control over.

Rahbek · 10-24-2004, 02:57 PM

Thanks for your input on this! I have "redecided" a bit on this issue, the bottles no longer seem to have deposits around the neck?

I feel that it might have been caused by yeast fermenting the priming suger, and now that is has finished the yeast cell have settled onn the bottom of the bottle. The beer does't smell or taste "off" or sour, and I don't expect it to have developed it's full flavour untill 1 -2 months after bottling. I have a slight cold so my taste buds aren't quite up to spec, so I think I'll give it a week or so and then taste and check for neck rings again.

I give good attention to my brewing hygiene, probably bordering to hysterical, but I feared to have an infected lot of bottles or an infected siphon.

rdlamb2 · 12-06-2004, 11:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BitterRat

Well, it's possible the brew is infected, but 2 weeks is a bit soon to know for sure. If it is contaminated, it won't really hurt you, it may make you use the bathroom a bit more, but that's about it. You can wait longer and see, the if it's infected, it will become overcarbonated.Or you can start drinking it fast and won't have to worry about, you'll kill it before it really takes hold. But in the future, I'd start being very anal about cleaning and sanitizing, there's nothing worse than losing a batch to something you have complete control over.

This is a little late for this problem but if I was sure my beer had an infection and but it was still drinkable I would consider pasturizing it in a hot water bath to kill the bacteria or wild yeast. I think if you brought the temperature up slowly and made sure there wasn't too much pressure in the bottles already you might get away with it. I brew in my shop so I don't have to worry about making a mess in the kitchen; I would experment and see how it went using considerable caution.

homebrewer_99 · 02-02-2005, 04:18 AM

Chances are it was just hop sediments floating on the surface.