Just dumped my first batch :(

Hello, today as title says i dumped my first batch and i feel a bit gutted..

The american style ipa extract kit I was doing developed a sour taste after about a week in the fermenter. I went a head and waited another week then bottled it anyway just to see what would happen. Tried one yesterday and it was bloody awful more like a bad white wine then an Ipa. I have a few questions.

1.I was wondering what would do this?
2.What should i do to not experience this again?
3. Should I Bleach clean the fermenter? (cant get the smell out)

I do have a decent sanitation ritual using star san but I did forget to dissinfect the can the extract came in.

The brew fermented at about 64 fahrenheit.

Bummer man.

Sour could mean infection. Did you notice anything growing? You should review your cleaning and sanitation processes. What is the fermenter? Plastic? You could really toss a bucket if it is just that. Otherwise, you could try PBW or bleach but bleach could remain and then lead to off tastes.

Need more detail, what is your process, OG, FG, etc...cleaning techniques, etc. You shouldn't have to disinfect your extract container b/c you are adding it to very hot wort (either boiling or just finished boiling if adding at flameout). Let the bucket sit in really hot water and oxyfree overnight, even if smell doesn't come out, it will not impart any flavor into the next batch.

Sour usually means an infection caused by bad sanitation at some point. This would usually have occurred post boil as the boil would have killed off any nasties which got in from the can of extract.

ballsy said:

Need more detail, what is your process, OG, FG, etc...cleaning techniques, etc. You shouldn't have to disinfect your extract container b/c you are adding it to very hot wort (either boiling or just finished boiling if adding at flameout). Let the bucket sit in really hot water and oxyfree overnight, even if smell doesn't come out, it will not impart any flavor into the next batch.

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I usually wash my bucket with a fresh new sponge and antibacterial soap and leave it to dry out over night. I also take everything apart and then soak it in water, spigots etc. Then when brewday comes i soak everything in star san and spray star san on everything thats gonne touch the wort.

There was a thin caked up layer of foam on top of the wort after about 10 days and i tried matching it up to the pictures on this site but it just looked like a big yeast raft. Couldnt match it to anything but i now believe it was lactid acid..

Og was 1050
Fg was 1011

Anti bacterial dish soap isn't the best thing to wash your fermenters,etc with. And soaking the spigots,etc in water won't cut either. Use PBW or oxyclean-free to clean your stuff with. PBW & Oxy will soak everything loose. Then rinse well & sanitize right before using. This includes racking tubes,bottling wands,spigots, everything that touches the beer. And I think you mean a Lactobacyllis infection. It gets slimy white bubbles that get furry eventually. You probably just saw krausen remnants.

unionrdr said:

Anti bacterial dish soap isn't the best thing to wash your fermenters,etc with. And soaking the spigots,etc in water won't cut either. Use PBW or oxyclean-free to clean your stuff with. PBW & Oxy will soak everything loose. Then rinse well & sanitize right before using. This includes racking tubes,bottling wands,spigots, everything that touches the beer. And I think you mean a Lactobacyllis infection. It gets slimy white bubbles that get furry eventually. You probably just saw krausen remnants.

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just orderd some pbw.

edit: thanks

I had to dump a batch a few months ago because it just wasn't any good. It's a terrible feeling.

Same scenario I had with my first batch. I sanitized pretty well, so I think mine was due to cooling too slowly and/or having to re-pitch after killing my yeast by pitching at too high of a temperature.

It gets better though. Now you know the system a bit better and will surely improve on the next batch.

Plain old buck a gallon bleach works too - If I'm using a bucket, I dump a half a cup of bleach in it, fill it up with water, and let it soak for an hour or so. Rinse it out with hot water and it's good.

I have and use fancy sanitizers - star-san & idophor, but there is always a gallon of cheap bleach close by too.

The bad thing about a weak bleach solution is having to rise with warm water till you no longer smell it. Negates any sanitizing effects from said solution. Definitely not a cleaner either. The right tool for the job is always the best one. I value my hide more than saving a buck. Saving money on fresh ingredients,however,is another thing entirely.

unionrdr said:

Anti bacterial dish soap isn't the best thing to wash your fermenters,etc with. And soaking the spigots,etc in water won't cut either. Use PBW or oxyclean-free to clean your stuff with. PBW & Oxy will soak everything loose. Then rinse well & sanitize right before using. This includes racking tubes,bottling wands,spigots, everything that touches the beer. And I think you mean a Lactobacyllis infection. It gets slimy white bubbles that get furry eventually. You probably just saw krausen remnants.

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This.....I just use oxyfree, soak ferment bucket overnight. You really don't need a sponge, if it's soft it's ok but the scour side could be too abrasive and create tiny areas for bacteria to get in to. I simply rub the bucket walls with palm of my hand and it cleans off real easy.

Or gently & carefully scrub it inside with your bottle brush. But do it lightly,so as not to allow the metal parts to scratch the plastic. This is one time you don't wanna take a ride on heavy metal...

You should never dump beer that soon. I have had a few beers not taste good at all after 3-4 weeks grain to glass. But another 2 months in the bottle, and they cleaned right up. One actually was just plain awsome. Just remember, brewing is a waiting game. Time heals most wounds. If you ever encounter this again, i really suggest you at least keep 2-3 bottles and stick them in your pantry and forget about them. You will find em months later and I bet its not half bad, mabe even great

Terek said:

You should never dump beer that soon. I have had a few beers not taste good at all after 3-4 weeks grain to glass. But another 2 months in the bottle, and they cleaned right up. One actually was just plain awsome. Just remember, brewing is a waiting game. Time heals most wounds. If you ever encounter this again, i really suggest you at least keep 2-3 bottles and stick them in your pantry and forget about them. You will find em months later and I bet its not half bad, mabe even great

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Or if it's infected, you will put the bottles in your pantry and forget about them... until they explode in it....then to the doghouse you go. Time can solve some off flavors, but not from infections.

ballsy said:

Or if it's infected, you will put the bottles in your pantry and forget about them... until they explode in it....then to the doghouse you go. Time can solve some off flavors, but not from infections.

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LOL, good point Ballsy,

unionrdr said:

rise with warm water till you no longer smell it.

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Huh? One rinse with hot water was all I ever did - and the beer came out fine. You can smell the stuff down to the PPM level, so just because you can smell it doesnt mean that it's a problem.

Bleach is just as good as PBW/Oxyclean at getting the rings out of carboy's too - it really is a good cleaner. In fact I just bleached a carboy out today...

Sorry for your loss....

To get smells out after you have cleaned my LHBS suggested to leave it in the sun for a day... Something about the uv rays and the smell. Of course you would have to re sanitize before use...

After having used both,I think PBW is better & easier to use & rinse off. No after smells to worry about staying on the plastic.

Sour beers are all the rage these days... Should've just racked the whole thing into a secondary, thrown it out of the way for a few months to a year, and seen what you ended up with!

But I know that's not what you wanted, so sorry for your loss...


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ballsy said:

Or if it's infected, you will put the bottles in your pantry and forget about them... until they explode in it....then to the doghouse you go. Time can solve some off flavors, but not from infections.

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That sounds like the voice of experience.

In response to bleach vrs oxyclean, Oxyclean takes the cake without question from my experiance anyway. I can get the krausen rings off the inside of the carboy in two "shaking sessions" with oxyclean. Bleach has taken much more time.

BigFloyd said:

That sounds like the voice of experience.

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LMAO....luckily no. I bottled for about 7 mths before I went to kegging. Out of those batches, I got lucky on my second batch, RIS that I bottled with FG of 1.024...used normal amt of priming sugar...These were not "bombs" when opened but it would snake out and be foam from top to bottom when poured into container...Kegging is awesome for so many reasons!