BuddyWeiser
Well-Known Member
I've had 2 of my last 3 batches of beer go sour. The sour batches were in two different plastic fermenters. Pedicoccus is the likely suspect (due to slime in the infected beer and a sour flavor). Lactobacillius is also suspect.
I did not catch the 1st infection until the beer was already bottled. I had already washed and repitched the yeast from that first soured batch.
Amazingly, the batch I pitched that yeast into has never shown signs of souring. It is a Kolsch, so the delicate flavor should easily show souring if any were there. It's now ready to drink and delicious! This kolsch was fermented at room temp for a week and then laggered. It has been kept cold ever since.
Since that batch didn't go sour, I believed it was safe to wash and repitch yeast from that batch into my latest batch, which went sour before 2 weeks. (At room temp.)
Since the souring appeared separately in two different plastic fermenters about a month apart from each other, I want to blame the washed/repitched yeast. But the batch in the middle seems untainted.
I already tossed the third batch down the drain, along with the remaining washed yeast I still had in jars. I want to believe that my fermenters are clean and free of blame, but I absolutely loath the idea of dumping another batch. Do I really have to retire my plastic fermenters? What would you do?
I did not catch the 1st infection until the beer was already bottled. I had already washed and repitched the yeast from that first soured batch.
Amazingly, the batch I pitched that yeast into has never shown signs of souring. It is a Kolsch, so the delicate flavor should easily show souring if any were there. It's now ready to drink and delicious! This kolsch was fermented at room temp for a week and then laggered. It has been kept cold ever since.
Since that batch didn't go sour, I believed it was safe to wash and repitch yeast from that batch into my latest batch, which went sour before 2 weeks. (At room temp.)
Since the souring appeared separately in two different plastic fermenters about a month apart from each other, I want to blame the washed/repitched yeast. But the batch in the middle seems untainted.
I already tossed the third batch down the drain, along with the remaining washed yeast I still had in jars. I want to believe that my fermenters are clean and free of blame, but I absolutely loath the idea of dumping another batch. Do I really have to retire my plastic fermenters? What would you do?