Pale Ale Soured in Bottle

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idover

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I'm trying to figure out what caused this so that I'm familiar with it next time. This is (to my knowlege) my first infection. I forced myself to drink more than I enjoyed hoping that I'd immediately recognize it next time. Though, now I have to put a name to it.

This was from a bottle that was only about 90 days old. The first thing I noticed was that it was very lightly carbonated. There was a very thin film on top, which is the "white stuff" floating around and difficult to distinguish in this photo (it looks like carb, but trust me, it's not). The taste was very sour, not unbearable, but certainly not enjoyable and I poured out more than half the pint. The rest of this batch was perfectly fine from a keg that was served over a couple of weeks.

Anyone have a clue?

Thanks!
Isaac

Sour%20from%20bottle.jpg
 
Could be anything. Do you sour other beers? Has your equipment come into contact with lacto or pedio?

I would assume no, since you probably would have already thought of that if you were into sours. Either way, it's really going to depend on the sour flavor. Unfortunately I've tasted two different infected batches and they weren't really sour as much as they were blow-your-mind-disgusting.
 
Keg you say? My brother is always sending beers back when we go out because he says he can tell when the lines haven't been flushed that day. I have never noticed but since you say the rest was ok, do you think it may have been in your dispensing equipment?
 
First, is it only this bottle or all of your bottles from the same batch?

Secondly, if it is infected and you have the space, save the rest of the bottles for a year or so down the road and see how they taste then. Maybe you will like sours in a year.
 
Thanks for the input!

This was the only bottle with a problem, and unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) it was the last of the batch. I was saving it to see it it would improve. I am meticulous with keeping the kegs and lines clean, and thankfully have never had a problem there. I'm pretty much always on top of sanitation, even to the point that it ends up drawing out my brew days and kegging/bottling. Luckily this was limited to a 12oz problem. I just rememberd a couple of things that could have been involved - 1) This bottle was certainly reused over many batches, though I clean multiple times and sanitize, and 2) I used the Cooper's carb drops and dropped them in by hand. When I used the drops for the first time, I remember thinking, "This doesn't seem very sanitary. I should wear gloves."

At least it's a small problem, right?
 
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