418Brewing
Well-Known Member
Okay, I bottled a Dark Maple Ale on November 17th. Sampled it then, tasted fine.
Tried one after a week in the bottle to see how things were going and it was sour. Not fruity sour, just sour-sour. Strong enough I didn't drink much before pouring it out.
Tried another after another week in the bottle. Still sour. Poured that one down the drain as well.
Waited 2 more weeks this time. Can't say whether it's getting less sour, it's still got some serious wang to it. Didn't drink that one either.
So skip to today (more than 7 weeks in bottle). Maybe I have lost track of how sour it was to begin with, but I could swear it was MORE sour. I spit it out and dumped the glass. And I don't generally spit food out regardless of what it tastes like.
I don't really have any burning need for the bottles at this time so I don't plan to dump the remaining bottles (pretty much the whole batch). I just need some feedback/advice from more skilled brewers.
1. According to my research, "sour for sour's sake" is the hallmark of acetobacter (sp?). From what I could gather, this isn't something that gets better with age. Is that true, does that sound like what I'm dealing with, and what would you guys recommend?
2. Regardless of #1, if I found someone who actually liked this beer is it even safe to drink? I'd rather the beer go to someone that will drink it if it won't get better on it's own, but I don't want to give someone a couple cases of beer that's going to make them sick.
Thoughts?
Tried one after a week in the bottle to see how things were going and it was sour. Not fruity sour, just sour-sour. Strong enough I didn't drink much before pouring it out.
Tried another after another week in the bottle. Still sour. Poured that one down the drain as well.
Waited 2 more weeks this time. Can't say whether it's getting less sour, it's still got some serious wang to it. Didn't drink that one either.
So skip to today (more than 7 weeks in bottle). Maybe I have lost track of how sour it was to begin with, but I could swear it was MORE sour. I spit it out and dumped the glass. And I don't generally spit food out regardless of what it tastes like.
I don't really have any burning need for the bottles at this time so I don't plan to dump the remaining bottles (pretty much the whole batch). I just need some feedback/advice from more skilled brewers.
1. According to my research, "sour for sour's sake" is the hallmark of acetobacter (sp?). From what I could gather, this isn't something that gets better with age. Is that true, does that sound like what I'm dealing with, and what would you guys recommend?
2. Regardless of #1, if I found someone who actually liked this beer is it even safe to drink? I'd rather the beer go to someone that will drink it if it won't get better on it's own, but I don't want to give someone a couple cases of beer that's going to make them sick.
Thoughts?