Infection after bottling or cause of sediment...

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itsernst

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So i just tasted my Chinook IPA and it has a good flavor to it, however I am skeptical as to if it may be infected. There is a hint of sour to it, which I could see with an IPA, and trails left in the bottle were odd looking. There was quite a bit of sediment in the bottle as well, which is where HBT comes in. Would heavy sediment in the bottom of the bottle cause these large bubbles?

I left it in secondary for much longer than it required and it attenuated down to 1.011, so it was definitely finished cleaning up. Has a great head, where I think the sourness comes from but alsothe Chinook hops are prevalent in the finish as well giving it a good flavor.


Thanks in advance

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An IPA, neither English nor American, should be sour. I'm guessing it's an infection. All bottle conditioned beers will have sediment like that, so that's not the problem. How long do you consider to be a long time in the secondary? I've come to the realization that the "secondary" fermentation is a myth and does more harm than good in the great majority of beers. Beer needs to sit in contact with yeast for a while to clean up off flavors. I've left beers in the primary for several weeks, up to 4 or 5, with no ill effects. With modern yeast the risk of autolysis is very low. Transferring from the primary to secondary introduces the risk for infection and oxidation without serving any benefits.
 
Also,secondary should have very little head space. You don't want o2 in there at the point where not much co2 is being produced. That can lead to infections.
 
chemicalcraig said:
An IPA, neither English nor American, should be sour. I'm guessing it's an infection. All bottle conditioned beers will have sediment like that, so that's not the problem. How long do you consider to be a long time in the secondary? I've come to the realization that the "secondary" fermentation is a myth and does more harm than good in the great majority of beers. Beer needs to sit in contact with yeast for a while to clean up off flavors. I've left beers in the primary for several weeks, up to 4 or 5, with no ill effects. With modern yeast the risk of autolysis is very low. Transferring from the primary to secondary introduces the risk for infection and oxidation without serving any benefits.
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Secondary for 3 weeks after primary for about 14 days. The other thing is the ferm temps were on the high side as well, at one point probably around 78 or 79.
 
unionrdr said:
Also,secondary should have very little head space. You don't want o2 in there at the point where not much co2 is being produced. That can lead to infections.
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So this could be a problem too as my 6.5 had quite a bit of headspace on it.
 
That combined with high ferment temps. You should've left it on the yeast cake for another week to clean up & settle out clear or slightly misty. Beer should at least be at FG before racking to secondary anyway.
 
uncommonsense said:
See I've noticed if I get a yeasty pour with that yeast I get a tartness but if I get relativly clean pour its fine.
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This is quite possible. I threw another 2 in the fridge tonight and will test again. I thought i did this last night but apparently I need to label my bottles what I have as it definitely wasn't an IPA. :)

It is possible the tartness is a better explanation than sour, although i think in fermentation language sour is automatically assumed as being an infection.
 
I do think it's tartness that's being described as sour more often as not. Whether from citrusy hops or just green beer...or even both.
 
itsernst said:
It is possible the tartness is a better explanation than sour, although i think in fermentation language sour is automatically assumed as being an infection.
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Or lambic Mmmmmmmmmmm lambic ; )
 
Speaking of which,they have some 750ml lambics in the beer cooler at giant eagle. The cherry one sounds interesting to me. I forget the brand...
 
itsernst said:
Secondary for 3 weeks after primary for about 14 days. The other thing is the ferm temps were on the high side as well, at one point probably around 78 or 79.
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That's too warm dude. try to keep us-05 around 65 to 70. you'll have better results. Maybe easier this time of year?
 
I got the premium dry yeast option with my cascade pale kit,which was US-05. Midwest says it's optimal range is 59-71.6F. Mine was at 72F till a while ago. But with re-hydrated yeast having some severe attrition,they went belly up.But boy,did that PM wort taste great with all the cascdes just the same. US-05 is a great,clean yeast we've used before. This was my 1st time re-hydrating it,& with my quick check therm goin south,I blew it on guess work. So if you do re-hydrate it at some point,make sure the water's temp is 90-105F,per instructions from the mani.
 
schittbreff said:
That's too warm dude. try to keep us-05 around 65 to 70. you'll have better results. Maybe easier this time of year?
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I agree. San Diego had a hot spell that kept my usually cool place much warmer than normal. I didn't have anything to temp control at the time either. Using Cool Brewing to keep my pumpkin at around 62 right now. Add that to the fall-ish weather in San Diego, pretty much 70-75, we will be right around that nominal temp

unionrdr said:
I got the premium dry yeast option with my cascade pale kit,which was US-05. Midwest says it's optimal range is 59-71.6F. Mine was at 72F till a while ago. But with re-hydrated yeast having some severe attrition,they went belly up.But boy,did that PM wort taste great with all the cascdes just the same. US-05 is a great,clean yeast we've used before. This was my 1st time re-hydrating it,& with my quick check therm goin south,I blew it on guess work. So if you do re-hydrate it at some point,make sure the water's temp is 90-105F,per instructions from the mani.
Click to expand...

From what i read though, S-05 is find even at 75F. I tried to get it this low, but it just wasn't happening.
 
Hey itsernest,, how is that jalapeno lager? I have a mirasol pepper blonde ale on deck, and I really like it. Just wanted to compare notes with you on pepper beers.
 
Sour or Cidery Could be Lactobacillus? It gets stronger over time and made a few of my batches less than drinkable.
 

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