Beer Nightmare Comes True!

I made an Oktoberfest in August and put it in my keezer on CO2 about 3 weeks ago. After about two weeks it was tasting grreat and fully carbed. Open up my keezer last night and notice that the CO2 is out, figure no big deal because i have a spare bottle so just swap out. Was wondering if the beer was still carbed so lifted the relief a bit and it was still pressurized so i figured it was fine. Hooked up the new bottle and drew a beer. I immediatly thought that it looked darker than it should then i tasted it and it had a terrible bite to it.

I am guessing that this is oxygenated but for the life of me I can't understand how it happened. I figure that at the very worst if the CO2 leaks then the CO2 comes out of solution and leaves me with a flat beer with a blanked of CO2 on top to keep it isolated. This has happened once before when i removed a keg from the CO2 to make room for something else then when i go to hook it back up it is this same darker/fizzy/biting mess. Anybody else have issues when CO2 runs out or if a keg is removed?

It was sitting at 14psi and about 45F. Happened to all kegs (3) on the same CO2 manifold. Beer tasted just fine last week when the CO2 was good.

Need to find a solution because i lost two kegs of Oktoberfest and a half keg of bitter this time!

I've read it's hard for Oxygen to get into a keg when there's CO2 there, so I'm interested to hear what others think? Might there be anything else that could've happened?

Can you give a little more detailed description of the "biting" flavor?

I don't think of "biting" when I think of oxidized. Plus, I can't see how any significant amount of O2 can get in there from switching gas tanks.

perhaps you just stirred the yeast up a bit when you popped the valve and you are getting a yeast bite?

Dirty reg, dirty tank, dirty manifold, carbonic acid sensitivity, yeast, trub, ...

Whatever it is, it's not oxidation.

Let me taste it again when I get home and I will try to give more details, unfortunately I am terrible at describing taste but I will do my best. What about the darker color, is this indicative of oxygen or infection. Also has anyone had inspection spread to several kegs through the co2 line and spoil beer over a few days? Like I said the beer was great late last week and hasn't been touched since.

It's a lager that was cold crashed to 32 degrees before kegging so its def not trub and there can't be much yeast, even so I don't see how the relief valve would stir up the bottom of a 5 gal keg?

Darkening is a sign of oxidation, but I just can't believe you introduced enough O2 to make a noticeable difference. Not even slightly. Not in that much time.

Unless you are force carbing with a tank of Oxygen...

Would it be possible that the co2 container had some air in the bottom? I have used the same one before so not sure of that is even possible?

If all of the CO2 leaked out while contained in a keezer, it would have purged most if not the entire void of oxygen. I think the problem may be something else. When I ferment in the chest freezer there is no available oxygen in it, when I go digging around I have to come up for air.

Jsbeckton said:

Would it be possible that the co2 container had some air in the bottom? I have used the same one before so not sure of that is even possible?

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No. The tanks are filled with liquid CO2 and CO2 is heavier than air so both would displace any air in the tank as it filled.

Ok, tasted again and here is me best explanation:


More of a problem with taste than smell
Somewhat sour apple/ acidic
Mouth numbing
Astringent

Remember that it was fully carbed and tasting great before the co2 ran out.

Any guesses?

Jsbeckton said:

Ok, tasted again and here is me best explanation:


More of a problem with taste than smell
Somewhat sour apple/ acidic
Mouth numbing
Astringent

Remember that it was fully carbed and tasting great before the co2 ran out.

Any guesses?

Click to expand...

Straight up infection. Aceto?

Any idea how an infection could take over so rapidly after all of the transferring was complete? It had been sitting for 2 weeks carbing then all of a sudden...

Also it affected 2 kegs so it must have happened a while ago. Seems strange that all of a sudden an ingestion shows up right as the co2 goes out?

Just a thought, Did it freeze?
Whenever I hear of beer turning "darker" in the keg, that's the first thing I think of.

Didn't freeze

It's sorta from left field...and it doesn't explain the darker color...but what you're describing actually sounds like carbonic acid developed from over-carbonating your beer. Like I said, it's a shot in the dark but the taste descriptors are similar to an experience I had.

What do I do to see if its carbonic acid, keep purging? Or is it ruined?

danielbt said:

Straight up infection. Aceto?

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+1. Could be something missed in the kegs, or something funky in the lines or disconnects thats being passed through to the kegs once it all gets hooked up, or even inproper sanitation when you transferred to the kegs that just took a little time to grow. If you look inside the kegs is there any oily looking film or white residue building up on the surface of the beer? Little spiderweb looking formations perhaps? Maybe some fuzzy looking bubbles?

Jsbeckton said:

Any idea how an infection could take over so rapidly after all of the transferring was complete? It had been sitting for 2 weeks carbing then all of a sudden...

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Were you taking little samples for flavor/carb checks during those couple of weeks but otherwise leaving them be? Could have just been pulling beer in the lines if you weren't pulling full pints and it wasn't till you got past the "saved" beer in the lines that you started drawing the funked beer in the keg. Also the infection could be working from one place in the volume of beer out, and just recently reached the port to start pulling into the lines when you pulled the latest pint. Infections don't generally take over the entire volume of beer all at once but spread through growth, reproduction and diffusion through the liquid. Until that process spreads throughout the entire volume of fluid you could have some areas that taste perfectly fine and others that taste like something you wring out from a dirty gym bag. If it is an infection, make sure you VERY thoroughly clean and sanitize all the lines, faucets and disconnects before hooking up any more good beer to them.

BlueZooBrewing said:

+1. Could be something missed in the kegs, or something funky in the lines or disconnects thats being passed through to the kegs once it all gets hooked up, or even inproper sanitation when you transferred to the kegs that just took a little time to grow. If you look inside the kegs is there any oily looking film or white residue building up on the surface of the beer? Little spiderweb looking formations perhaps? Maybe some fuzzy looking bubbles?

Click to expand...

Somewhat oily surface, not sure if that is from the starsan or infection but there were small whitish floaties. Dumped it all, broke down all kegs, taps, hoses, carboys, and equipment. Soaked in PBW, scrubbed down and rinsed with starsan, replaced all co2 and beer lines. Holefly whatever it was is fine for good. Just transferred an amber to the Newley cleaned kegs, kegs should be good but who knows about that batch because it was made with same equipment as the spoiled batch.