pentachris
Well-Known Member
I bottled my first 5 gallon batch yesterday after 22 days in primary. It's a Bavarian hefeweisen LME kit brewed in all new equipment. About halfway through siphoning it to the bottling bucket, I started to notice a cidery smell. (Note: I have chronic rhinitis, so my sense of smell isn't the best; the smell might have been present the whole time. The only thing I remember smelling when I cracked the lid was sweet, malty, a little banana - just what I was expecting it to smell like.) After bottling, I tasted some of what was left over and it had a slightly cidery taste. Furthermore, after soaking my primary pail for about an hour in B-Brite, it still has a hint of a cidery armoma. Possible culprits: temperature, infection or stale LME.
I was careful with sanitation on brew day, but there was a minor accident that could've introduced infection - I dropped the strainer into the fermenting pail when transfering the wort from the kettle. I _think_ the whole strainer (handles and all) had been in Star San and not just the sieve area, but I'm not 100% sure. When it happened, I immediately dipped my hand in Star San and retrived the strainer. Also, there's always the possibility of infection being introduced elsewhere - they happen occasionally to even the most careful of brewers, right?
On the temperature side, I got impatient and pitched the yeast while the wort was at about 80F. The first week of fermentation, it was behind a door in a utility room. I put the fermenting pail in a slightly larger bucket (about 3" larger in diameter, and a little taller), and filled the larger bucket with water. I don't think it did much to pull heat off of the fermenter, though. Our thermostat is set at 75, and the way the airlock was popping the first few days, I'd guess most of the fermentation occurred at or close to the 80 pitching temp. After a week, I scored a free chest freezer and got a temperature controller, so it went in there @ 68F for the next two weeks.
As for the LME, it was Munton's, and I got the kit from my LHBS. He's not been in business long, and doesn't keep a lot of inventory, but what he has he seems to turn over fairly regularly. I don't remember looking for any markings (date codes, etc) on the can, so I have no idea how old it was.
So now I have a quandary. I want to get a new batch in the fermenter ASAP. But, I don't want to put a new batch in there if the pail is infected. (If it's not infected, the lingering aroma shouldn't affect the next batch, should it?). Should I wait until this batch has carbed to further assess whether it's infected before using the pail? Or do you think it was a temperature problem, and I'm clear to start the next batch?
I was careful with sanitation on brew day, but there was a minor accident that could've introduced infection - I dropped the strainer into the fermenting pail when transfering the wort from the kettle. I _think_ the whole strainer (handles and all) had been in Star San and not just the sieve area, but I'm not 100% sure. When it happened, I immediately dipped my hand in Star San and retrived the strainer. Also, there's always the possibility of infection being introduced elsewhere - they happen occasionally to even the most careful of brewers, right?
On the temperature side, I got impatient and pitched the yeast while the wort was at about 80F. The first week of fermentation, it was behind a door in a utility room. I put the fermenting pail in a slightly larger bucket (about 3" larger in diameter, and a little taller), and filled the larger bucket with water. I don't think it did much to pull heat off of the fermenter, though. Our thermostat is set at 75, and the way the airlock was popping the first few days, I'd guess most of the fermentation occurred at or close to the 80 pitching temp. After a week, I scored a free chest freezer and got a temperature controller, so it went in there @ 68F for the next two weeks.
As for the LME, it was Munton's, and I got the kit from my LHBS. He's not been in business long, and doesn't keep a lot of inventory, but what he has he seems to turn over fairly regularly. I don't remember looking for any markings (date codes, etc) on the can, so I have no idea how old it was.
So now I have a quandary. I want to get a new batch in the fermenter ASAP. But, I don't want to put a new batch in there if the pail is infected. (If it's not infected, the lingering aroma shouldn't affect the next batch, should it?). Should I wait until this batch has carbed to further assess whether it's infected before using the pail? Or do you think it was a temperature problem, and I'm clear to start the next batch?