sour smell, taste will it die down?

I waited a bit to bottle. It probably sat in the the primary a week and the secondary another 4-5 weeks. Just bottled it, but it tasted a little sour. I don't know how else to describe the taste, but there was something else there as well, kind of like vinager. Does anyone know what could cause this? I bottled it anyway, hopeing the carbonation would help it die down a little bit. Even if it dies down to the point of being drinkable, is it still okay to drink? Will it make me sick?

I'm not an expert (with only 3 brews), but it sounds like you MAY have an infection. I'd give it a few weeks in the bottles and try it again. Young beer can have some funky flavors that do fade with time.
As far as it being bad for you, it's my understanding if you can actually stand to drink an infected beer, it probably won't kill you. Any experts here who can back me up on this?
Good luck.

Terje

Oh, it won't harm you. But it sounds like a gusher infection (in which case the beer will taste sour and gush when you open), lacto (sour) or acetero bacter (sour as in vinegar).

It's hard to tell, though, and it might be ok. Just keep your fingers crossed, and if it gets better, I'll be glad to say I was wrong.

Did it taste good a few weeks ago and then deteriorate?
If so, that's a bad sign.
But if it didn't taste great a while back, or you never tried it, it could be nothing and it may improve.
What was your recipe, was it high in sugar/dextrose?

edit: +1 to the fact if you can drink it, it won't harm you. All my old dodgey brews using a kit and a kilo of sugar 8 years ago weren't that fresh tasting, and I'm still here.

It definitely got worse. I tasted it when I transfered into the secondary and nothing stood out as being wrong. It's a three gallon all-grain amber ale. Pretty basic, it was my second all grain attempt. Not particularly high gravity, although I misplaced the recipe so I can't give specifics. There was nothing out of the ordinary, though. Just grain and hops, neither one in excess.

I'll give it a shot in 2 weeks. If I can stomach it, I guess I have to finish it! Perhaps I need some motivation to be more sanitary haha

Sounds like Yooper hit it.

Most likely you'll know when you open and the beer gushes.

Vinegar / sulfur is never good. The aroma will actually increase to the point where it's all you can sense (not so much taste on the tongue as in your sinuses).

I'd plan on testing a bottle every 5-7 days. If it degrades, there's not much point in wasting bottles.