How do you know if your brew is contaminated ?

Hello, How do you know if your brew is contaminated ?

Thanks
stephenAxe

Putrid smell and taste....it's not subtle.

HickoryMike said:

Putrid smell and taste....it's not subtle.

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Whats putrid??

So really i would no if it had right?

Yes. It would smell and taste terrible.

stephenaxe said:

Whats putrid??

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Roadkill in August.

You realize that it is very very very hard to ruin your beer, especially if it's your very first batch...and that you are just one of 1,000,000 nervous new brewers that we see on a daily basis, who don't realize that fermentation is often ugly and stinky, and that is normal.

Then you read these collected stories to understand that more than likely your beer is like there's fine.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/wh...where-your-beer-still-turned-out-great-96780/

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/ne...virtue-time-heals-all-things-even-beer-73254/

If you followed the instructions and did even the most basic level of sanitization as per the instructions that came with you kit or recipe then it is 99.98% likely toyr beer is fine.

I worried a little about my first batch, but it turns out that I hadn't left it long enough and it wasn't a very nice kit to begin with.

Since then I have had issues with some of my others... mostly when I opened them before I should have.

My advice? Take Revvy's advice - if you are really worried, maybe describe what you think is wrong, and some details about when you made it, when you bottled it, etc. It might give people a few hints if there is really something wrong.

lady_brewer said:

I worried a little about my first batch, but it turns out that I hadn't left it long enough and it wasn't a very nice kit to begin with.

Since then I have had issues with some of my others... mostly when I opened them before I should have.

My advice? Take Revvy's advice - if you are really worried, maybe describe what you think is wrong, and some details about when you made it, when you bottled it, etc. It might give people a few hints if there is really something wrong.

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Hello, thanks for all ur help. Its not the fact of describing the beer to find out what is wrong its just the fact that i did not no how to find out if it was or not as the instructions never said anything about how to tell

If you are using a kit, which is all I have used so far, the instructions don;t tell you much. They will tell you to let it ferment for 4-6 days and then bottle, and to leave it in the bottles for a week or two before drinking. This is not a way to get good beer. It will be beer, it will get you drunk, but it won't be good.

There is lots of info here... but basically you want to leave it in the bucket for 2-3 weeks (at least), you can move it to a secondary if you like (I do and add isinglass, I am trying to get some non-homebrew drinkers to accept it and they like it better clear.) Leave it in the bottles for a min of 3 weeks (and at least five if you can manage.)

Also, start a second and a third batch before the first is done, if you can manage the equipment. You will be much happier getting more through and ready as soon as possible. As time goes on you will get better beer, and probably try new things, like extract and all grain (I am not there yet.)

Good luck and enjoy!!

What everyone else said. Your wort has hops in it. Hops have anti-bacterial qualities. Once the yeast start their work making alcohol you have another antiseptic agent at work. Between the two it really is hard to mess up. Consider this. The first person to discover beer had probably left a pot of boiled grain uncovered for a week or more at room temperature. You can bet that the conditions were less than sanitary. Then they were hungry enough to eat it. There's a reason that everyone says it is really hard to mess up a batch of beer. Should you ever manage to do it, there will be no doubt in your mind because it will be truly nasty.

John

I know, I am digging up an old forum topic.

I am only asking because I have some strange airlock activity going on and although it taste fine, I am in fear of bottle bombs.

I see you say it is hard to contaminate a beer if you follow instructions yet I see you saying that when you contaminate your beer it will taste nasty and bad. Have you done this or are you just repeating what you heard?

Have you made a contaminated batch before and can truly say it taste nasty? Taste is an opinion. I love burnt popcorn. The kind that is dark charcoal black. No one else seems to like it. I like pickled eggs. It is a Philly thing.

Wondering as a new brewer if the taste I am getting, that I like, is contamination. Bad does not describe it to me. But different does. Kind of like dark roasted raisins or figs. Strange stout. Thanks for reading this and replying if you have information on bad beer.

The airlock activity is this. At 68 degrees, the airlock slowed to 45 seconds per blip. Then after checking the gravity on Sat, the Stout with 1.5 lbs of unmalted roasted barley at 500 L in a 5 gallon batch of mash, was at 1.018. Started at 1.053. Mash temp was 150 F at the beginning and fell to 148 after an hour and 10 mins. (single infusion.) Now 3 days later, I was watching and the airlock at 68 degrees is blipping every 20 seconds. Strange to increase. Contanimated?

KilhavenBrew said:

I know, I am digging up an old forum topic.

I am only asking because I have some strange airlock activity going on and although it taste fine, I am in fear of bottle bombs.

I see you say it is hard to contaminate a beer if you follow instructions yet I see you saying that when you contaminate your beer it will taste nasty and bad. Have you done this or are you just repeating what you heard?

Have you made a contaminated batch before and can truly say it taste nasty? Taste is an opinion. I love burnt popcorn. The kind that is dark charcoal black. No one else seems to like it. I like pickled eggs. It is a Philly thing.

Wondering as a new brewer if the taste I am getting, that I like, is contamination. Bad does not describe it to me. But different does. Kind of like dark roasted raisins or figs. Strange stout. Thanks for reading this and replying if you have information on bad beer.

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First, read this about "Strange airlock activity."

Second read This about green beer, and how you can't judge a beer accurate until it's been in the bottle and fully carbed and conditioned.

Thirdly Relax

Fourth go back and read the links I posted in my first posting on here.

Fifth, refer to rule number three.

I'm still a noob brewer, but from all my reading and research it is my understanding that even if the beer may be contaminated you can still re-rack your batch, bottle, keg or whatever by simply siphoning from below the contamination area which will most likely form on the top of the beer. I have seen some pretty ugly looking contaminations in online photos with stories from the brewers about how the beer beneath the contamination was surprisingly good tasting.

Its only bad beer if it cannot be drank by you. Beer cannot contain pathogens, so there really isn't much health risk. People have made beer in caves. I know some people in my brew club who have over 100 batches without infections, make great beer, and just wash everything with really hot water. Some just leave the lid of the fermenter resting on the bucket for 5 days and rack to a carboy. I have learned so much the past year.

I have had some interesting off flavors due to experiments gone wrong, but nothing I couldn't get down the hatch.
I normally do BIAB AG, but every 3rd or 4th batch is just a straight up kit. I have a couple I don't mind and extract brewing is soooo much faster than AG. I really like the Muntons Midas Touch Gold ale. I can make a batch of that between the time dinner ends and my son is done his bath. Now thats efficiency

KilhavenBrew said:

Wondering as a new brewer if the taste I am getting, that I like, is contamination. Bad does not describe it to me. But different does. Kind of like dark roasted raisins or figs. Strange stout. Thanks for reading this and replying if you have information on bad beer.

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Key signs your beer is contaminated:
Smells like a street riot: sweaty, burning tires, burning car smells.
Tastes like melted plastic: burnt PVC, plastic bandaids, etc.
Has odd little floaty crud in it.
Looks, smells or has a urinal taste.
Incredible gushing upon opening bottle.

If you're interested in a beer that meets all the criteria, let me know and I will mail you anywhere from one to 40 bottles of it COD. I have just a beer for you.

BrewMasta said:

I'm still a noob brewer, but from all my reading and research it is my understanding that even if the beer may be contaminated you can still re-rack your batch, bottle, keg or whatever by simply siphoning from below the contamination area which will most likely form on the top of the beer. I have seen some pretty ugly looking contaminations in online photos with stories from the brewers about how the beer beneath the contamination was surprisingly good tasting.

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Your choice, but I'd dump it. Mold is not an acceptable beer ingredient to me.

Im not sure about the racking below the mold thing. I think once it has mold growing on it, the character of the beer has been affected. However I have not done this ever so I am not sure. Just a guess. Also, the visual of the mold would cross my mind after each sip...

HopHeadGrady said:

Im not sure about the racking below the mold thing. I think once it has mold growing on it, the character of the beer has been affected. However I have not done this ever so I am not sure. Just a guess. Also, the visual of the mold would cross my mind after each sip...

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Many of us have racked below mold, and the beer was fine. Mold can only happen where the top of the beer gets in contact with oxygen. If the co2 layer has been violated. Mold can only grow in the presence of oxygen. Below the surface there's no oxygen, so the mold is not there.

Good to know. But would crap fall off the mold and settle in the beer and stuff? I will no doubt not dump a moldy batch knowing this though. My buddy got one in the summer but I never followed up with him to find out what happened to it. I know he racked it though

It was a light white layer of mold.... First weirdness I have seen live with my own two eyes...

highgravitybacon said:

Key signs your beer is contaminated:
Smells like a street riot: sweaty, burning tires, burning car smells.
Tastes like melted plastic: burnt PVC, plastic bandaids, etc.
Has odd little floaty crud in it.
Looks, smells or has a urinal taste.
Incredible gushing upon opening bottle.

If you're interested in a beer that meets all the criteria, let me know and I will mail you anywhere from one to 40 bottles of it COD. I have just a beer for you.

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LOL, Never been in a street riot. Never tasted from a Urinal. Not sure I have had melted plastic. But I imagine, this beer is just fine, cause I would much rather try roasted raisins and old prunes than the things you mentioned.