HELP my beer tastes like DEATH !

ok I just racked to my keg after letting this sit in the primary for almost 2 months....I poured a glass and almost gagged. It tastes like DEATH ! This is the first batch (brewed about 5 so far) that I would NOT drink. There are a few little black things floating in it and whatnot. What are these ??

it tastes like PISS and **** combined...its horable.

What did I do wrong ??? I'm definatly going to throw this one away. But I just want to know what I have to do next time to NOT ruin a batch again ! I brewed this batch the EXACT same way I have done every other batch ! and I'm pretty sure its infected in some way shape or form...

Could it have been the change in temperature in the basement as the beer ferments? my previous beers have all been in the basement durring summer when its relativly cold down there... I'm assuming its MUCH hotter since the furnace is heating up the basement like crazzy this time of year. Would this have anything to do with ruining my beer ??

infection, mold? A picture would deffinitly help. And i cant assure you that fermentation temperature wouldnt have anything to do with black floaties. Post a pic, your recipe and your starting and finished gravities. Also how confident are you in your sanitation?

What did it taste like when you kegged it ???

We definitely need a bit more information in order to help you diagnose this problem. At the very least, you need to describe the taste in more detail.

Jason

Definitely an infection- but usually even an infected beer tastes sour.

It could be autolysis- that has a very fecal smell, according to some brewers I know who've had it happen.

It might be the combo of hot temperature and the relatively long time it sat on the yeast cake. That could cause some "rotting" of the yeast.

YooperBrew said:

It could be autolysis

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The description matches the way I've heard other people describe it, although I've never smelled/tasted it myself. I think that's it.

Certainly sounds like it could be autolysis- under normal conditions, I wouldn't expect the retching stench to hit in 2 months, though. I suspect the high temperatures in your basement pushed things south fast.

Definitely sounds like a dumper at this point. For my own edification, tell me about your process and conditions during the ferment and conditioning.

Jason

YooperBrew said:

Definitely an infection- but usually even an infected beer tastes sour.

It could be autolysis- that has a very fecal smell, according to some brewers I know who've had it happen.

It might be the combo of hot temperature and the relatively long time it sat on the yeast cake. That could cause some "rotting" of the yeast.

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I concur, I leave my batches in primary up to a month or so. They should be OK for two months but two months at higher temperatures could cause autolysis (which rarely happens).

Read this section of HowToBrew, may help you determine if this is it.
How to Brew - By John Palmer - Autolysis

the beer looks like a beer...just a little cloudier.

When I was racking to the keg from the primary, I dipped a spoon in and tasted it. I made the gross face...I thought it might have been something that was just floating on the top....I guess not. The beer tastes incredibly sour and rancid. When you stick your nose in the glass, it smells like rotten beer...you know like the smell of a Frat house after a long weekend ? But when you drink it its much worse....eeww

aight, now, give us details. Process, recipe, etc. More info is needed. I mean, for all we know, your recipe was "toilet water, 3lbs black patent malt, 12lbs table sugar, bread yeast, mix together in fermenter, wait 2 months."

that's my recipe, you are psychic.

I'm going infection.

If it was autolosis you wouldn't have been able to get the sample up to your mouth to drink it. You would have known something was wrong when you opened it up and the diaper pail stench hit you.

I say infection of some sort...post some pics

hey, come now...i don't taste THAT bad...

At least he didn't say it tastes like evil. I know THAT can leave a bad taste in your mouth. Another vote here for infection. Whatever fermenter you used, I would give it the bleach nuking from orbit. It's the only way to be sure. Same with the keg and all its fittings.

EvilTOJ said:

At least he didn't say it tastes like evil. I know THAT can leave a bad taste in your mouth.

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Yeah, exactly. There are beers out there that are brewed with a little piece of hell in the boil. As I've said before (and I believe someone uses the quote in their sig), a good example of the "20 minute Hell addition" is Steel Reserve.

Does it taste like satan's anus?

This thread is missing something... Wait for it...

ohiobrewtus said:

This thread is missing something... Wait for it...

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don't do it....DON'T! NOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooo o o o o o .... . . . . . . . .

how about skunking, has anyone thought of that yet, skunking an entire 5 gallon glass carboy isn't unheard of.

Donasay said:

how about skunking, has anyone thought of that yet, skunking an entire 5 gallon glass carboy isn't unheard of.

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skunking is like....a skunk. not feces.

One more vote for autolysis. Dead yeast explode and send their guts into your beer, and it tastes to me like a mixture between vomit and feces (really). When it happened to me, it didn't smell THAT bad, but the first sip almost made me hurl. After that sip, even the smell of the stuff made me want to run away crying.

Or maybe the yeast wasn't dead, maybe it was undead.... .. ..

This thread needs to talk to one of DB's dead-hooker, ex-girlfriends to know exactly what death tastes like.

Congratulations, you have made Jenkem!

shecky said:

This thread needs to talk to one of DB's dead-hooker, ex-girlfriends to know exactly what death tastes like.

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Hmmmm..... Are you perhaps speculating that the OP has a dead hooker in his fermenter?

Is there a Jenkem section on HBT? Mods I think this might be good. How to piss and s**t in and bag and then smell it. I wonder how a weizen yeast would go with that.

I vote autolysis. Never seen it but the description sounds right on.

bull8042 said:

Hmmmm..... Are you perhaps speculating that the OP has a dead hooker in his fermenter?

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i knew i left her somewhere...

How does he know what piss and s*** combined taste like?

I vote infection as well.

Evan! said:

skunking is like....a skunk. not feces.

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Yes, but many people in their descriptions of "wow that tastes like ass" often have trouble describing exactly what type of ass it tastes like. It could taste like a skunk's ass.

ohiobrewtus said:

Congratulations, you have made Jenkem!

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ROFLOL!!!!!!!

ok well after letting it sit in the kegerator overnight and get cold. I just poured another glass... Appahrently my initial impressions where a little harsh. Now it just tastes like HORABLE bitter sour GROSS beer...almost like a heineken... the after taste is what does it, it leaves this verry acidic remnant on your palate.

I used the same procedure I have in the past. GOOD tap water from my GFs house in NH. Everything was sanitized with Bbright for a few minutes, rinsed then used. This was a coopers kit, but its rather light bodied, this one is probably all corn sugar

I'm very disapointed with it. But my budy actually said he liked it, and drank the entire glass......eeww. The next day when I rinsed out his glass, it had a THICK film on the bottom of the glass...like on the bottom of the primary...wierd. Maybee I'm just picky. But here are some pics..






EDIT: I just poured another glass, and am forcing myself to sip it again....it definatly leaves a milky thick residue on the bottom of the glass. NASTY...I'm sad because its ALMOST drinkable...but I'm definatly gonna toss this batch.

Donasay said:

how about skunking, has anyone thought of that yet, skunking an entire 5 gallon glass carboy isn't unheard of.

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Some people associate skunk with Heineken.... I'm Just saying... Was this thing in the sun at all, or was it near a bright light source.

illnastyimpreza said:

.....but I'm definatly gonna toss this batch.

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NO!!! You will thank me for this later. Bottle or keg it....and save it for your friend. If he likes it, why waste your good beer giving it to someone with no taste?
Give him the crappy stuff and drink the good stuff yourself.....

i'd leave it in the keg for a little while. it looks thick as hell...are you sure fermentation was finished and it had time to fall out? your latest description sounds much more like green beer than an infection.

DeathBrewer said:

i'd leave it in the keg for a little while. it looks thick as hell...are you sure fermentation was finished and it had time to fall out? your latest description sounds much more like green beer than an infection.

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that would make sense....the whole autolysis thing is kind of a ghost in the brewing world anyway...everyones afraid of it but very few have had the displeasure of experiencing it. What were your gravity readings compared with what the kit said? SG.....FG? All hope is not yet lost

I vote infected. Any sanitizer that you rinse off is ineffective. Get some Starsan. Anything that touches beer should be sanitized. Do not rinse off sanitizer. Always sanitize just before use. Do not add anything (except hops) to beer that has not been boiled.

I don't think there would be any harm in just leaving it in the keg for a month or two to see if it dramatically improves.

If it doesn't improve after some time then chalk it up as a loss to autolysis or infection, toss it, and figure out what went wrong so you can avoid it next time.

Parks said:

I don't think there would be any harm in just leaving it in the keg for a month or two to see if it dramatically improves.

If it doesn't improve after some time then chalk it up as a loss to autolysis or infection, toss it, and figure out what went wrong so you can avoid it next time.

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ok I guess thats a good idea. I pulled the keg outa the fridge, and along with the rest of the beer thats still in the primary, stuck them in the colder part of my basement away from the heater...propably around 60-65 degrees. I will leave them there for a while and see what happens.

I have found my batches are around 6.5 gallons instead of the normal 5, due to me getting a little zelous with water and such....but don't worry I add extra fermentables as well...

With my last batch, the first 5 gallons tasted MUCH greener then when I dumped the last gallon and a half in the keg. When I added the last of it, the taste was MUCH improved...I mean BIG TIME. The "apple" taste was completely gone. I'm wondering if this beer is just not ready ??? But its been 2 months !

WBC said:

I vote infected. Any sanitizer that you rinse off is ineffective. Get some Starsan. Anything that touches beer should be sanitized. Do not rinse off sanitizer. Always sanitize just before use. Do not add anything (except hops) to beer that has not been boiled.

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so you're saying NOT to rinse off equipment with water before I use it ?? My normal brewing process includes having 1 bowl of Bbright handy for on the spot sanatizing equipment. If I end up touching something like a cupboard handle, or my spoon touches the counter or whatnot, I splash a little bbright on it and then rinse them off...is this not good practice ?

should I start boiling all my equipment? plastic stiring spoon, airlocks, etc ?

IllNasty:

What people are telling you is that B-Brite is a substandard sanitizer. Do a search for Star-San or Iodophor, and read up. They are more effective sanitizers than B-Brite.

EVERYTHING that touches beer once it's boiled should be sanitized. Stirring spoons, airlock, racking canes, tubing, every single thing. Lots of people (myself included) keep a spray bottle full of sanitizer, so implements can be quickly sprayed with sanitizer and then used once the proper contact time has elapsed.

OTcontent: Nasioc guy? OTter?