Incredibly off nose help. dill. hairspray. butters.

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NorJerseyHomebro

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Ok. So I just bottled a batch of beer, it's been sitting now for about 2 weeks at 65 degrees or so. Cracked open the first bottle and the smell really, really, really takes your breath away. It is like a mixture of dill, butter, and hairspray.
It is the first time in almost 30 batches I've had a problem like this where the beer was so bad I had to throw it down the drain. So my question is will time heal these wounds, or is it just totally effed?
I suspect the culprit was the kitchen(restaurant kitchen) where the beer was fermenting, temperatures would sing quite a bit. The first batch I brewed there tastes fine and that was even closer to the oven.
Maybe it was that I only let it sit on the yeast for 2 weeks but I've done that before and beer has turned out fine.
The other suspect in this heinous crime could be the yeast I used was recycled from the first batch. But I have used yeast cakes/harvested yeast before and it has gone peachy. So I'm really not sure. I assume the fault is diacetyl. really wonder what the dill notes are though. Maybe one of the chefs threw some in when I wasn't around. Damn kitchen people.
 
I would suspect the dreaded diacetyl since the brew only sat on the yeast for 2 weeks

no clue about the dill/hairspray though
 
It sounds like every problem you have is fermentation derived.

Butter is most likely Diacetyl.
You mentioned that you pulled the beer off the yeast a little early. Leaving it longer would have helped clean up this flavor. I think it is a real problem if temps climb during fermentation, then drop, slowing/stopping the yeast from cleaning up after themselves. This is why it is important to keep temperatures stable.

Harispray is most likely a solvent flavor.
Palmer notes one possible cause as high fermentation temperatures. It seems like high fermentation temperatures are going to be the theme of this post. Ales (especially English) benefit from some ester production, but even a few degrees can make your beer go from "pleasant fruity esters" to "solvent like esters".

Dill. You've got me there....but I hear dill, I think pickles. I think pickles...I think sour. I hear sour...I think poor sanitation.
The only beer I have had that tasted sour was a pumpkin ale that lacked some serious sanitation control. I personally think that sour is a sanitation problem, not a fermentation temperature problem. Another possible cause for sour is the dreaded gardenhose. What are the chances you used a standard green garden hose to deliver water on brewday? If you did, don't do it again. Food grade vinyl or "RV" hoses for potable water are the only real choices. You wouldn't believe how much a a difference that stupid hose makes. I ruined 3 batches before I figured that out.

Joe

EDIT: And yes, sadly, it is totally "effed". Time will only make it worse, and the "dill" will just completely dominate. Turn to one of those big commercial sinks and dump it. Try to address the things I mentioned next time, and write this batch off as a learning experience.
 
The dill isn't a sour note though, I noticed it when I was bottling but didn't think it was an off note at all, just interesting, but after it carbed up it became much more intense and nasty. But I didn't notice any off flavors at all when I was bottling the beer, I was thinking it would be a really good batch with interesting dill notes. Can it be that just one bottle was infected? Or is diacetyl something that becomes more pronounced with carbonation?
 
jfowler1 might be right but still, only 2 weeks in the bottle. Dont go dumping yet!

Unless you "really" need those bottles right away there is no harm leaving it another month or 2. Some beers need to be aged in bottles for a long time.

If you crack one in 6 weeks, and it still tastes the same, or worse, then dump, 2 weeks is too soon to be doing that.
 

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