Off aroma after a few months in bottles?

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Beehemel

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2009
Messages
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Location
Columbus, OH
I bottled my honey wheat in June and the last few bottles I've opened have had a distinct apple/cider smell. I know that the most likely culprit is acetaldehyde, but is it normal for it to still be around after 3 months+ in bottles? I should also note that the beer does not have an apple flavor, just aroma, and it did not smell like this three weeks after bottling. Here's the recipe for reference:

Honey Wheat - American Wheat or Rye Beer
================================================================================
Batch Size: 5.000 gal
Boil Size: 5.750 gal
Boil Time: 1.000 hr
Efficiency: 70%
OG: 1.052
FG: 1.012
ABV: 5.1%
Bitterness: 18.0 IBUs (Tinseth)
Color: 7 SRM (Morey)

Fermentables
================================================================================
Name Type Amount Mashed Late Yield Color
Wheat Dry Extract Dry Extract 5.000 lb No Yes 95% 8 L
Honey Malt Grain 4.000 oz No No 80% 25 L
Honey Extract 16.000 oz No Yes 75% 1 L
Total grain: 6.250 lb

Hops
================================================================================
Name Alpha Amount Use Time Form IBU
Liberty 4.5% 0.500 oz Boil 1.000 hr Pellet 12.1
Liberty 4.5% 0.500 oz Boil 15.000 min Pellet 6.0

Yeast
================================================================================
Name Type Form Amount Stage
Wyeast - American Wheat Ale Liquid 0.528 cup Primary
 
Nobody's ever seen this? I'm probably just going to let it sit and see if it goes away. If nothing else, I'll use it for beer bread or brats since it's such a lightly flavored beer anyhow.
 
So, if it's infection, should I toss all the bottles that it's in? I don't want to reuse them if it's going to infect future beers. Could I just soak them in a bleach solution to kill any nasties that might be left?
 
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