beer - possibly vinegar... safe?

SSBrew - 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
T

Timekiller

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2007
Messages
124
Reaction score
0
Location
North New Jersey
Ok, so a few months ago I brewed a Hefe Wizen. Long story short, I left 1/2 to 1 gal of one step in the bottom of the fermenter when I poured in the wort. I realized and piched the yeast. Racked to corny, and put enough gas to seal (as I thought). Ran out of gas and couldnt reseal.

The beer smelled like vinegar, and had flies/larva around the top of the keg. I now realize I may have made vinegar,

so... Is this stuff save to drink? Can I pasturize it? I don't know what Im going to do with 5 gal of vinegar, but Id rather do that than dump.
 
Timekiller said:
Ok, so a few months ago I brewed a Hefe Wizen. Long story short, I left 1/2 to 1 gal of one step in the bottom of the fermenter when I poured in the wort. I realized and piched the yeast. Racked to corny, and put enough gas to seal (as I thought). Ran out of gas and couldnt reseal.

The beer smelled like vinegar, and had flies/larva around the top of the keg. I now realize I may have made vinegar,

so... Is this stuff save to drink? Can I pasturize it? I don't know what Im going to do with 5 gal of vinegar, but Id rather do that than dump.
Click to expand...

Is the One-Step still in there? For clarification please. If so, would this be safe to drink since it is so much of the total "beer"?
 
Brew-Happy said:
Is the One-Step still in there? For clarification please. If so, would this be safe to drink since it is so much of the total "beer"?
Click to expand...

Yes, the 1/2-1 gal of one step is in there. This is one of the reasons I don't know if its safe. I would assume so, since the yeast lived through it.
 
Timekiller said:
Yes, the 1/2-1 gal of one step is in there. This is one of the reasons I don't know if its safe. I would assume so, since the yeast lived through it.
Click to expand...

One step is sodium percarbonate, which breaks down into sodium carbonate and hydrogen peroxide. The hydrogen peroxide reacts with stuff to break down into water and oxygen. The sodium carbonate is a typical food additive, and binds to minerals in water and stuff.

Basically, it's safe. It's oxiclean.
 
I tasted the "brew" last night. It's def. not vinegar. Honestly I don't know what it is. Smells like wine, taste like a combo of wine and beer. Also, there was a LOT of sediment in the bottom of the keg, ad a good layer of tan krausen sitting on top. Very small bubbles, could possibly have been mold, but it was not fuzzy and was uniform in color.

What did I make??? Is it just spoiled beer?

And in all honesty it really doesn't taste too bad, I think Ill carb it and see how it taste then.
 
if it were truly spoiled you wouldn't be able to stand drinking it.

you just made 'funky' beer..i'm sure the one step caused problems. Don't hold me to it, but I think hydrogen peroxide is a strong oxidizer, and if so it was probably making your beer stale AS it fermented. Hard to say.

FWIW if it had been Star-san, you probably would not have noticed it.

The flies and larva around the keg...that's just gross. You must not have cleaned the top of the keg well, leaving enough sugary beer to attract flies so they'd lay eggs. Keep that stuff cleaner.
 
malkore said:
if it were truly spoiled you wouldn't be able to stand drinking it.

you just made 'funky' beer..i'm sure the one step caused problems. Don't hold me to it, but I think hydrogen peroxide is a strong oxidizer, and if so it was probably making your beer stale AS it fermented. Hard to say.

FWIW if it had been Star-san, you probably would not have noticed it.

The flies and larva around the keg...that's just gross. You must not have cleaned the top of the keg well, leaving enough sugary beer to attract flies so they'd lay eggs. Keep that stuff cleaner.
Click to expand...

I would say I would switch to star-san, (mabye after im out of one-step) but this is something I will now be a bit more careful of. As far as the flies, yup it's nasty.. Usually I give the whole outside of the keg a 'one over' after I put the gas on.
 

Similar threads

segallis
Fermenter King Unitank Question
Replies
3
Views
770
segallis
segallis
B
Beer Turned Out Bitter & Sour
Replies
24
Views
2K
hottpeper13
H
H
Making wine with storebought lemonade
Replies
9
Views
2K
S-Met
S
Knightshade
Beer went sour weeks after kegging...what happened?
Replies
4
Views
2K
Knightshade
Knightshade
Ragman
Make your own beer, they said. You'll save money, they said.
2 3 4
Replies
125
Views
8K
Surly
Surly

Latest posts

Back
Top