I've brewed about 15 extract batches with no issues, until the last 3. And I am curious if anyone here might be able to help me nail down what might be the issue. This is my first run in with bad batches.
The taste is hard to describe, slightly skunky but I can’t see any visible sign of infection, and nothing as pronounced as heinken in the sun or anything like that. It’s hard to describe since I’ve never tasted a “bad” homebrew so I’ve got nothing to work from.
A quick history:
Batch 1: Blue Moon Clone extract with White labs Wit yeast from my LHBS. Fermented for 3 weeks in primary. Airlock was bottled water used to brew.
Batch 2: Bourbon Barrel Porter extract from Midwestsupplies with White Labs English Ale. Fermented for 3 weeks in primary and 4 in secondary carboy. Airlock was bottled water used to brew.
Batch 3: Blue Moon Clone extract from Austin Homebrew with White labs Wit. Fermented for 2 weeks in primary. Airlock was star san mix
The first 2 batches had the same taste only extremely pronounced, the 3rd has the taste only less pronounced and it finishes like Blue Moon, almost exactly the same after taste as Blue Moon from a bottle.
Equipment has been different for all 3 batches. After the first 2 bad ones I got rid of my cleaner, fermenting bucket, spoon, tubes/hoses, even used it as an excuse to step up from my turkey fryer to a Penrose (which I’m loving btw).
First 2 were cleaned with oxyclean and rinsed, which I thought was the issue, so the 3rd was cleaned with PBW and all 3 were sanitized with starsan.
The water I’ve used for all 18 brews was Primo bottled 5 gallon jugs from the store, and everything is fermenting in my basement at a pretty constant 69 degrees.
With the only constants being the water and my basement, the only thing I can think that might be contributing to the bad batches is that I believe my central heat was turned on for these 3, as well as some of the older ones.
The taste and smell is there when I take it out of the fermenter so I’m not thinking it’s hoses or anything going into the kegs.
Is it possible that even though my fermenters have positive pressure (lid on the fermenter is sealed and definitely at a higher pressure than the air in the basement) dust/mold or something else is getting through my airlock to change the taste of the beer so drastically?
It’s really all I can think of that is causing off flavors.
My wife just had our second baby and I had hoped to have the Blue Moon clone ready for her to drink, and the Bourbon Barrel for me for the new addition but it failed, hence the second batch of blue moon.
I’m frustrated to the point of not wanting to try my first all grain Milk Stout I have sitting there ready to go for fear of wasting yet another batch.
If it is related to air quality, I don’t have any place else to let it ferment, any options on trying to negate the issue?
Maybe place the fermenter in a trash bag to prevent outside air from getting in? Would that even work, since less O2 would get to the fermenter?
Any advice would be appreciated, Thanks.
The taste is hard to describe, slightly skunky but I can’t see any visible sign of infection, and nothing as pronounced as heinken in the sun or anything like that. It’s hard to describe since I’ve never tasted a “bad” homebrew so I’ve got nothing to work from.
A quick history:
Batch 1: Blue Moon Clone extract with White labs Wit yeast from my LHBS. Fermented for 3 weeks in primary. Airlock was bottled water used to brew.
Batch 2: Bourbon Barrel Porter extract from Midwestsupplies with White Labs English Ale. Fermented for 3 weeks in primary and 4 in secondary carboy. Airlock was bottled water used to brew.
Batch 3: Blue Moon Clone extract from Austin Homebrew with White labs Wit. Fermented for 2 weeks in primary. Airlock was star san mix
The first 2 batches had the same taste only extremely pronounced, the 3rd has the taste only less pronounced and it finishes like Blue Moon, almost exactly the same after taste as Blue Moon from a bottle.
Equipment has been different for all 3 batches. After the first 2 bad ones I got rid of my cleaner, fermenting bucket, spoon, tubes/hoses, even used it as an excuse to step up from my turkey fryer to a Penrose (which I’m loving btw).
First 2 were cleaned with oxyclean and rinsed, which I thought was the issue, so the 3rd was cleaned with PBW and all 3 were sanitized with starsan.
The water I’ve used for all 18 brews was Primo bottled 5 gallon jugs from the store, and everything is fermenting in my basement at a pretty constant 69 degrees.
With the only constants being the water and my basement, the only thing I can think that might be contributing to the bad batches is that I believe my central heat was turned on for these 3, as well as some of the older ones.
The taste and smell is there when I take it out of the fermenter so I’m not thinking it’s hoses or anything going into the kegs.
Is it possible that even though my fermenters have positive pressure (lid on the fermenter is sealed and definitely at a higher pressure than the air in the basement) dust/mold or something else is getting through my airlock to change the taste of the beer so drastically?
It’s really all I can think of that is causing off flavors.
My wife just had our second baby and I had hoped to have the Blue Moon clone ready for her to drink, and the Bourbon Barrel for me for the new addition but it failed, hence the second batch of blue moon.
I’m frustrated to the point of not wanting to try my first all grain Milk Stout I have sitting there ready to go for fear of wasting yet another batch.
If it is related to air quality, I don’t have any place else to let it ferment, any options on trying to negate the issue?
Maybe place the fermenter in a trash bag to prevent outside air from getting in? Would that even work, since less O2 would get to the fermenter?
Any advice would be appreciated, Thanks.