acetone aroma, crazy gushing.. whats up?

[bergman1118]

So I just cracked into one of the few remaining bottles of a brown ale I made about 2 months ago, and like many of the other bottles in the batch, this one gushed like crazy as soon as I opened it. I wasn't really surprised by this, cause as I said, about a dozen or more out of this batch were gushers... what surprised me was that when i poured the remaining beer into a glass, I was smacked in the face by a pungent acetone-like smell. Being a chemist, I'm pretty familiar with this smell, and it was definitely a solventy, strong, unpleasant odor.. most reminscient of acetone. I took a sip of my brew, and although it wasn't undrinkable, it didn't taste all that great, especially compared to the bottles I tried at 4 weeks into bottle conditioning. So I'm just wondering... is the acetone-smell/taste caused by high fermentation temps? Or is it just fluctuations in ferm. temps? I don't have very good temp. control at the moment, so I have pretty much assumed this is the case.. but is there a correlation between the acetone smell and the abundance of gushers? I doubt that this was caused by an infection, because the beer didn't have any noticable growth on it.. but who knows..

so gushers + acetone smell = ..high/fluctuating ferm temps? ..overpitched yeast? ..inconsistent priming?

 

[Loup]

an acetone flavor/smell can come from fermenting at too high of a temperature, but it would have to be really high.

As for the gushers, that would point to either an infection or too much priming sugar. Is the acetone flavor only coming from the beers that are gushing or is the flavor pretty consistent across the whole batch?

 

[Yooper]

It sounds like a "gusher infection" that continued to progress. I had one once- but it actually tasted sour to me rather than like acetone.

 

[bergman1118]

i really did not even notice the acetone smell until i opened this bottle.. like i said this one has been sitting for about 2 mo's and tasted worse than any of the other bottles i had previously tried.. so an infection of some sort would make sense i guess. many of the other bottles did not taste bad, so my guess is that its a combination of things.. i'm thinking i may have somewhat overpitched the yeast, b/c i had a lot of bottle krausen in many bottles, but even after i had let those settle down into the beer (a bit over a month), i was still getting gushers. is it possible to let a starter go too long, and thus overpitch on the main batch b/c the yeast have accumulated really high numbers? i let the starter for this one go for a pretty long while, and it had some crazy activity by the time i was pitching it to the main batch.. and perhaps that one bottle somehow missed the sanitation line.. hopefully none of the others haev the acetone flavor.

 

[DD2000GT]

Look around the inside neck of the bottle where the top surface of the beer was. If you see a "ring" around the neck of the bottle then it usually indicates an infection.

 

[bergman1118]

its possible that bottle may have not been sanitized, although i am pretty religious on sanitation.. hopefully none of the remaining bottles have this smell/taste...

is it possible to overpitch when using a starter? I made a starter for this one and let it sit for 4 or 5 days before pitching to the main batch, and there was a pretty crazy amount of activity and a HUGE yeast cake on the bottom at the time of pitching.. so is it possible that I overpitched the yeast and this is partially why i am getting so many gushers?

and no i did not see a ring around the neck of the bottle, or any bottle for that matter

sorry bout the double post, i accidentally hit back and thought first one didnt post

 

[Yooper]

its possible that bottle may have not been sanitized, although i am pretty religious on sanitation.. hopefully none of the remaining bottles have this smell/taste...

is it possible to overpitch when using a starter? I made a starter for this one and let it sit for 4 or 5 days before pitching to the main batch, and there was a pretty crazy amount of activity and a HUGE yeast cake on the bottom at the time of pitching.. so is it possible that I overpitched the yeast and this is partially why i am getting so many gushers?

and no i did not see a ring around the neck of the bottle, or any bottle for that matter

sorry bout the double post, i accidentally hit back and thought first one didnt post

While it is technically possible to overpitch, it's nearly impossible to do for a homebrewer. Even if you did overpitch, there are only so many fermentables present in the wort, and no matter how much yeast there is, the fermentation finishes when it's done.

It sounds like an infection, that is getting worse with time.

 

[Beerrific]

Could be an acetobactor infection. If the acetic acid (produced by the acetobactor) levels get high enough, it will react with the ethanol to produce ethyl acetate, which can smell like nail polish remover.

I think this can explain the acetone smell and the gushing.

 

[TexLaw]

Solventy aromas tend to come from fusel alcohols, which tend to result from fermentation temperatures that are too high, from underpitching, or from unhealthy yeast. Underpitching also can lead to gushers if your fermentation stalled before bottling. Bottling will rouse the yeast, and adding priming sugar could spur the yeast on to finish attenuating everything it could, leading to overcarbonated beer in the bottle (and gushers)

I also like Beerrific's explanation. Do you get any sourness at all? Even if you wind up with ethyl acetate, I would expect some acetic acid to remain and provide vinegar flavor and aroma, if you have an acetobacter infection.


TL

 

[Funkenjaeger]

I had a batch that was EXACTLY like this. It smelled just like acetone (and not just a hint, but an overwhelming wallop), had a very "hot" solvent/alcohol taste, and rapidly progressed to serious gushers on every bottle, and even had the nice telltale crud rings in the necks of the bottles. I've fermented batches too warm before and gotten noticeable fusel alcohols, and it was not the same.

There is NO doubt in my mind that in my case it was due to an infection, not due to underpitching or anything of that nature, and your situation sounds similar.

 

[ryox82]

So is it normal to have stuff floating in the neck of the beer if its only been bottled since sunday and there was no secondary? I hope my first batch doesnt have an infection too...

 

[Revvy]

So is it normal to have stuff floating in the neck of the beer if its only been bottled since sunday and there was no secondary? I hope my first batch doesnt have an infection too...

If it's been bottled since Sunday, you have bottle krauzens...that's normal and a different story...put yours back in the closet and ignore them for 2 more weeks...Yours is fine, you just have N00bitus, it's a mental illness that strikes every n00b on their first few batches...

 

[McKBrew]

One of my first posts on HBT was because of this. This is one of the few situations where I would dump the beer.

 

[ryox82]

If it's been bottled since Sunday, you have bottle krauzens...that's normal and a different story...put yours back in the closet and ignore them for 2 more weeks...Yours is fine, you just have N00bitus, it's a mental illness that strikes every n00b on their first few batches...

lol i know i know, im just impatient and im trying to become accustomed to the different stages. I can't wait to try it.

I pass the time with 6 packs of paulaner double bock and increase my bottle collection.

 

[Revvy]

lol i know i know, im just impatient and im trying to become accustomed to the different stages. I can't wait to try it.

I pass the time with 6 packs of paulaner double bock and increase my bottle collection.

You're learning already Padwan

Read this while you wait... https://www.homebrewtalk.com/558191-post101.html

 

[bergman1118]

ok, i think i'm gonna go ahead and conclude that this is an infection.. the beer has gradually tasted worse over time, and as i said its been about 2 months... oh well, at least i drank what i could of it, even though it seemed like 1/2 of them were gushers..

i think i need to buy some new tubing.. its getting old and i've cut it a few times w/ scissors, probably making a good home for bacteria. it's the most likely place i'm thinking the infection came from.. BLA;KJDFL;AKDJ. and i thought i was so careful w/ sanitation... man i hope the batches i just bottled yesterday aren't gonna be infected from this.. oh well, guess all i can do is RDWHAHB