Alas! First infection... Still bottling, need knowledge

[Paradigm]

Hello everyone,

I am sad to say that, after 4+ years of infection free brewing, I have an infection. The beer was fine in the primary. The infection seems to have been developed during the process of secondary-ing.

I have confirmed it's an infection, it had that white-milky stuff and a bubble, as well as a bit of a funk. However, I'm still going to bottle it. It's a good chance to experience an infection and is something I think every brewer should experience once... I'm actually a little excited!

I'm thoroughly cleaning everything that the beer touched, even the primary and equipment before the infection was noticed. I normally keg, but I'm going to collect probably 4 bombers and dumping the rest.

Any tips on what to do? It's currently cold crashing for bottling tomorrow. I'm aware of the risk of bottle bombs, and will be keeping them in a sealed environment for easy cleanup in the event this happens.

 

[wmcc75]

You could let it ride for a little bit then bottle to avoid bottle bombs, and insure the funk comes through. Or if you are set on bottling tomorrow keep them in a safe place and drink them as quickly as possible after they are properly carbed to avoid bombs. Either way you could come out with something interesting and probably pretty unique.

 

[passedpawn]

Bottling will probably result in some exciting gushers. Or bombs, which are much more exciting, especially when shared with a loved one.

G'luck.

I do think it's interesting to let an infected beer ride, just to see where it goes. In my experience, they don't go anywhere good, but maybe you'll get lucky. I've even tried to help them along by tossing in some Brett, but that was just tossing good money after bad. No bueno.

 

[Paradigm]

Alright, I think we're just going to bottle them and see how it goes. I'll try to remember to update the thread.