Infection even before pitching yeast

[aldousbee]

I brewed a Belgian IPA 2 days ago and as my practice I reduce the temp of the fermenter to a few degrees below the ferm temp ( this time 14C about 57F) while waiting for my yeast starter. We have very limited supply of malts and hops here so I use the 2nd runnings for my starter ( that's why I wait for around 2 days). This evening when I was about to pitch -OH NO! It is fermenting very vigorously (I have not added any yeast yet!). No weird smells but some faint green apple smell.

I checked the temp controller and it is 26C/79F, somehow it was reset to the previous temp ( I do not know why. maybe a failure)

I have about 70IBUs so I was thinking how this could happen. My suspect is that there are still residue yeast from my last fermentation or wild yeast.

So what do you think should I wait a few days before I throw it away or just throw it now and rebrew? If I wait, how many days should I wait and taste?

PS. I tossed in my starter (Wyeast 3787, Trappist Hi Grav) anyway.

 

[stjackson]

I'd let it go. If the yeast you pitched are healthy enough, they could take over and become the dominant organism in there, which might turn out a good beer. I'm always against throwing out a batch. You never know how something will end up. When it's done fermenting, taste it. If it tastes good, package that bad boy up and drink it. If it tastes bad, give it some time. If it still tastes bad, give it some more time. If it still tastes bad, maybe get rid of it.

Who knows, maybe you'll end up with a really great beer!

 

[aldousbee]

If it tastes bad, give it some time. If it still tastes bad, give it some more time. If it still tastes bad, maybe get rid of it. !

hahaha I like that!

But should I let it finish fermenting before I taste it or can I judge it in under 4 days?

It's really heartbreaking to throw a batch away, specially if the nearest Homebrew supply store is in another country (a 3 hour flight) .

 

[RavenChief]

OMG this is a very dangerous situation. I think what you should do is let the fermentation complete. Then bottle up this batch of beer and send it to me. I will conduct some very scientific tests. I may even need to bring in some outside help to determine exactly what properties are present in this possibly wild strain of yeast. Rest assured that I will provide you with a full report of all the empirical evidence resulting from my tests.

 

[aldousbee]

OMG this is a very dangerous situation. I think what you should do is let the fermentation complete. Then bottle up this batch of beer and send it to me. I will conduct some very scientific tests. I may even need to bring in some outside help to determine exactly what properties are present in this possibly wild strain of yeast. Rest assured that I will provide you with a full report of all the empirical evidence resulting from my tests.

seriously?

 

[aldousbee]

Won't the high amount of hops 70 IBus ( almost 4oz) prevent bacterial infection? Do you think it's a residue yeast from my last fermentation or some wild yeast?

 

[beerman0001]

Did you not clean and sanitize your fermenter?

 

[hercher]

It is possible that you had some residual yeast in your fermenter. Green apple aromas are indicative of acetaldehyde. In higher concentrations the aroma can be solvent-like. It is a by-product of fermentation and can be caused by low yeast levels. However, the amount of viable yeast you likely had in your fermenter is so low that it seems unlikely you would have had "vigorous" fermentation after only 48 hours.

If it is acetaldehyde, I think you'll be OK. I believie it can be converted into ethanol, so when your starter gets going, it should clean everything up.

My recommendation for you in the future is to keep some light DME on hand to use for your starters. It is best brewing practice to pitch your starter as soon as possible. If you are worried about the starter affecting the flavor of your beer, you can always cold crash the starter the night before you brew, then decant the most of the wort off the yeast that drops out of suspension, then swirl and pitch just the yeast.

Those two days after brewing but before pitching your yeast is when your wort is most vulnerable to infection. I would do everything possible to reduce that time.

 

[aldousbee]

I'll probably make at least 3 liters of canned wort at hand. We do not have access to DME or Malt extract. So my best source of starter wort is my second runnings. I am thinking of using amylase and unmalted barley or mixing malted and unmalted barley to have more wort for my starters.

 

[aldousbee]

just an update.. BIPA smells really good. Citrus/Pomelo flavor. Tastes really good. No off flavors. Lucky

 

[broadbill]

seriously?

yes, very serious! If you know what is right, you better bottle and send this guy the entire batch!