Beer is Hazy, and tastes like a Hefeweizen

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.

keppybrau

Member
Joined
Oct 30, 2011
Messages
13
Reaction score
2
Location
Greendale
I made an adjunct (flaked corn) American Lager and split it into two batches. One of them, I used a washed, re-used Wyeast 2035 American Lager Yeast. The other I used a washed, re-used White Labs 810 San Francisco Lager.
They were both lagered about a month, the SF Lager maybe a little longer.

The American Lager turned out great. Nice and clear, and what I was looking for: A hoppier, tasty beer for my non-craft loving beer friends.
The San Francisco Lager turned out hazy, and has a hefe weizen taste to it.
I used multiple clearing agents on both beers (gelatin and irish moss)
The American Lager fermented cooler, around 55 (for 2 weeks)
The SF Lager fermented around 60-65 (for about 3 weeks)

Did it somehow get infected with a wild yeast? Is it safe to drink? Would the SF Lager yeast strain ever taste like a hefe at that temp?
I've already carbonated it and put it on tap. Can I disconnect it, and let it sit in a fridge for another month to lager it longer and maybe clear it up?
Any body have any thoughts?

Thanks,
Steve
 
Edit: Gah, replied to the wrong thread.

Another edit to add:

This actually happened to me recently, very much like you describe. I bottled a clone of a well-known IPA, tasted fabulous going into the bottles, but after 2 weeks of carbing tasted like a hefe, very yeasty. I thought I had just grabbed the wrong bottle, but I haven't brewed a hefe in a while. It was not entirely unpleasant (at first), but after a few more weeks it got funkier and funkier, and not in a good way.

My guess is a wild yeast. Even if it's a bacteria, it probably won't clear up with age. If you can stand it, drink it on up before it gets unseemly. Perhaps that one keg didn't get quite as clean or sanitized?
 
Back
Top