beer turning sour, what to do?

[beer-is-good]

I recently got back into homebrewing and my first batch was a brown ale with a extra pount of crystal 60. Primary and secondary fermentation went well. I bottled everything and after a week I cracked one open and It was great. I still have the bottles at room temperature and cracked one open at about the two week mark to see how it was coming. It now has a sour taste at the finish which isn't horrible but definatly different than the previous week. My question is should I refridgerate everything or leave it out? Should i drink it up or just let it age.
Thanks for your time I know there is already a million posts like this but i couldnt find anything right off. Also the bottles were old but i washed them out good, boiled them and then sanatized them before bottling.

 

[TopherM]

Sounds like you have a lacto or brett bug. It also sounds like you picked it up post-fermentation, so likely in bottling. Maybe review your bottling process to make sure the bottles are thoroughly cleaned AND sanatized in future brews.

For this one, putting them in the fridge will exponentially slow the bacteria growth, so if you think they taste good enough to drink them all relatively quickly (like in the next 2-3 weeks), go ahead and throw them in the fridge. They won't change much at fridge temps in the short term.

If you let it age, the sour is going to get worse, but that's exactly how sour beers are made. It's much easier to control when you do it purposefully in the primary, though. I wouldn't PLAN on aging an accidental sour that's already in bottles, it will be difficult to control and you won't be able to skim/rack below the pellicle.

 

[ktblunden]

If you let it age, the sour is going to get worse, but that's exactly how sour beers are made. It's much easier to control when you do it purposefully in the primary, though. I wouldn't PLAN on aging an accidental sour that's already in bottles, it will be difficult to control and you won't be able to skim/rack below the pellicle.

Not to mention, you may end up with bottle bombs, since sour bugs and brett can break down sugars traditional beer yeast can't. Get them refrigerated as Topher said and drink them fast.

 

[beer-is-good]

Thanks for the input. I kind of figured it would get worse over time. I just looked at the sanitizer and its easy clean. doesn't say sanitizer but its what the guy handed me at the beer/wine store. I didn't like it anyway, no foam. I'll get some star san maybe that is the problem.