Brett starter smells like straight up piss

[highgravitybacon]

Yeah, actual piss.

Picked up some Matilda. Goose Island's take on Orval. Bottle conditioned, like Orval, with brett l. Figured I'd culture some up from the dregs.

At first, it did its thing. Nothing odd. Kind of tart, fruity, bright smelling. As time passed, it got more and more odd. I couldn't resist any longer. I had to smell and taste it.

The starter was 1.035 wheat DME. That's just what I had in the house.

It looks like piss. Smells pissy. And has an insane tartness to it. Not vinegary really, but just super fricking sour. Oh, it also tastes a bit like piss. If I had a roommate that wasn't a wife and child, I'd have thought someone actually pissed in it.

In short, it's pissy. Piss aftertaste if I didn't mention it the piss qualities of it. WTF am I to make of this? I don't want to pitch it and have piss beer. Is this typical?

The bottle itself was about 18 months old and the starter is about 2 months old. I just had it at room temp in a mason jar with tinfoil.

 

[badlee]

maybe it's due to you fermenting the starter at room temps and it being the primary ferment yeast as opposed to being a secondary yeast?

 

[TNGabe]

So.....how do you know what piss tastes like? Never mind, don't want to know.

I've never much cared for starter liquid. When you are going for cell growth, flavor falls by the wayside. I'd imagine any 2 month old starter would taste horrible.

 

[highgravitybacon]

So.....how do you know what piss tastes like? Never mind, don't want to know.

I've never much cared for starter liquid. When you are going for cell growth, flavor falls by the wayside. I'd imagine any 2 month old starter would taste horrible.

Well, it tastes like piss smells.

 

[lowtones84]

When is the last time you "stepped it up"/ decanted the liquid off and put the yeast into a new medium?

 

[dbsmith]

I was about to ask if you had any sketchy or drunk roommates, until I read this and almost died laughing:

If I had a roommate that wasn't a wife and child, I'd have thought someone actually pissed in it.

On that note..how's your marriage going?

 

[highgravitybacon]

When is the last time you "stepped it up"/ decanted the liquid off and put the yeast into a new medium?

I just swapped it out today. I about threw up when I smelled it in the sink. My god, the funk on this is overpowering. It's off the chart sour funky brett bomb.