Can beer spoil while under pressure and in fridge?

[somedudefromguam]

Can fully fermented beer turn sour or otherwise go bad after it has been kegged and put on ice? I mean, if it under pressure and refrigerated, are there any bugs able to ferment?

 

[duboman]

Sure, there are stories here all the time about people's beers going bad in the keg once they've been tapped. If there is something nasty in your beer, being cold won't make it go away. The "bugs" may not cause additional fermentation but they can certainly turn the beer sour or spoil.

 

[IffyG]

Being cold can slow the process. If it is infected, it's gonna turn eventually.

 

[neko]

That's a reason you still have to sanitize your keg after cleaning it.

 

[Matt3989]

Being homebrew, I'm assuming it's tapped with co2, but keg beer pumped with a handpump will go bad extremely quickly. Other than that, good sanitizing habits will allow your beer to age for quite a long time before it goes bad. Higher alcohol beers will be most resistant.

 

[Yooper]

Being cold can slow the process. If it is infected, it's gonna turn eventually.

Right. Cooler temperatures can slow lactobacillus, pediococcus, aceterobacter, etc, but won't stop it. If you have an infection, but the beer is drinkable, drink up! It'll get worse.

 

[somedudefromguam]

Thanks everyone! I have not had any problem with sour brew, but I will start being more careful when kegging.