Can this white beer be salvaged?

[Micha]

Hi there folks,

A few weeks ago, I brewed the "Who's in the Garden Grand Cru" of The Complete Joy. However, as this was my second batch, I disregarded the fact that we had quite a discrepancy in the OG. Moreover, adding stupidity to ignorance, I bottled it after two weeks without checking if the fermentation was done (a friend told me that all this measuring was more of a risk than anything else, and that 2 weeks are always plenty).

The numbers: The recipe calls for 1.056-1.060 OG, I got 1.077. Similarly, it calls for a 1.008-1.010 FG, and I got a stunning 1.032.

The facts: It's been bottled for 2 weeks now. The first week, the beer gushed out of the bottle when opened (after 48h in the fridge) and tasted way too sugary, with a strong aftertaste of liquid detergent (is that the yeast?). The second week, the beer gushed out a little bit less and offered a huge head when served. The taste was somewhat similar to the first taste.

The question: should I wait for a few more weeks and hope for the best, or there was one too many errors in the creation of this batch?

Thanks!

 

[two_one_seven]

Your options are wait or dump...........seems obvious to me wait. Just sit it out for a month or so and see what happens. If you dump then you will never know.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

You need to put those bottles somewhere they can safely explode or dump them now.

Sounds like fermentation stuck and restarted in the bottle.

 

[Micha]

Mmh, exploding bottles you say. That may be a concern . Is it conceivable to open and close each one of them to release some pressure in the hope that the fermentation has more room to take place? Or to put the beer back in a fermenter then re-bottle it?

At least, I learned my lesson: the last batch I brewed was full-on the OG.

 

[madchemist83]

did you wash ur bottles in a dishwasher with detergent ?

 

[Micha]

Nop, with a thing called "Oxy San". My first batch was fine with the same cleaning method. You say this detergent/soap taste is not a typical taste for an active yeast?

 

[Micha]

So no one would recommend putting the beer back in a fermenter for a week or so, then rebottling it?

 

[madchemist83]

It looks like it's contaminated

 

[Micha]

Thanks for your replies, guys. I'll wait a few more weeks and hope for the best. I hope I'll not come back to this thread posting some nice pictures of exploded Grolsch bottles

 

[Raenon]

Thanks for your replies, guys. I'll wait a few more weeks and hope for the best. I hope I'll not come back to this thread posting some nice pictures of exploded Grolsch bottles

If you're going to sit and wait, I recommend putting all the bottles inside a relatively liquid-tight vessel (like a rubbermaid bin perhaps) NOW, then put that bin somewhere safe, like a storage closet... or a concrete bunker.

Bottle bombs are nothing to laugh at. You could come back to them in another week, pick up a bottle, and jostle it just enough to burst in your hand. If you're lucky, you just get the top coming off (hope you're not on the other end of a ceramic cap flying off at speed)
If not, you could be in much, much, worse shape. These are glass grenades waiting to happen.

 

[unionrdr]

I'd give them 4-6 weeks at room temp in a plastic bin. Then at least a week in the fridge to absorb more co2 into solution. That should calm them down,& lessen that off flavor a bit more.

 

[Micha]

Thanks, uniondr, that's what I'll do. And keeping in mind the real threat, I'll handle the bottles with special care. Thank you all for the advices. I'll try and go through my sanitizing procedures to see if something was wrong.

 

[Breiger]

Have you considered the possibility of wild yeast contamination? Papzion says that wild yeast will produce other alcohols besides ethanol during fermentation making it taste detergent like.

 

[unionrdr]

I tend to think that's why the op said he's gunna go through his sanitation process. Never hurts to look back & make sure next time. It's all part of the learning curve imo. Good thing you added that lil tidbit,B. That would indeed cause it.

 

[Micha]

Just for your information, the beer is now fine in taste, though really too sugary. The FG dropped from 1.038 at bottling to 1.028 now. Not so final, this gravity!

I may even go and mix with club soda to compensate for the sugar, but I'm not sure what would be the result.