Contaminated beer - what to do with it?

[ISUBrew79]

I carried out a double batch brew day about a month ago. I brewed a batch of Dusseldorf Alt and a Kolsch. I prepared a single 4L starter of Wyeast 1007, which I split between the two fermenters. I fermented both beers in Corny kegs side by side in my fridge at 60F for two weeks, then let them warm up to room temperature. At that time, the Kolsch (OG 1.047) had a gravity of about 1.014, and tasted clean but sweet. By the next day, fermentation had kicked in again. Now, a month after brew day, the Kolsch now tastes more like a Belgian blonde ale than a Kolsch. It doesn't taste bad, it is just not what I wanted to brew. The Altbier that was pitched with the same yeast starter tastes great- it has none of the fruity "Belgian" character the Kolsch has.

I'm fairly certain that some wild yeast found its way into the Kolsch fermenter at some point in the process. My dilemma is I was planning to enter both beers into an upcoming competition. I still plan to enter the Alt, and expect it to fare OK in that category. I'm kicking the idea around of entering the Kolsch as a Belgian blonde ale, because I know it won't fare well as a Kolsch.

What would you do with the problem beer? My first inclination is to dump it and blast the Corny fermenter with cleaner and sanitizer rather than risk propagating the contamination throughout my brewery. However, I've already paid the entry fees, so I'm considering entering the Kolsch into some category just to see what happens..

 

[schoellhorn82]

I certainly would not dump it if its drinkable. Even if it wouldn't win any awards its still beer. I had a blonde ale that turned Belgian. May have just been a mutated strain but it waa still decent to drink. Make sure you blast the fermentors with a good cleaner and sanitizer.

 

[Vagrant]

I second schoellhorn82! Get a couple second opinions, especially if you aren't a belgian style fan. I would definitely consider entering it if you get some positive reviews from others that don't know the back story. Bring a bottle/growler into work and have a few non-beer drinkers try it too. If it's a BJCP style competition, you may want to consider a different category than a blonde based on the SRM if it was brewed to spec of an Altbier.