Damn ye infection!

[MBasile]

My pale ale was tasting a little off to me (kind of peppery/Belgiany) but I figured it was just in my head, and I went ahead and bottled 3 bottles from the keg for competition. Meanwhile I had thrown a batch of IPA on top of the pale ale yeast cake. I took a gravity sample and the IPA has dropped to 1.008 (NOT normal for this recipe) and that peppery/Belgiany flavor is even more prevalent. I'll dry hop it as usual and throw it in a keg, but I am NOT a happy brewer.

FWIW, the batch that was previously fermented in that carboy was a Saison, but I know I oxycleaned, rinsed, and sanitized, so I doubt any belgian yeast got through to the pale ale batch.

 

[Theis]

What type of yeast were you using and what temp were you fermenting at?

 

[MBasile]

What type of yeast were you using and what temp were you fermenting at?

WLP001 in the mid-60's. It is my normal yeast in a temp-controlled fridge.

 

[Homercidal]

Kind of does sound like a yeast infection. Hopefully it's not a bacteria infection that can take a while to develop.

Look on the bright side, you may have a delicious and unusual beer to show off.

 

[MBasile]

Kind of does sound like a yeast infection. Hopefully it's not a bacteria infection that can take a while to develop.

Look on the bright side, you may have a delicious and unusual beer to show off.

I tasted my most recent batch, which is only a few days younger than the "infected" IPA and I taste no sign of off-flavors. At 2 years old, I don't think I'll be devastated if I have to toss the better bottle that the pale and IPA were in.

I'm going to replace my aeration tube with the Williams Brewing oxygenation wand, because my tube is a little ghetto and always worries me. Then I'm going to throw something like a blonde ale in that carboy (after cleaning and sanitizing) to see if there is something hiding in there.

 

[Theis]

I wouldn't think your better bottle is the problem unless you have deep scratches that are harboring gunk. I'd just soak that better bottle in PBW for a few days, then sanitize prior to the next batch.

 

[Homercidal]

Yeah, I'd replace any of the tubing and give the BB a bleach soak then several rinses in hot water.

 

[bknifefight]

What were the competition results?

 

[MBasile]

What were the competition results?

I'm not going to enter it.