Dumped a batch for the 1st time

[Jtk78]

I know I'm not the first or last, but night I had the displeasure of dumping a foreign extra stout I was really looking forward to. After 17 batches, it was the first time I've had to do it. After only a week in the bottles, they were gushing bad. I tried chilling them, then I vented the caps and re-capped on 3 separate days. They were getting worse, so last night they all went down the drain. I suspect infection and think I may know where I picked it up during bottling. I did manage to take a hydro sample and it was 1.010. At bottling it was 1.018, so something was goin on in there.

I will brew this again, but not until I get my kegging system set up. In fact, I'm not sure I'll brew again until I get that set up, and I'm in the planning stage now.

 

[xpops]

pretty good that you made it to batch 17! but still a shame

you will be very happy with a kegging setup....especially after having to go through the bottling process, and to not even get to reap the rewards!

good luck!

 

[JohnSand]

Agree with Pops. You've done very well to only have dumped one. I have dumped many, though only one this year. And kegging rocks.

 

[user 125772]

Moment of silence please

 

[Jtk78]

Thanks guys. It was a sad, frustrating moment.

I'm jumping off the keg cliff head first and blindfolded. Going to convert an upright freezer with the intention of eventually having 8 taps, 2 of them nitro taps. Will probably start with 1 nitro and 3 regular faucets.

 

[flars]

Sorry you had to dump the batch. Have a question. Were you expecting a final gravity of 1.018? I had Windsor stop at 1.019 with a brew. I finished the fermentation with US-05 at 1.008.

 

[Jtk78]

Beer Smith predicted a 1.021. It was at was at 1.020 for a bit and I squeezed another 2 points out if it. OG was 1.085. I used WY1028 for the yeast, started fermentation at 64F, and ramped it up to finish at 69F taken with probe taped and insulated to side of Fermonster in a converted chest freezer and warmer wrap from lizardbasics.com. It was in the primary four weeks prior to packaging.

 

[Sailingeric]

I have had to dump two batches. One was a saison that I was reusing yeast left over from a bottle I bought. It made 3 or 4 great kegs but by the last one the funky in the saison was taking over and it came out tasting like dirty socks. The other one I was experimenting with a hoppy lager and it was not bad, just not great and I knew I would not enjoy drinking it.

 

[flars]

Beersmith may use the average attenuation figures given for yeasts by the manufacturer. These percentages are for comparing yeasts but do not necessarily indicate actual attenuation. Actual attenuation is more closely related to the fermentables in the wort. I have always had greater attenuation than the published attenuation percentage. Windsor attenuation was the wild flyer.

 

[brewcat]

I think you jumped the gun. 10 days is too early to know. The priming sugar may have kicked in another fermentation. It is possible the original fermentation never finished.

Did you make a yeast starter?

Did this batch taste off?

I once had a dubbel that gushed for the first month or two. It tasted fine and eventually was really good.

 

[newtobrew1981]

I agree I don't think it was done fermenting

 

[Jtk78]

I did make a starter and pitched an estimated 15% over the calculator on Brewers Friend. I also use an oxygen tank and a .5 micron filter that I hit it with for two 1 minute shots when I pitched it, and did it again about 12 hours later. It was actually 17 days between bottling and dumping because I wasn't venting them on consecutive days. And looking back through my notes, is was in primary for 33 days.

The beer did taste off last night. It was way more bitter than I had expected, and I made my wife try it. She also noted the bitterness, and said it tasted weird besides the bitterness to her. I made myself drink the pint I was able to get after opening about 6.

I don't think it was still fermenting. I could very well be wrong. However, I think I know where something could have been introduced, and it wasn't worth the safety or clean up to have bottles going boom. I was wearing eye protection and gloves last night when I dumped it though.

 

[kiwipen]

I just want to point something out.

If it fermented from 1.085 to 1.018 that is an apparent attenuation of 77,4% according to Beersmith.

From 1.085 to 1.010 it's 87,4%.

According to Wyeast the 1028 yeast should have an attenuation between 73 and 77.

I'm not sure if the attenuation Wyeast lists is apparent or real attenuation.
If they list real attenuation it looks to me like your beer was about as finished as it could be, depending on how fermentable your wort was of course.

Please point it out if I have misunderstood something here.



And now I have the record for using the word "attenuation" most times in a post here.

 

[Calder]

You bottled too soon. No infection is going to take a 9% beer down 8 points in 2 to 3 weeks. Once alcohol is present, any contaminating organism (except maybe acetobacter - vinegar) will work slowly.

Contamination with a more attenuating yeast might be the issue, but that would not give you any off flavors.

 

[madscientist451]

RIP, Foreign Extra Stout, we barley knew ya......