Happy infections & accidents.

[artfldodger]

So I'm always reading stories around here on why to be careful about everything related to brewing (sanitation, gravity, etc....) But has anyone botched anything accidentally or unknowingly and LOVED the result? I got to thinking about this tonight when I was drinking (go figure)

So about 4 months ago I bottled a Belgian wit for SWMBO, I've had a few here and there, its ok, but really not something i'd drink much of.

now this is important for later in the story, the recipe is:
#4 wheat extract
#1 pale extract
#1 Belgian Pils
#1.5 Wheat
#1/2 Flaked Wheat
1/2 oz. bitter orange peel
1/2 oz. coriander
1 oz. cascade

w/ german hefa yeast (LHBS was out of the wit yeast)

Well she's a slow drinker, and i need bottles... for the last few nights of waiting for my oatmeal stout to condition I've been breaking into the last case of this stuff. Its really good now, the banana/clove of the yeast have gone away leaving a nice tart flavor at the end.

Well I have one tonight and its completely different from the rest of them. It smells like Three Philosophers tastes, and has a hint of sour fruit when you drink it, with a much dryer/tarter finish then the other ones, not like apples though, more like a white wine dry. I had to double/triple check that I didnt grab the wrong beer out of the fridge because this tastes like nothing i've ever made... and damn is it good. I want to make a beer like this on purpose.

But I have no idea how it came to be... the only thing i can think of that might have caused this was some yeast/gunk left in the bottle it was put into, or some sort of wild yeast fell into it.. who knows.

all i know is, any suggestions on to make a semi-sour cherry/rasberry Belgian wit beer? Or any other strange occurances you havent been able to replicate?

 

[kneemoe]

Well I have one tonight and its completely different from the rest of them. It smells like Three Philosophers tastes,

they let that leave NYS?

and to answer your qustion, i've never had a *good* infection, but i'm a dark beer drinker, that banana ester stuff makes me cry

 

[Brewtopia]

I know exactly what you mean. I love the sour Belgians. The Oud Bruins, Flanders Reds, and Lambics. I actually experienced this type of infection in a local commercial beer. I had a 6 pack of Pike Brewing Company's Kilt Lifter Scotch Ale. It was about a year old. I opened a bottle and it had a distinct tart character that I would associate with a Brettanomyces yeast strain. It was the best Kilt Lifter I've ever had. I've had good luck replicating this character by brewing a base beer and adding Wyeast's Lambic Blend in the secondary. It takes several months for the Brett character to come forward but definitely worth the wait.

 

[Brewtopia]

they let that leave NYS?

I love Three Philosophers. We can get it here is Seattle.