How to know?

[LandoAllen]

How do you know if you have an acetobacter infection? What does it taste like? What does it smell like. How long will it take to convert to vinegar? How to kill it?


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[Wolfbrau]

You open a bottle, and you'll know from five feet away that it's acetobacter. It is a vinegar aroma and flavor. I can't speak to how long it will take to completely convert residuals to vinegar.

Bad news about getting rid of it, I'm afraid. It involves a sink.

 

[unionrdr]

Unless you like malt vinegar. I love it on fish-n-chips!

 

[kyt]

acetobacter oxidize ethanol to make acetic acid. It'll smell and taste like vinegar.
Since it is an aerobic process, the more oxygen you have, and the warmer the temperatures, the faster it will convert.
I used to make kombucha, and it would only take me ~7 days for conversion.
You can't kill it, without killing the yeasts too.
You need to examine your sanitation process, and eliminate potential contamination sources.
StarSan works great, but once you have acetobacter, you'd have to pasteurize to kill it off; this does not remove any existing acetic acid. Once you have it, it's there to stay.
You can still drink the beer if you can get it down, it won't hurt you; There are a lot of health benefits. It just may not be very tasty.

 

[LandoAllen]

So I have looked at tons of infection pictures and my beer doesn't even have any signs of infection. No skin. No cloudiness. Nothing.

But it does have an acidic smell to it...


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[kyt]

If there's no pellicle, it's most likely not acetobacter.
Most bacteria I know of, that can survive in beer, form a pellicle.
Typical strains are Acetobacter, Pediococcus, and Lactobacillus.
Beer pH is naturally acidic, and is not solely indicative of infection.

 

[Wolfbrau]

Sour apple?

 

[kyt]

No it won't be anything like sour apples. That'd probably be acetaldehyde.

 

[kyt]

Beer*Faults - BJCP

www.bjcp.org/faults.php

Acetaldehyde*fresh cut green apples, Make sure fermentation is vigorous using healthy yeast. Allow full attenuation.