Seven long years I have brewed my own beer. Countless batches cooked, cooled, fermented, bottled, and shared. (ok, it's not countless... I have anal records of each batch on my computer.)
Anyway, it took me a little over a hundred batches, but I finally got an infection in the brew I cooked up this weekend. I know exactly what caused it, and I am kicking myself for not correcting what I knew was risky.
After two days of suspected infection and several "don't-worry-have-a" beers, I opened the fermenter to take a sample and check the gravity of what I considered to be my most exciting batch in progress.
... VINEGAR ...
Nice and dark, and I can taste the lactose-sweetness and caramel flavors that I wanted in there, but there's that dry bite and vinegar flavor lying there to mock me.
I am surprised at how truely upset I am at this. I knew it could happen to me, but it never had, so ... I am now humbled.
Bah!
Oh well. Every cloud has a silver lining, right? To honor this noble beer that failed, I popped open the first bottle of brown ale that I brewed last month. My first homebrew since moving across country.
And it is good. At least I have that... and no bacteria can take it away from me.
-walker
Anyway, it took me a little over a hundred batches, but I finally got an infection in the brew I cooked up this weekend. I know exactly what caused it, and I am kicking myself for not correcting what I knew was risky.
After two days of suspected infection and several "don't-worry-have-a" beers, I opened the fermenter to take a sample and check the gravity of what I considered to be my most exciting batch in progress.
... VINEGAR ...
Nice and dark, and I can taste the lactose-sweetness and caramel flavors that I wanted in there, but there's that dry bite and vinegar flavor lying there to mock me.
I am surprised at how truely upset I am at this. I knew it could happen to me, but it never had, so ... I am now humbled.
Bah!
Oh well. Every cloud has a silver lining, right? To honor this noble beer that failed, I popped open the first bottle of brown ale that I brewed last month. My first homebrew since moving across country.
And it is good. At least I have that... and no bacteria can take it away from me.
-walker