Infected?

[Brownyard]

Went to keg an All Grain BIAB Porter this morning, and noticed this. Looks like an infection to me, but the second pic I took after transferring and leaving the stuff to sit in the bottom, it looked more like spent grains. The FG sample smelled and tasted fine. Dump and clean?

 

[mashpaddled]

The second pic does look like spent grain but the first definitely an infection.

 

[hotbeer]

Doesn't really matter. When the beer is through fermenting and as clean as you think it's going to get, then bottle or keg it and see if it tastes like something you are willing to put your name on. If not save if for the friends that drink a lot but aren't necessarily picky about what they drink when it's free beer for them!

Rack the beer from between the crap on the top and bottom. Just in case you weren't aware that it's also not desirable to get the floaters too!



Though you say you transferred the beer, I'm not certain how you got that much stuff brought over during the transfer. Is there still a lot of stuff suspended in the beer? I might have left it longer in the FV if that is the case. How is the SG? I've seen that some of my infected beers go way below the expected FG. Almost to 1.000

 

[Brownyard]

Though you say you transferred the beer, I'm not certain how you got that much stuff brought over during the transfer. Is there still a lot of stuff suspended in the beer? I might have left it longer in the FV if that is the case. How is the SG? I've seen that some of my infected beers go way below the expected FG. Almost to 1.000

This is what was left in the fermenter after transferring to the keg from the spigot. I didn't even see it until it was done. I went to lean the fermenter, and stopped when I saw this. FG was just a little over expected. I'll give it a chance, but if it's sour at all, it'll definitely be dumped. I can't stand sours!

 

[passedpawn]

Is that a bubble? Oh yes, classic infection. The icebergs are pretty obvious, but the bubble seals the deal. Will it taste bad? You could wait it out, sure. It will probably get a little funky, a little dry.

So, you're saying, what now? In my opinion, dump and don't dwell on it. Life is too short to sit and worry about something like that.

 

[Calder]

Agree with passedpawn, you have an infection. But I disagree with just tossing it.

If it smells and tastes good (Now be very discerning with this judgement), package it and drink it quick.

Lacto 'infection' will add a tart taste to the beer. In many beers it is pleasant, and aimed for, but too much in the wrong beer will make unpleasant. If you have a lacto infection, it will continue to progress, (but slowly) so drink it quick while it still smells and tastes good.

If it is an Acetobacter (vinegar) infection, it probably is not good already, and you are just fooling yourself that it is still good.

 

[Brownyard]

Agree with passedpawn, you have an infection. But I disagree with just tossing it.

If it smells and tastes good (Now be very discerning with this judgement), package it and drink it quick.

Lacto 'infection' will add a tart taste to the beer. In many beers it is pleasant, and aimed for, but too much in the wrong beer will make unpleasant. If you have a lacto infection, it will continue to progress, (but slowly) so drink it quick while it still smells and tastes good.

If it is an Acetobacter (vinegar) infection, it probably is not good already, and you are just fooling yourself that it is still good.

I'd already transferred to the keg when I noticed. Will it ruin my beer tap lines?

 

[CDS]

Man, I've never had an infection before, but if I saw that, I'd dump it for sure (that is just me knowing myself though!). I BIAB too - never had any spent grains in my wort, so IMO that's an infection.

 

[hottpeper13]

If you like the way it tastes you can put in a Camden tab to halt the infection and then bleach everything when it kicks.

 

[Brownyard]

If you like the way it tastes you can put in a Camden tab to halt the infection and then bleach everything when it kicks.

Would a whole tablet be too much for 3 gallons?
https://www.atlanticbrewsupply.com/Campden-Tablets-1-oz_p_5348.html

 

[Brownyard]

After letting it sit at 25psi overnight, I dropped it down to 10psi and poured a sample. No bad smells or taste. I'm going to keep a picnic tap on this one, so as not to contaminate my kegerator lines and faucets. I'll report back with the results.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

If you like the way it tastes you can put in a Camden tab to halt the infection and then bleach everything when it kicks.

Do not use a long exposure of bleach on stainless steel! It will pit and become useless. I would recommend cleaning with PBW then sanitizing with iodine based sanitizer. (This will stain any biofilm than might remain clean that off if needed.) Then sanitize with starsan. Sanitizing two ways should eliminate all the bugs.

 

[Brownyard]

I've been reading about Campden Tabs, and can't find much info on actually adding to a finished, carbonated, beer. (It's been in the keg for a couple of days, and still tastes fine) We use metabisulfite at the vineyard I work at, and I know it's pretty powerful stuff. I wouldn't want to make the beer worse by adding too much. Any ideas on how many tablets for 3 gallons of beer?

 

[GilSwillBasementBrews]

Per my package. 1/4tsp per 6 gallon must to kill wild yeast.
2oz per gallon of water if using it as a sanitizer

 

[Calder]

Lactobacillus works slowly in the presence of alcohol. Don't worry about, but don't keep it ........ it is not going to 'mature'. Drink quick, and sanitize everything as best as possible.

Don't get too anal about sanitizing, lacto bacteria is everywhere, so is probably in every batch you make, you just need to make sure the amount is too small to have no effect on the final product. Bleach bombing everything is the best thing, but Idophor or Starsan will probably do fine.

 

[hottpeper13]

We used 1 tab for 5 gal,so maybe 1/2 tab for 3. I would only add it if it has an off flavor. If not just drink it fast.

 

[BPenny]

Some sources claim that in the past, porters likely picked up some funk and/or acidity from the time they spent in barrels. Most of the beer I brew is fermented with wild yeast and bacteria and for the most part it tastes surprisingly clean for the first month or two, and then maybe goes through a funky stage and starts to thin out over the next few months, and finally hits a nice balance after 6-9 months. If the beer is relatively hoppy, it may take a year or more to develop any notable sourness. Often I find mixed fermented beers to be more balanced and interesting than single strain ferments. If you’re into funky, then age it at a cool room temp and see where it goes. otherwise just keep it cold and drink it relatively quickly and it’ll probably taste fine.

 

[Brownyard]

Some sources claim that in the past, porters likely picked up some funk and/or acidity from the time they spent in barrels. Most of the beer I brew is fermented with wild yeast and bacteria and for the most part it tastes surprisingly clean for the first month or two, and then maybe goes through a funky stage and starts to thin out over the next few months, and finally hits a nice balance after 6-9 months. If the beer is relatively hoppy, it may take a year or more to develop any notable sourness. Often I find mixed fermented beers to be more balanced and interesting than single strain ferments. If you’re into funky, then age it at a cool room temp and see where it goes. otherwise just keep it cold and drink it relatively quickly and it’ll probably taste fine.

Unlike my experiences with brewing in the '90s, when my best brews were porters and stouts, most recently, I've had more luck with pales and IPAs. Most of my porters and stouts these days, seem to have a cidery, sour acetaldehyde thing going on relatively soon, which makes me sad.

 

[BPenny]

Unlike my experiences with brewing in the '90s, when my best brews were porters and stouts, most recently, I've had more luck with pales and IPAs. Most of my porters and stouts these days, seem to have a cidery, sour acetaldehyde thing going on relatively soon, which makes me sad.

Are you using the same yeast for pales and IPAs as you do for stouts and porters?

 

[Brownyard]

Yes, s05 usually. I used s04 on a few, but it was worse. I had a packet of Windsor on hand, which I used for this batch though.

 

[BPenny]

Unlike my experiences with brewing in the '90s, when my best brews were porters and stouts, most recently, I've had more luck with pales and IPAs. Most of my porters and stouts these days, seem to have a cidery, sour acetaldehyde thing going on relatively soon, which makes me sad.

Can you think of anything about your brewing, fermentation or packaging routine that has changed since the 90s? How long do you generally ferment in primary before transferring, and what was your fermentation temp?

Your mention of acetaldehyde also makes me think of excessive oxygen exposure, especially if it is combined with wild microbes. I definitely get some acetaldehyde and ethyl acetate in the early stages of some of my un inoculated wine fermentations or beers that I spontaneously co-ferment with wine must, but it always ages out after a few weeks or months. Sorry to drill you with questions, but fermentation is a pretty deep rabbit hole for me.

 

[Brownyard]

Can you think of anything about your brewing, fermentation or packaging routine that has changed since the 90s? How long do you generally ferment in primary before transferring, and what was your fermentation temp?

Your mention of acetaldehyde also makes me think of excessive oxygen exposure, especially if it is combined with wild microbes. I definitely get some acetaldehyde and ethyl acetate in the early stages of some of my un inoculated wine fermentations or beers that I spontaneously co-ferment with wine must, but it always ages out after a few weeks or months. Sorry to drill you with questions, but fermentation is a pretty deep rabbit hole for me.

'90s notes are ok, but not great. I did a secondary and bottled then.

If it's oxygen, it seems it would be noticeable in the IPAs. I don't do a secondary these days, unless you call conditioning in the keg a secondary. I've begun fermenting and spunding and serving from the same keg. I've done this with some SMaSH pales, but not a dark beer yet. Think I'll try one next time.

BTW, the Porter is tasting pretty good right now. A little thin, but not noticing the sourness as much since adding the Campden, and letting it sit a couple of days.