Intentionally Infected - Should I ditch it?

[noisy123]

Hi. I am posting this here since the question: "Should I throw it out?" is automatically a beginner question.
I brewed the Impatient Man's Lambic which is posted on the green board (down at the moment). I let it sour for 24 hours using a bag of grain. I then boiled it. It smelled like Worcestershire and vomit, it was sour though. I let it ferment a week and it tasted sour and bad. I added a can of oregon puree on saturday and tried it yesterday. It now tastes officially like satan's anus. Indescribably awful, vomitty, sour, grainy. Should I throw it out, or is there a chance it will improve?

BTW I am going to officially endorse the patient man's lambic.

 

[Saccharomyces]

There is a reason you don't find sour beers in the store that are less than 12-18 months old...

 

[COLObrewer]

SATAN'S ANUS.
Indescribably awful, vomitty, sour, grainy

Looks like a good lambic label!:rockin:

 

[IrregularPulse]

Yeah the fact that impatient and lambic were in the same sentence should steer you away from the recipe. But give it time. What does the recipe say for a timeline?

 

[CBBaron]

When doing a sour mash you have to take care to keep your temperature near the ideal level for lactic bacteria and to keep O2 exposure to a minimum. Otherwise you will encourage the wrong type of bacteria growth. From the articles on sour mashing I have read one type of bacteria growth that is undersireable can result is vomit like flavors. According to the article the flavors do not improve with time.

Your beer is still young and sour beers are very complex so it may improve but I'm guessing it will not be what you want.

I would not give up on sour mashing just yet. Try the sour mash again only this time pay closer attention to your temps and place plastic wrap over the mash to limit O2. If the mash is fairly pleasant and sour but not vomit like then proceed with the beer, otherwise throw it out and try again.

Craig

 

[Indy418]

I have nothing to add other than the enlightening commentary that "Satan's Anus" is a fantastic name for a beer.

 

[carnevoodoo]

There is a reason you don't find sour beers in the store that are less than 12-18 months old...

That's not quite true. When using lactobacillus, the souring is typically done before the boil. Any sort of remaining bugs will be boiled out. So, when doing a sour mash (which is what the OP did), it is likely that your sourness will all have been created before the boil.

I think the best example of a beer that uses lacto as a souring agent would be a Berliner Weiss. They can be ready in a short time and have a good sour note to them.

Now, when using bugs like brett and pedio and even some beers that use lacto in the blend, it can take much longer. And that's a majority of the sours out there, which do take that many months. And honestly, a lambic isn't a beer that can be reproduced by doing a sour mash. It needs time and more complex bugs.

 

[COLObrewer]

I have nothing to add other than the enlightening commentary that "Satan's Anus" is a fantastic name for a beer.

I have one I call "Balanus Sacculus Sudo a Diabolus" in english: "Nut Sweat of Satan" it's made from corn stalks & molasses. 2007 vintage, needs more conditioning. Or something else.

 

[noisy123]

Yeah the fact that impatient and lambic were in the same sentence should steer you away from the recipe. But give it time. What does the recipe say for a timeline?

The beer is supposed to take the typical time for an ale. A little less than 2 months.

P.S. Cmon guys! Someone usually pipes in with "Don't throw out your beer." or "You should dispose of it, send it to me." No one wants a sip?

 

[stale]

NO!!!please! don't send it....to me?

 

[noisy123]

So I have tasted it after some time.... and it may not be poisonous. I added more raspberries, we'll see...