Need help!! Infected batch, dry hopping and carbonisation!

[QcSylvanio]

Sup guys!

I need help on few topics right now.

First one, infected batch?
I brewed a Red Irish Ale on June 10, Racked to Secondary June 24 and bottle on June 28. This was an extract recipe from beertools.com. It was suppose to give 19L but ended up at 24L. Note sure why .. I know there is +/- 2L from yeast and priming sugar. My OG was 1051 instead of 1049 and FG was 1018 instead of 1011. Fermentation temp was around 16 C (air ambiant). After 2 weeks in bottle, we tasted it. It smell bad, taste really bad. Look bad (see the pic). This batch look's ready to be dumped. I would like to know why now!

Second question, is this normal?
I have some hops on my primary fermentation carboy. It's been almost 3 weeks and just about to bottle. I noticed some white stuff "growing" on the hops. See the 2 pictures. Is this normal? Mold?

Third question, the last batch (the one in topic #1) seen like too much carbonated and when I open bottle, they them to blow. Is there anything we can about this to help prevent this? (I mean for this particular batch).

As usual, I really appreciate any help I can get !!

 

[HomeDrewBrew]

Did u take multiple hydrometer readings over course of a couple days to make sure the beer was complete fermentation ?

 

[katfude]

1. How long in fermenter? Multiple gravity readings over a few days span stayed the same for FG? Any trub make it to the bottle?

2. First pic looks like yeast rafts to me.

3. Are you sure it was done fermenting before you bottled? How much priming sugar did you use?

 

[QcSylvanio]

Sup!

#1 (pic #3) : 14 days in primary, 4 in secondary. No multiple gravity ready, only one at 1018 vs 1011 goal. Bottle at 73F for 2 weeks before tasting this bad batch. There is a lot of trub down the bottle. When I pour it, it look's like the pic #3.

#2 : Allright, so this could be fine.

#3 : Well, the FG was 1018 (with priming sugar) instead of 1011 and I added 181g of Munton KreamY for 24L. Is there any tricks we can do to help prevent beer blow while opening?

Thanks!

 

[mrgrimm101]

Sup!

#1 (pic #3) : 14 days in primary, 4 in secondary. No multiple gravity ready, only one at 1018 vs 1011 goal. Bottle at 73F for 2 weeks before tasting this bad batch. There is a lot of trub down the bottle. When I pour it, it look's like the pic #3.

#2 : Allright, so this could be fine.

#3 : Well, the FG was 1018 (with priming sugar) instead of 1011 and I added 181g of Munton KreamY for 24L. Is there any tricks we can do to help prevent beer blow while opening?

Thanks!

The only way to know for certain if it's done fermenting and ready to be bottled is by taking multiple gravity readings (before you add the priming sugar) to see if it remains unchanged. I'm wondering why you thought the reading of 1.018 meant it was complete..this is several points above the estimated final gravity. You should have tested it again 2 days later to see if it had changed. There really aren't any tricks..if you bottled before fermentation was complete, you will have problems with potential bottle bombs.

Did you add the 181g of Munton KreamY at bottling time, or was that the yeast you used to ferment this batch?

How long were those dry hops in the primary? Did you take a gravity reading to make sure it was done fermenting BEFORE you added the dry hops?

 

[QcSylvanio]

Hi,

Thanks for helping.

#1 & 3
Well, maybe I should have took gravity ready. I will do it next time. But it has been 18 days of fermentation so I tough this was complete. I mess up a bit with water quantities so I tough that was the problem for my high gravity.

It's been 2 1/2 weeks in bottle now and still no bomb but some do blow when I open them. I used the Munton KreamY (181g for 24L) as a priming sugar.

#2
I added the hops in the primary as indicated by the recipe found on beersmithrecipes.com. I added them at the beginning and I haven't done secondary fermentation. Right now it's been 22 days in primary and just about to bottle tonight.

 

[mrgrimm101]

Hi,

Thanks for helping.

#1 & 3
Well, maybe I should have took gravity ready. I will do it next time. But it has been 18 days of fermentation so I tough this was complete. I mess up a bit with water quantities so I tough that was the problem for my high gravity.

It's been 2 1/2 weeks in bottle now and still no bomb but some do blow when I open them. I used the Munton KreamY (181g for 24L) as a priming sugar.

#2
I added the hops in the primary as indicated by the recipe found on beersmithrecipes.com. I added them at the beginning and I haven't done secondary fermentation. Right now it's been 22 days in primary and just about to bottle tonight.

Next time take your gravity readings for sure. It's easy to rely on the calendar, but beer is done when it's done..not when a couple weeks have gone by. Many times it will line up with a time frame, but you still want to take your gravity readings.

You want to dry hop AFTER fermentation is complete. And only for 5-10 days in my opinion. Adding the hops at the start of fermentation will inhibit the hops aromatic properties that you want when dry hopping. There have been studies that show the optimal dry hop time and I'm pretty sure it's around 5 days. Anything longer than about 10 days is too long IMO and you won't get anything else out of the hops, plus they may give grassy off-flavors for being in for that long.

I have no experience with Munton KreamY. I prime with dextrose (corn sugar) and typically don't have any problems with overcarbonation.

 

[QcSylvanio]

Hi,

Ok thanks for the tips.