Odd results from last two brews

[JayP304]

Hello. I was hoping someone could shed some light on a problem I've encountered with my last two extract kits. They both have a sour taste and both have a strange thicker liquid at the bottom of the bottles. I've read that the sour taste may be the result of my sanitation and I will look into that. I have not seen any information about a darker, thicker liquid at the bottom of the bottles. When you turn the bottles upside down, the liquid falls into the beer liquid but doesn't mix into it. Any help and suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[brucejay]

Is it a different color? Or just thicker beer

 

[flars]

The yeast in the beer will drop out of suspension when the priming sugars are used up. The darker color is probably yeast with some trub that was racked from the fermentor into the bottling bucket.
Are you pouring this sediment into your glass? Yeast, even without the other sediments will taste sour.
Quite often the yeast in the bottle will settle out and compact on the bottom given enough bottle conditioning time. This will also depend on the type yeast. I have found WY3711 never compacts, but will pour out if the pour is not smooth.
If the dark color of the yeast and sediment was due to infection your bottles would probably be gushers.

Give your beer at least two weeks of conditioning time at 70° to 75°. What you are most likely have is green beer. Three days is not long enough for the beer to finish before tasting.

 

[JayP304]

Well, it's the thicker liquid is a darker color and when the bottle is turned upside down, it sort of slowly falls down in strings. I've never seen anything like it.

The thing is, I discovered this last night and it has only been in the bottle for 3 days. I tasted it and there's just a little sweetness from the priming sugar.

When poured into a glass, the thicker liquid stays at the bottom of the bottle until the last couple seconds of the pour. Once it is in the glass, the beer looks cloudy. The beer tastes like it should + like sour apple. It could be trub I suppose...

The yeast used for the last two batches are Munton and Fison and Safbrew T58

 

[balrog]

The only time I tasted sour apple was when beer was still in primary and only 6 days old. I let it go another 2 weeks and only then bottled and it was fine. What was your fermentation process before bottling these batches, and was SG stable over a couple of days prior to bottling?

 

[KeninMN]

Are you saying you bottled just three days ago?

 

[JayP304]

Kevin - yes, I bottled them three days ago. Curiosity got the best of me because when I transferred to the bottling bucket, I smelled that same sour apple smell. I just had to see what it tasted like. I did not smell it when I racked to the secondary, though.

The only thing different I did for these batches was I left them in the fermenters longer. Both were in the primary for 1.5 weeks and then in the glass carboy secondary for 2-2.5 weeks, however both kits called for 2 total weeks of fermenting. Unfortunately, I wasn't measuring gravity which I will from this point forward.

 

[Yooper]

It sounds like either a "rope infection" or that there is an acetobacter (vinegar) infection. The strings sound more like a mother of vinegar, but it's hard to say.

 

[KeninMN]

Three days in the bottle is definitely not enough time; the fact that it tasted sweet confirms this. I usually sample a bottle after one week, knowing full well that it won't yet be ready. (I do so only for my brewing notes.) Usually two full weeks at temperatures above 70 degrees F will be enough to fully carbonate, but some brews just take longer. One thing I do is to rouse the yeast after one week by gently tipping the bottles upside down twice, then putting them back into storage. Also, a few days in the refrigerator after your beer is fully carbed will drop the remaining yeast and any other dregs to the bottom of the bottle. With enough chill time it will actually form a hard, compact layer that won't pour out of the bottle, so you can get most of the beer into your glass. Otherwise, pour slowly and stop when you see the dark dregs advancing toward the neck of the bottle...

 

[Jphillips13]

I had something very similar with my first batch. Being a newb I let my fears run out of control. They all turned out fine, no bottle bombs, no gushers. One bottle did have an odd taste but the other 47 were fine. That was with US-04 yeast.
First time posting this.....RDWHAHB

 

[JayP304]

Thanks everyone. I'll update you in 10 or so days and let you know how it turned out. I have an expensive imperial stout kit to brew and I wanted to get everything sorted out before I started this one...probably in a few weeks. I'll have better sanitation (including the wert cooling and all surrounding areas clean) and get a hygrometer or a refractometer. What is easier (hygrometer or refractor) or what is your preference?