spbrhs07
Well-Known Member
So I've been brewing for almost 2 years now. I've done somewhere around 15-20 batches and have never ruined one. This past Sunday, I put together an IPA based on a previous recipe that I made.
5 gallon batch, 4 gallon boil
Fermentables
8 lb Dry Malt Extract - Light 42 4 91.1%
8 lb Total
Steeping Grains
7.5 oz American - Caramel / Crystal 60L 34 60 5.3%
5 oz American - Caramel / Crystal 10L 35 10 3.6%
Hops
0.25 oz Summit Pellet 18.5 Boil 60 min 12.68
0.5 oz Simcoe Pellet 12.7 Boil 45 min 15.98
0.5 oz Amarillo Pellet 8.6 Boil 45 min 10.82
0.5 oz Centennial Pellet 10 Boil 45 min 12.58
0.75 oz Simcoe Pellet 12.7 Boil 5 min 5.21
0.5 oz Amarillo Pellet 8.6 Boil 5 min 2.35
0.5 oz Centennial Pellet 10 Boil 5 min 2.73
0.75 oz Simcoe Pellet 12.7 Dry Hop 5 days
0.5 oz Amarillo Pellet 8.6 Dry Hop 5 days
0.5 oz Centennial Pellet 10 Dry Hop 5 days
Wyeast - Scottish Ale 1728
2L starter on stir plate with 8.1 oz of light DME
Whirlfloc 15 minutes
12 drops of fermcap
OG was aprox 1.072
I didn't do much different with this batch than any other... but the variables I'm considering is that my yeast was about 6 month old washed slurry. With the starter, I did not decant. About half of my hops were old ones that I'd had in the freezer for a few months, tightly sealed in zip-lock baggies. I've also never sanitized my chiller since it always goes into the boiling wort.
The fermentation was a bit slow to start, probably due to the old yeast. It did finally take off last night, about 36 hours after pitching. Last night, about 24hrs after pitching, there were no bubbles in the airlock so I opened the bucket to investigate. I found no signs of any active fermentation and was greeted with a very pungent smell. It was very sour smelling, I don't think I'd go as far as saying it was acidic, but was a pretty awful smell. After reading many posts on here, I realize that there are some pretty nasty smells that can come from the primary. From what I've read, the smell of the fermentation can vary depending on the ingredients, however I've used this exact same recipe twice before, the only difference being that the other batches were 1 gallon and a much higher proportion of DME (I was using 3lbs in 1 gallon)- neither of which produced such a foul smell. I have a hard time thinking that the smell is from the fermentation when there were no visible signs that fermentation is actually happening... I did check on it this morning before work and was pleased to see a healthy krausen forming.
My first thought here is that the beer has become infected with some nasty bacteria. But would that even be possible with an IPA? I know with sour beers the IBU should be kept under 10 to prevent the acids from killing bacteria. This one should come out to 58-62 IBU. If it's not infected, was there something wrong with my old hops or my old yeast? Last night I attempted to RDWHAHB only to discover 2 empty kegs... Time to get reacquainted with New Belgium...
5 gallon batch, 4 gallon boil
Fermentables
8 lb Dry Malt Extract - Light 42 4 91.1%
8 lb Total
Steeping Grains
7.5 oz American - Caramel / Crystal 60L 34 60 5.3%
5 oz American - Caramel / Crystal 10L 35 10 3.6%
Hops
0.25 oz Summit Pellet 18.5 Boil 60 min 12.68
0.5 oz Simcoe Pellet 12.7 Boil 45 min 15.98
0.5 oz Amarillo Pellet 8.6 Boil 45 min 10.82
0.5 oz Centennial Pellet 10 Boil 45 min 12.58
0.75 oz Simcoe Pellet 12.7 Boil 5 min 5.21
0.5 oz Amarillo Pellet 8.6 Boil 5 min 2.35
0.5 oz Centennial Pellet 10 Boil 5 min 2.73
0.75 oz Simcoe Pellet 12.7 Dry Hop 5 days
0.5 oz Amarillo Pellet 8.6 Dry Hop 5 days
0.5 oz Centennial Pellet 10 Dry Hop 5 days
Wyeast - Scottish Ale 1728
2L starter on stir plate with 8.1 oz of light DME
Whirlfloc 15 minutes
12 drops of fermcap
OG was aprox 1.072
I didn't do much different with this batch than any other... but the variables I'm considering is that my yeast was about 6 month old washed slurry. With the starter, I did not decant. About half of my hops were old ones that I'd had in the freezer for a few months, tightly sealed in zip-lock baggies. I've also never sanitized my chiller since it always goes into the boiling wort.
The fermentation was a bit slow to start, probably due to the old yeast. It did finally take off last night, about 36 hours after pitching. Last night, about 24hrs after pitching, there were no bubbles in the airlock so I opened the bucket to investigate. I found no signs of any active fermentation and was greeted with a very pungent smell. It was very sour smelling, I don't think I'd go as far as saying it was acidic, but was a pretty awful smell. After reading many posts on here, I realize that there are some pretty nasty smells that can come from the primary. From what I've read, the smell of the fermentation can vary depending on the ingredients, however I've used this exact same recipe twice before, the only difference being that the other batches were 1 gallon and a much higher proportion of DME (I was using 3lbs in 1 gallon)- neither of which produced such a foul smell. I have a hard time thinking that the smell is from the fermentation when there were no visible signs that fermentation is actually happening... I did check on it this morning before work and was pleased to see a healthy krausen forming.
My first thought here is that the beer has become infected with some nasty bacteria. But would that even be possible with an IPA? I know with sour beers the IBU should be kept under 10 to prevent the acids from killing bacteria. This one should come out to 58-62 IBU. If it's not infected, was there something wrong with my old hops or my old yeast? Last night I attempted to RDWHAHB only to discover 2 empty kegs... Time to get reacquainted with New Belgium...
