Sad Day

[45thparallelhopper]

I have to do the unthinkable today, dump 2 batches. Fml. After my big brew day with my friend, my dunkel and porter began smelling very sour in secondary. I decided to bottle anyway just in case some aging would mellow it out. So far it is still sour taste and smell.
I can't think of anyway to save either batch an prevent the sight of a grown man cry as he dumps 10 gallons of beer.
I'm pretty sure an infection took root during transfer to secondary, so a OCD cleaning will be happening to all equipment repeatedly until next brew day. This sucks.

 

[RM-MN]

I'm sorry for you, man. That sucks when you have to dump a batch and it must really suck to dump 2 batches.

Next brews, don't secondary unless you are adding fruit, aging on oak, or long term aging. You can't gain any clarity to a porter because you can't see through them anyway and time in the primary will clear out the beer anyway.

 

[aiptasia]

Ditto, there's no need for a secondary unless there's a need for a secondary. Letting the beer sit in the primary for a nice length of time is so much more beneficial for the beer in the long run. Good scrubbing and sanitizing is also a good lesson to learn. I always try to clean out and scrub every piece of equipment right after i've used it, and then, they get a good second clean and a scrub before I use them again.

 

[duboman]

Extending my condolences on your loss.............

 

[ron,ar]

I quit using a secondary on almost everything. One less place for trouble to happen. Sorry about your loss of the brews.

 

[acidrain]

I'm sorry for your loss...

 

[CCBrewer]

Dude that sucks, You should have a plaque on the wall... you know to remember them

"C.O.I./D.O.F." Casualty Of Infection / Dumped on Floor "Gone but not forgotten"

 

[peterj]

Yeah man, that sucks a lot. Maybe replace your siphon and hosing. Pretty cheap way to prevent future infections. Sucks for these batches though.

 

[krackin]

See if you can make some vinegar. You may also have a good BBQ sauce ingredient. No sense in getting all morbid and dysfunctional until you've played out all the possibilities.

 

[peterj]

See if you can make some vinegar. You may also have a good BBQ sauce ingredient. No sense in getting all morbid and dysfunctional until you've played out all the possibilities.

Yeah, that's a good idea. You could keep a couple bottles for cooking. Probably be good in chili too.

 

[monkeybox]

Cellar it for awhile. Here's the method I use when a brew seems to have gone bad.

Step 1: Wait 30 days.
Step 2: Refrigerate and try a bottle.
Step 3: If it's still bad, go back to step 1.

Repeat until beer either tastes good, or it's all gone.

 

[BorealBrewer]

If it's going vinegary, let it finish. Once it's done, clean everything like crazy, and get back on the horse.

I haven't done it with beer, but on a batch of wine I thought was lost, I let the acetic ferment finish, and then freeze-stilled it once. That is some nice vinegar!

And hey, homemade malt vinegar with a fancy label would make a 'nice holiday gift', according to the GF.

I feel for ya - it's always a bit heartbreaking when a batch goes south.