Signs of a lacto infection besides flavor?

[jsweet]

Let me preface this by saying I'm 90% sure I don't have an infection. I'm just wondering if there are any other signs besides the sour flavor.

I brewed a summer lemon wheat beer, and I tweaked the recipe a bit. When I tasted my hydrometer samples, I thought "hmm, Too much lemon... " When I bottled I thought, "yeah definitely too much lemon, but let's see how the flavor changes when it's carbonated... "

Cracked my second bottle today, and man is it tart. It suddenly occurred to me, could this be a lacto infection? I still kind of doubt it because it tastes pretty good otherwise and is fairly clear, and a number of the tweaks I made seem like they could cause this. Just wondering if there's anything else I could look for...

 

[SD-SLIM]

Let me preface this by saying I'm 90% sure I don't have an infection. I'm just wondering if there are any other signs besides the sour flavor.

I brewed a summer lemon wheat beer, and I tweaked the recipe a bit. When I tasted my hydrometer samples, I thought "hmm, Too much lemon... " When I bottled I thought, "yeah definitely too much lemon, but let's see how the flavor changes when it's carbonated... "

Cracked my second bottle today, and man is it tart. It suddenly occurred to me, could this be a lacto infection? I still kind of doubt it because it tastes pretty good otherwise and is fairly clear, and a number of the tweaks I made seem like they could cause this. Just wondering if there's anything else I could look for...

If your beer has strands it's mostly likely a lacto infection, if it has milky layer or bumps than its a micro derm infection...it could be astringent from steeping your grains to long, if you stirred your beer the krausen could have made it bitter...but short of that, it could just need to condition longer in the bottle to mellow out!

 

[theredben]

SD-SLIM - slow down there, before you go scaring the OP with all kinds of terrible diasters, how much Lemon Juice was there in the recipe? Can you post the whole recipe? If it tastes good I doubt any serious infection.

 

[SD-SLIM]

SD-SLIM - slow down there, before you go scaring the OP with all kinds of terrible diasters, how much Lemon Juice was there in the recipe? Can you post the whole recipe? If it tastes good I doubt any serious infection.

I agree completely...for infections to happen it usually takes a complete breakdown in the brewing process....just wanted to give him the info to rule it out!

 

[jsweet]

No no, sd-slim's 1st reply was exactly what I had been looking for. I was pretty sure it was the recipe all along (I already knew I'd overdone it on the lemon when I tasted a hydrometer sample at about 7 days), but once the thought "Lactobacillus!" popped into my head, it was hard to get it out. I didn't see anything like what sd-slim described, so that sets my mind at ease.

Will adjust the recipe for next time (this was just a 3-gallon batch, and it's definitely drinkable) and RDWHAHB!