Sweetened urine water

[Catnip_X07]

The title of this post tastes similar to the Kolsch beer I tried earlier this week.

Extract kit and this was my 5th batch. Fermented in primary for 4 weeks at 66-67*F. No visible contamination in fermenter. NOTE: OG and FG were spot on to the spec sheet.

Racked into a keg, making sure to limit exposure to O2, etc. Not my first rodeo with this. Didn't have room in my kegerator, so (based on a previous question of mine), I shot it full of CO2, then purged, then more CO2. Had about 30 PSI, unhooked CO2 and let sit at room temp for about a week. Hooked up to CO2 and let condition at 10 PSI for one week in the kegerator at 40*. Tasted the first glass. AWFUL. Sweet, watery taste at first and almost an overpowering urine/rancid following. 2nd glass was the same. Let it condition one more week. Same taste.

I've brewed 3 great batches. 4th batch I brewed (see other post on carbonated water) that I let condition at room temp ended up poor on taste and was watery. This Kolsh appears to have followed suit of poor water, but this sweetness/rancid combo is much more than carbonated water . Only variables that share similar characteristics to batch 4 and 5 is I let condition at room temp.

What is going on with this?

 

[Yooper]

Boy, I don't know. I had a cream ale that did that over time. It makes me think of an infection. Some wild yeast could each more sugars than ale yeast, leaving a thin relatively flavorless beer I guess.

What was the recipe? And how was your sanitation, especially in the keg?

 

[SoonerDoc]

Any bad odor?

 

[Catnip_X07]

Kolsch kit from AHS. Don't have the recipe any longer and no way of looking it up online. Used White Labs Kolsch yeast (first time ever used liquid yeast...and did not make a starter).
Sanitation is StarSan. I cleaned the keg with oxyclean free, rinsed multiple times, star san and soak for over 5 minutes while lightly turning the kegs to get all sides/top of the keg.

If it is an infection, will it harm anything to open the keg up and look inside?

maybe a sickly sweet odor. Not strong. You have to put your nose up to the glass to really get a sense of the smell.

 

[businesstime]

Did it use Simcoe hops? I've had simcoe hops taste/smell like cat urine.

 

[Yooper]

Kolsch kit from AHS. Don't have the recipe any longer and no way of looking it up online. Used White Labs Kolsch yeast (first time ever used liquid yeast...and did not make a starter).
Sanitation is StarSan. I cleaned the keg with oxyclean free, rinsed multiple times, star san and soak for over 5 minutes while lightly turning the kegs to get all sides/top of the keg.

If it is an infection, will it harm anything to open the keg up and look inside?

maybe a sickly sweet odor. Not strong. You have to put your nose up to the glass to really get a sense of the smell.

How do you sanitize the posts/poppits/diptube? Do you take the keg apart?

 

[Chuck_Swillery]

I agree with the simcoe/infection combo as a possiblity. For that matter if you've got while yeast or bacteria in there it can create some pretty funky off flavors that you wouldn't immediately think spoilage. The fact it is ending up watery suggests to me infection. Did you taste it when you racked it into the keg before letting it condition? How was it then? You will get some activitiy out of your yeast (obviously) as it sits and conditions but to go from a good beer (assuming that is what you had) when you racked it into the keg to a carbonated urine flavored water product you've got a bug in there going to town on the residual sugars.

 

[shelly_belly]

I recently made EdWort's Kolsch. 4 weeks in primary(2 weeks at 63F, 2 weeks at 70F) racked to keg. 3 weeks at room temp(70F) to condition. Added gelatin and began cold crash at 33F. Tasted after 3 or 4 days-it tasted awful and was cloudy. Tasted again at 7 days-still awful and cloudy. Added another 1/2 pack of gelatin. Tasted again at 10 days-not bad and not as cloudy. 2 days later it was clear and pretty tasty. Pushed it into a new keg and started carbonating. 1 week later I had some mighty fine beer.

So, I used WL029 and at 8-9 weeks in I thought I had made my first batch that I was going to have to dump. 2 weeks later I was thinking that I just made a perfect batch of beer!

Hope yours turns out the same.

 

[nanofreak]

Came in here really hoping this was NOT a recipe thread....

 

[BrookdaleBrew]

WLP029 is not very flocculant. It's almost like a hefeweizen yeast in that way. I'd give it more time in the keg to settle out and I'm sure your beer will be tasty.

A kolsch has a very light grain bill and you really don't want the yeast to dominate the flavor so it all needs to settle out, which is why you generally lager a kolsch in secondary.

 

[Catnip_X07]

To YooperBrew, on this keg I did take apart and sanitize/clean all parts. Then assembled.
When I sampled the beer when racking, it tasted a bit flat (of course) and it did have a very slight sweet taste. But nothing what I'm getting now.

I do have that fear that this may be the first batch I have to dump. I will, however, hold off on dumping as long as I can empty a keg and rotate in the fresh supply. I'll keep it on the 10 PSI route at 40*F and wait. Will more likely wait one week, sample. If still horrible, i'll open the keg up and peek inside.

 

[Catnip_X07]

Ok. Let it go for about one week...just got a glass. There is no longer a urine smell taste. Almost no smell. However, the taste is awful. Vinegary...almost like a shot of pickle juice in the beer. I opened the keg up...no infection (to my eyes/knowledge). Looked like there was a an 1/8 inch of water on top of the beer.

I'm dumping it unless anyone thinks otherwise?

 

[Yooper]

Ok. Let it go for about one week...just got a glass. There is no longer a urine smell taste. Almost no smell. However, the taste is awful. Vinegary...almost like a shot of pickle juice in the beer. I opened the keg up...no infection (to my eyes/knowledge). Looked like there was a an 1/8 inch of water on top of the beer.

I'm dumping it unless anyone thinks otherwise?

Nah, it sounds like an infection. That was very much like one I had on a keg of cream ale. Pretty good at first. Then, turning flavorless. Then, turning vinegary. Sounds like lactobacillus, or maybe pedio?

 

[Catnip_X07]

As this was my 5th batch ever...I suppose I should solemnly dump the beer and the sanitize the bejeezus out of everything and repeat?

 

[passedpawn]

If it turns your stomach, dump it, sanitize like crazy, and don't look back.

 

[SatelliteGuy]

Here I thought it was a thread about Molson Canadian...


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