Ropiness and diacetyl are Pedio's tell-tales. Without diacetyl I don't know what else could cause ropiness.
Well, it finally happened
- Thread starter redrocker652002
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So, since it is already bottled, will it work itself out? I know that others have left it in the fermenter to rest, but will it do so in the bottles?
VikeMan
It ain't all burritos and strippers, my friend.
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What do you mean by "it?"
I have no idea what's going on here but if it were me I'd put all the bottles in a box, and put the box somewhere out of the way for at least a month. After a month take one out and refrigerate it for a couple days, then open and pour it. If it's still all weird dump the batch. But really, whatever is going on here, I don't have much hope for this batch. Sorry.
I think I would do the same and would treat the equipment as being contaminated from an infection. But that goes into a whole nother discussion.
The beer. Will the beer be drinkable at some point? I know, you cannot answer that, just thought I would ask.
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I am going to do just that. I have another sitting in the keg now chilling and carbing up. I did not think it was going to be salvageable when I saw how it poured, but just thought I would ask if anybody else has seen this before. I am wondering if the carb drops were bad or something in those lines. It tasted good before I bottled it.
I did a really good cleaning of the bucket this time. Problem is that I had already fermented another batch in it that is now sitting in the keg. It smelled and seemed to taste ok, but time will tell I guess. It sucks not having somebody close by to give it a quick taste test for me.
VikeMan
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Ah. I thought maybe you had settled on a cause. If it's pediococcus, no, it won't clean itself up in the bottle. A cure for pedio thickness and diacetyl (either by design or to clean up an accidental infection) is inoculating with Brett. But since your beer is already bottled (in standard bottles I assume) and carbonated, Brett would likely make bottle bombs.
It may be confirmation bias given the preluding discussion, but that pour looked ropey from here. Chilled me a bit 
That! ^
As @ncbrewer said, I would regard and treat this as an infection. Aside from keep looking where it possibly could have come from, start cleaning/disinfecting and thoroughly sanitizing all equipment the wort and beer has touched.
Some areas that are often overlooked, in no specific order:
1. If you don't already do it regularly, take apart and clean the inside of the exit valve on the boil kettle. For some reason the inside of the valve doesn't get hot enough to kill all germs. A black "tarry" residue in and around that ball cavity can harbor Pediococcus. I've seen it, and tasted the results.
2. Same for the bottling bucket spigot.
The main body consists of two 3/4" barrels, the outer one with the threads that mounts inside the bucket and the inner one that has the (front) spigot valve. They do come apart with a pre-soak in very hot water to soften the plastic, and a little brute force to the push the inner barrel out of the outer one.
Don't forget to clean the rubber rings, and the bucket hole area.
3. Your fermenter and lid. Aside from the deep rim, many plastic bucket lids have reinforcement "ridges" that are very hard to clean. Some have those ridges inside: all those corners are a perfect bug trap!
4. All tubing and connectors! Especially on the cold side.
5. Plate or counterflow chiller.
6. Anywhere else in the chain bugs can hide.
Thank you for the info. I had one beer with Brett yeast and was not a fan. I am going to let it sit in the closet for a month or so and then probably dump it. I need to get thru my bottling wand and tubing and really clean them up I guess.
Thank you for the info. I have a keg of pale that was made after the batch in question. It is carbing up and I took a pull from it. Came out of the tap perfect and seemed to be ok taste wise. Maybe the bottles were bad or the bottling wand and tubing that I used. The bottles I put thru the sanitizing mode in the dishwasher, and I have heard that is not the best way. So, this next batch, if I bottle it, will be done with super clean and sanitized buckets, hoses and all other things that touch the wort. I had not thought of the ball valve on the kettle, I need to get a look at that next. As I said, the batch in the keg came after the one in question and it seems to be moving along nicely, but time will tell.
Thanks to all who replied to my stupid question. This is the first batch since I started in 2021 or so that really went bad. So, I was just more curious than anything to what happened. You guys gave me lots to go on. Thanks again.
As long as they're already cleaned (thoroughly brushed inside using a detergent) then rinsed out and inspected before going into the dishwasher they should be fine.
Alas, with very little added benefit, as Starsan would take care of the last step (sanitizing) anyway, right before filling.I have much doubt about the "sanitizing mode" on dishwashers when it comes to the inside of (narrow-neck) bottles. It's easy to see that recirculating dishwasher water does not reach all the way up into those bottles.
Now if the washer had a spray nozzle in the spikes you slide the bottle over, there would be a chance it could work...
Our chem lab washers had those nozzles, even replaceable racks with nozzles on a central feed line.
Might be a good time for a diy bottle washer and sanitizer. I saw a cool one made from pvc and hollow pen bodies. Hmmm. LOLAs long as they're already cleaned (thoroughly brushed inside using a detergent and inspected) then rinsed out before going into the dishwasher they should be fine.
I have much doubt about the "sanitizing mode" on dishwashers when it comes to the inside of (narrow-neck) bottles. It's easy to see that recirculating dishwasher water does not reach all the way up into those bottles.
Now if the washer had a spray nozzle in the spikes you slide the bottle over, there would be a chance it could work...
Our chem lab washers had those nozzles, even replaceable racks with nozzles on a central feed line.
I use one of those jet sprayers that screw into the faucet in place of the aerator. And I only use the sprayer for rinsing out, after they've been cleaned with a bottle brush and detergent.
Much hinges on the state of the bottles you're cleaning. As long as they were simply rinsed out after finishing, then left to dry they'd only need a small touch-up cleaning, rinse, and sanitation before refilling.
Now when you bottle much, one of those bulk bottle washers with serious spray/cleaning capability, yup, worth checking it out.
Frankly, since I started kegging in 2013, I haven't bottled much anymore, except for big or sour beers.
I had two of those jet sprayers but they both gave out on me. LOL. I am going to check them out. If they will attach to my sink in the laundry room, no harm no foul and I can take it off and on with no problem thanks for the info.
The stainless steel sprayers promise to hold up better than the ones that are all plastic.
IIRC, the threads on the jet sprayers are Garden Hose Threads (GHT). If you want to connect to a faucet with an aerator head (after removing the aerator) you'd need an adapter too, They don't come with one, be aware.
Our kitchen sink faucet has the aerator recessed inside the fancy spray head. So the only place I could mount the jet was on one of the (regular) bathroom sink faucets, using the GHT adapter.
The vanity sinks are very shallow, but since the bottles are pushed upside down onto the sprayer, it works dandy. Then when you push the nozzle down, during an inattentive moment, you're in for a nice wet surprise... You may only do that 3 times before it finally clicks.
The basin in my garage where the washing machine drains has a faucet with a hose thread. It is where I attach the hose to clean out my kettle and other stuff after brew day. This will work perfect as I don't have to clutter up the kitchen with bottles and can do a bunch at once after I clean them initially with warm water and soapThe stainless steel sprayers promise to hold up better than the ones that are all plastic.
IIRC, the threads on the jet sprayers are Garden Hose Threads (GHT). If you want to connect to a faucet with an aerator head (after removing the aerator) you'd need an adapter too, They don't come with one, be aware.
Our kitchen sink faucet has the aerator recessed inside the fancy spray head. So the only place I could mount the jet was on one of the (regular) bathroom sink faucets, using the GHT adapter.
The vanity sinks are very shallow, but since the bottles are pushed upside down onto the sprayer, it works dandy. Then when you push the nozzle down, during an inattentive moment, you're in for a nice wet surprise... You may only do that 3 times before it finally clicks.
Did you use 20w-50 malt oil? That looks pretty viscous and scary to me.
I actually thought that at first. But the consensus is that there is not enough sugar in the carb drop to produce that type of thickness. At least I was thinking the same as somebody else. LOL.
Update on the one in the keg that I did after this one. It is pouring perfect and has a pineapple taste due to the Cascade hops, so I think I am good. I am going to really wash and sterilize the bottling wand that tubing that I used and start being better about rinsing my bottles and cleaning them before I put them away for future use.
This thread had me a bit paranoid about carb drops, so I just inverted and shook my hefeweizen bottles (first time I've used the drops) and thankfully, none showed signs of mysterious viscosity.
I've used these drops quite a bit so I honestly don't think it was that. But who knows. I wouldn't worry too much about the drops. I'm sure it was something in my bottling process or a bad batch.
Rowswell
New Member
Just found this thread today while reading up on an issue I've had with my last 2 brews. My experience reads like your initial post - beer that started out seeming OK, but then after bottling became increasingly viscous when poured - but still looked & smelled OK, although both also gained a slight sour taste as the viscosity increased. While I don't go out of my way to drink Sours, except for the viscosity, I don't mind the taste.
I've been brewing for ~15 years now and these are the 1st where things have not gone to plan, so I thought I'd post up what I've learned & where things stand. Among the things I've read, this page sums things up pretty well, if you haven't already found it in your searches: https://www.morebeer.com/questions/296
One was an ordinary Bitter (in photo), the other a Kölsch clone, so hops, barley and yeast were all completely different, but both were low IBU beers - which I read can be a factor that enables LAB type infection. Both were brewed a couple of days apart, so that was the 1st clue that there was an equipment related issue as it was clearly the result of an infection, but I wasn't sure what kind or where the infection may have happened so I went looking to see if I could learn what it is and if it is terminal, or if the beer can be salvaged.
Long story, but I'm now sure it is an infection, likely Pedio, that resulted from contamination of my hydrometer and/or racking tubing as they are the only common pieces of equipment on the cold side for both brews. All plastic things on the cold side have now been replaced and everything else has been given a serious sterilization process - hopefully that means I won't be making any more sour beers unintentionally.
Like others have posted here, it seems that adding some Brett could assist in removing or reducing the viscosity, as could a few months of aging. As the beer is still drinkable, I've decided to go the aging route and see how things turn out, so the beers are in my cellar and I'll taste one every week or 2 to see how they are doing. As long as the sourness doesn't get any more dominant, and the viscosity drops, I'm hoping I'll still be able to declare victory one day.....
I'm thinking that like many others I've fallen foul of being too lackadaisical in my plastic equipment replacement processes and sterilization routines and am paying the price, but the silver lining seems to be that I still have drinkable beer - just not the ones I started out trying to make. Hopefully, the steps taken will prevent a recurrence as the replacement batch is in the fermenter now...
I've been brewing for ~15 years now and these are the 1st where things have not gone to plan, so I thought I'd post up what I've learned & where things stand. Among the things I've read, this page sums things up pretty well, if you haven't already found it in your searches: https://www.morebeer.com/questions/296
One was an ordinary Bitter (in photo), the other a Kölsch clone, so hops, barley and yeast were all completely different, but both were low IBU beers - which I read can be a factor that enables LAB type infection. Both were brewed a couple of days apart, so that was the 1st clue that there was an equipment related issue as it was clearly the result of an infection, but I wasn't sure what kind or where the infection may have happened so I went looking to see if I could learn what it is and if it is terminal, or if the beer can be salvaged.
Long story, but I'm now sure it is an infection, likely Pedio, that resulted from contamination of my hydrometer and/or racking tubing as they are the only common pieces of equipment on the cold side for both brews. All plastic things on the cold side have now been replaced and everything else has been given a serious sterilization process - hopefully that means I won't be making any more sour beers unintentionally.
Like others have posted here, it seems that adding some Brett could assist in removing or reducing the viscosity, as could a few months of aging. As the beer is still drinkable, I've decided to go the aging route and see how things turn out, so the beers are in my cellar and I'll taste one every week or 2 to see how they are doing. As long as the sourness doesn't get any more dominant, and the viscosity drops, I'm hoping I'll still be able to declare victory one day.....
I'm thinking that like many others I've fallen foul of being too lackadaisical in my plastic equipment replacement processes and sterilization routines and am paying the price, but the silver lining seems to be that I still have drinkable beer - just not the ones I started out trying to make. Hopefully, the steps taken will prevent a recurrence as the replacement batch is in the fermenter now...
Beer lines and hoses can be trouble. Soak em. Or replace.
Another area where inflection can happen that you might not have thought about...
Your gloves. Especially leather welding gloves that get wet. I caught a little creepy crap growing on mine and soaked them in diluted chlorine bleach, then PBW, then sanitizer. Good to go now.
Oh dear Flying Spaghetti Monster I hope it isn't! 
I read a couple of places in my brewing infancy that pedio infections eventually resolve and leave drinkable beer behind.
I'm not the type that would conduct that particular experiment - and it hasn't happened here, yet - but that's out there...
Cheers?
I read a couple of places in my brewing infancy that pedio infections eventually resolve and leave drinkable beer behind.
I'm not the type that would conduct that particular experiment - and it hasn't happened here, yet - but that's out there...
Cheers?
I put a bottle in the fridge last night. Going to open it up this afternoon and see what I got. Most likely they will be going down the drain and bottles will be dumped as well. I will keep you all posted. LOL
Maybe keep a bottle or two for a year. You know, for science.
Ya know, that could be kinda interesting. Maybe I will throw a six pack in the back of the closet just for the heck of it.
If you mean you will throw out the bottles, I don't think that would be necessary. Heat sterilization should be able to kill any microbes in them. I'm cleaning after an infection now. I gave the bottles a bleach treatment, then heat sterilized them - 3 hours (plus safety factor) at 285F as per John Palmer. I think you have his book - check the details.
Probably best to keep them in something that will protect in case of bottle bombs, and keep any beer from making a mess.
I had a beer once that just didn’t taste good. Put them aside and continued brewing. A few months later I needed some bottles and decided to try one before I dumped them. Beer actually turned out pretty good so I dumped them into my gut and not the drain.
Well, I checked one of the bottles and still the same. It is in the closet really not taking much room so I will let it sit a bit more. If it doesn't work out, so be it. One bad batch in two plus years isn't too bad. Right? LOL I am going to try and brew it again though simply because I hate to admit defeat.
