Will yeast restart after 2 months??

[Ntense]

Hi there,
I've already sent this question in another section of the forum, but I think it's more appropriate here, so here we go:

I did a Festa Brew brewer's worth last November's 20th.

I kegged it on December's 5th, but filled 12 bottles also, since it was a 23 liters worth.

Since that date, it was under force carbing and last week end, I tried it.

Totally awful.

I couldn't believe it. I tried another, same thing.

Now, I'm drinking the same batch, but from a bottle.

Taste like heaven.

Why? Is it because I let the 12 clear bottles under sunlight for about 2 weeks?

Probably.

Now, here's my big question:

Is it possible to take the beer out of the keg and fill bottles? I know it can be done, but I'm unsure if the yeast is still alive...

I would use a Copper's carbonation drop in each one...

let me know if it can be done.

Thanks!

 

[hoppymonkey]

Are you sure your keg isn't infected?

 

[robertvrabel]

So let me get this straight. Your keg tastes horrible... but your CLEAR bottles you left under sunlight for 2 weeks tastes fine??

 

[BigB]

After just 2 months there should still be plenty of viable yeast if you wanted to bottle. But considering the drastic difference between the beers, I would say it is extremely unlikely that being in a clear bottle and occasionally getting a little sunlight on them (for God sakes Montreal is in winter right now!) would have any appreciable effect on the flavor in a mere 2 weeks. So I would look elsewhere for the problem. But that being said, you should be fine to bottle, but since you force carbed it won't be an easy thing to do.

EDIT: If you use the Coopers, you may create bottle bombs because your beer is already carbed.

 

[ohiobrewtus]

There are certainly ways to get beer into bottles from a keg (you can search for BierMuncher's BMBF method).

From the sounds of it, your keg and/or faucet/picnic tap may not have been properly sanitized. As for the bottled beer tasting better because you left then 'under sunlight' for about 2 weeks - that should make the beer taste worse, not better. Beer in clear bottles exposed to direct sunlight for that long are likely to get skunked or lightstruck:

Lightstruck, or "skunked", beer has been exposed to ultraviolet and visible light. The light causes riboflavin to react with and break down isohumulones, a molecule that contributes to the bitterness of the beer and is derived from the hops. The resulting molecule, 3-methylbut-2-ene-1-thiol, is very similar to a skunk's natural defences.[5]
In some cases, such as Miller High Life, a hop extract that does not have isohumulones is used to bitter the beer so it cannot be "lightstruck". Bottles with dark brown glass give some protection to the beer, but green and colourless glass offer virtually no protection at all.[6]

Isn't the beer in the keg already carbonated? I'm not sure why you would need the carb tabs.

 

[Zen_Brew]

Your post is a bit confusing. Generally exposing beer in a clear glass to sunlight is going to cause the hops to skunk resulting in a skunky odor. This can happen in a pretty short amount of exposure in a clear glass.

If your beer in the keg tastes bad, putting it in bottles should not improve the taste. It is possible to do, but is best if you can flush the oxygen out of the bottles first. Like I said though this should not improve the flavor of your beer.

It sounds like there may have been a problem with sanitation in the kegs. What kind of bad taste are you getting from the kegged beer?

 

[Ntense]

How do you know if a keg is infected? Beside taste?

And yes the beer in the keg taste horrible and the bottles are great. Taste like Corona. They got a little bit more than 2 weeks of sun shine.

Edit: Since it was a mexican cerveza, I tried to make the 'Corona' taste, the skunk odor. That's why I let the bottles under sunlight.

But from what mostly of you said, I think my keg might be infected. It's a used keg that I didn't used before (bought it recently).

Sorry to write that, but the beer taste/smell like urine...

 

[robertvrabel]

How do you know if a keg is infected? Beside taste?

And yes the beer in the keg taste horrible and the bottles are great. Taste like Corona. They got a little bit more than 2 weeks of sun shine.

Did you purposely put your beer in clear bottles, in the sun for a reason??

This is a huge no-no. I'm so confused by this thread, as your beer in your bottles should taste bad due to doing this.

 

[Zen_Brew]

Without lab equipment, which few have, your best indications of infection are taste and smell, and depending on the infection a drop in gravity to very low levels.

In strong sun a beer can skunk in under 30 minutes.

I find it difficult to believe your beer in clear glasses tastes like Corona. Corona is a very light highly filtered beer that would be difficult to replicate under ideal conditions for the home brewer. Especially if you left it in the sun unless you used some kind of modified hop extract in the brew.

 

[Ntense]

Did you purposely put your beer in clear bottles, in the sun for a reason??

This is a huge no-no. I'm so confused by this thread, as your beer in your bottles should taste bad due to doing this.

Yeah, it was done on pupose to get the Corona taste, which I got...

I just edited my post with more informations..

 

[Ntense]

Also, the beer in the bottles is crystal clear, and the other (from the keg) is cloudy.

 

[Ntense]

okay, I now do think I have an infection problem. It's the first time it happens to me, and since the bottle are fine but not the keg, I think to problem comes from the keg.

Also, I bought this keg used and it was the first time I was using it.

I might be lucky because my fermenters and my equipment must be fine.

Might clean my beer line also.

Should I use bleach in my keg?

thanks for you time...

 

[hoppymonkey]

NO BLEACH in the keg! use starsan,pBW, or oxiclean after you wash with warm soap water and are sure there are no chunks of dirt inside. It may possible to vent the pressure and look inside and you may be able to tell if there is an infection. Search infection on this forum, there are many good pics of it.

 

[Ntense]

Well, I took the beer out of the keg, nothing weird inside...

It is cloudy, smell bad but looks okay.

I really don't know what wrong with it.

 

[hoppymonkey]

lame! probably still an infection. Just make sure to clean and sanitze the keg next time and it should be ok. I haven't had toss an entire batch yet(just been brewing for a year), but I am sure I will at some point.

 

[Ntense]

It was my first infection, and I did around 50 brew by now.

It probably came from that used keg I bought since the bottle are fine. Too bad.

I filled the keg with warm water and added 2 tablespoons of K-meta. Will I get ride of the infection?

I plan of changing all of the seals also.

Let me know what you think.

thanks.