Yet another..."my beer is infected" thread...mine really is...now what?

[imfinallywright]

Ok, I am clearly not a brewmaster...but I am NOT a total newb either. We have been brewing for a couple of years with several dozens of beer under out belt. I am however, completely new to this infection. I can only gather from all my research that it has to be a brett/lacti/something. I started out with OG of 1.05 and it is now at 1.015 and I am wondering how/where this should end up if I continue to let it go...or should I go ahead and keg/bottle and try to just stop fermentation? I know ya'll are gonna ask....what was it supposed to be to begin with...well, it was not in any particular style or anything...it was kind of just an experiment to begin with. My husband called it "witches brew" 2. He calls it that because my first experimental brew was called witches brew (also named by my beloved ) Sooooo....take a look at the picture just to clarify, but I am fairly certain I am dealing with a form of that beast.
I did siphon some from the bottom to check gravity and tried it...it actually tastes quite good, it tastes very smooth but heavier in alcohol that the gravity actually reads.
It started out as kind of a take on a vanilla bourbon cream ale....has vanilla bean, lactose, makers mark...very low on hops
Maybe, is Makers Mark oaked? Could my brett have come from that? I'll have to check....any and all ideas, tips, etc. to save this beer and make it so that I can at least drink it or make my friends drink it....or make it fabulous so that my husband is totally jealous...we usually brew together this is one of my few solor brews...I'm open to all advice! Thanks! I am NOT dumping it...please tell me I don't have to dump it....
This was originally brewed on 6/14/12 and looked fine the couple times I checked on it...until today....

 

[imfinallywright]

I did just find that Makers Mark is indeed oaked...and I did add it at a later time...could this have live within? TIA for any words of wisdom...

 

[beerloaf]

I don't think you have to dump it either. You have 2 options. You can either siphon under it and salvage most of it as is, or let it sit for a year and have a sour and go from there. If it was me, I would siphon as is and enjoy it now. I doubt its the Makers Mark, possibly equipmentm but I suppose anything is possible.

beerloaf

 

[imfinallywright]

Thanks...I think I'll name this batch "Fail Ale" :rockin:

 

[bovineblitz]

I'd keg and drink it as soon as it's ready. Typically a brett infection takes a while to add a significant flavor element. Bottling is a little iffy since the brett will continue slowly munching on the complex sugars left, if you do bottle you shouldn't let the bottles last too long.

 

[wuilliez]

Had the exact same thing happen with SWMBO and my chocolate vanilla espresso stout. Racked under, bottled, and it tastes awesome. Another peculiar thing I saw was it took place in a bottling bucket, just like ours did.

 

[Pilgarlic]

If it were mine, I'd put that lid back on and let it sit for another ninety days, at least. You may not pass this way again, why abort? Taste it then and either let it continue or package.

 

[imfinallywright]

Thanks guys...anyone else?

 

[onthekeg]

Keg it up! That happens when a beer is left in a pail for too long.

 

[ICWiener]

I agree with the other responses. If it tastes fine and you don't want to sit on it, go ahead and bottle/keg it now and drink up. Just finish it quickly if you bottle. Looks like a Brett infection, and if that's the case the Brett will continue to work...the general rule (that I've read) is that if you bottle with your FG over 1.010 the Brett will eventually attenuate to the point that you'll get bottle bombs.

The alternative is to let it sit for 3-6 months (bottling when the flavor is where you want it and the FG is low enough) if you want some Brett character in the final product.

The other, other alternative is to pitch some lacto and pedio into that bad boy, then give it a year or two to let it sour up.

 

[ICWiener]

Oh yeah, and you might want to think about separating any plastic/PVC/vinyl equipment that has come in contact with that beer. That includes your tubing, beer thief, bottling wand, and bucket. Brett is a pain to eradicate from porous materials. I keep an entirely different set of post-boil equipment (aside from steel and glass) for Brett beers.