Brown IPA

[RichardM]

As you seem to have some form of attention deficit, I have highlighted the first mention of “hops” in Post #3 from @Geddey !

I have also highlighted your latest Post where you assure me you have read “all of the Thread then accuse me of “introducing” the subject of hops when I responded in Post #5.

You may apologise anytime!

I apologise, but I still think dry hopping, hop teas and 2+2+2 are not likely to be relevant to the problem.

 

[Ale House Rock]

Maybe this will help - Beer Off Flavor Kits | MoreBeer

 

[Dutto]

@RichardM I agree, but I’ve had a few brews that have smelled bad and then improved considerably during and after Conditioning; and using a Hop Tea takes away one possible source of infection.

 

[Elliott 22]

I am in no means and expert but just a thought reading this thread, are you using tap water?
And if so are you treating with a campden tablet?
Or is it bottled water?

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Adding water you haven't boiled could be an issue

Brewing myth, tap water is sterile.

 

[An Ankoù]

I don't think we're going to get to the bottom of this one. Old beer that's been hanging around can easily become acetified if there's exposure to oxygen. It's unlikely that there'll be any "vinegar" in fermenting beer. And what's this "nasty brown colour with bits in it"? What colour is it supposed to be? Could the "bits" be yeast floaters?
We can rule out chlorophenols from chlorinated water as it's a kit diluted with water. Or do you boil the hop additions separately in tap water or in equipment that has been cleaned with chlorine based solutions?
As for scratched plastic, yes it can hide bugs, but after your sanitation regime, they're not going to cause an immediate problem and, if they do cause an infection, that'll come to light much later.
You haven't answered many of the questions I asked earlier, though.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

My advice would be buy a new plastic fermenter. They are cheap and it may be the issue.

 

[Agentgonzo]

Darkening of the beer is most likely a sign of oxidisation.
Vinegar taste/smell is commonly bacterial infection, but I also get it in very oxidised beer. Can your walk us through your sanitisation process in detail and we'll see if we can spot anything (eg, you say the sanitizer was "not to old". How old was it, had it gone cloudy)?

Whilst I don't think a tiny crack would allow it to oxidise hugely, it's safest to rule it out and try a new fermenter like the Cat says. Did you fermenter have an airlock, or was it one of the ones without an airlock that 'burps' the excess co2 every so often from the lid? (I'm assuming you made sure that the lid was tightly on?)

 

[Agentgonzo]

i sanitized and added wilkos IPA kit and hot water then topped up with cold water, left to cool with the lid on and then added yeast and put into the fridge temp stayed at 65f, og was 1.0430 and ended at 1.0080 and was frementing for 13 days, ABV is showing as 4.59%, i only noticed the smell once i took off the lid to move to keg, sampled it and it tasted of vinegar

I found the instructions online. When your say "added the hot water", was it from the hot water tap, or cold water that you then boiled?

 

[Bolsover Brewer]

Sterilising comes in two parts, the first part is an alkaline clean, if you don't do that no amount of acid based steriliser is going to work.
http://www.milkthefunk.com/wiki/Quality_Assurance

 

[clib]

My advice would be buy a new plastic fermenter. They are cheap and it may be the issue.

This is the logical thing to do for starters, a new bucket is not a major expense. Beer that tastes of vinegar is infected. I can't answer how that infection is getting into your beer but as it has happened twice with successive brews it suggests something that touches the beer is infected, or flies are able to get access to the beer. Maybe get a new siphon tube or anything else that might be a suspect. If your wort goes straight from kettle to a well sanitised bucket it should not get infected. Is the beer open to possible infection while it cools? I had a spell of infections a few years back and went back to using bleach, which eradicated it - the infection was not killed by the no rinse sanitiser I was using. Bleach kills everything. Just handle it carefully and don't leave traces of bleach on your equipment as it will ruin your beer. I've had that too! Since I sorted all these things out I've had no problems at all. I now have a very effective regime that costs pennies.