Hi!
. . . . and warned that it will be thrashed to within an inch of it's life if it ever does that again.
Is this brew buggered, growth on top in FV?
- Thread starter Dave 666
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. . . . and warned that it will be thrashed to within an inch of it's life if it ever does that again.
Dave 666
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Thanks for all the replies guys, in the end I poured it down the drain (as much as it saddened me to do so). As a new and inexperienced brewer I could never be 100% sure on if it was possible to salvage and what exactly the issue was or the risks. Also limited and basic equipment (brewing buckets only) so likely not have had the resources to have rescued it in an assuring method. Besides the fact that I only had 8 litres (not the point) would have meant at best I'd have only been able to save a handful of bottles anyway if drawing from under the surface. And not to sure I like the idea of sour beer or risk them exploding.
Had I let my heart decide, I'd have bottled most of it and waited. But upsetting myself I let my head decide and put it down to experience and use it as a lesson to better learn and tune my methods. In future I feel if I was to transfer to a bottling vessel again, to then bottle it right away, certainly with a few hours to let most of any drawn sediment to have settled again.
And looking at better cleaning my gear in case that was the problem or to ensure everything is good to go for my next brew weekend.
As a side note as I only have bog standard no rinse cleaner\steraliser powder here, is any household cleaners usable, like baby's steraliser fluid?. Don't want to use bleach as such as plastic might take it in and affect brews. Pay day and no issuis getting this starsan stuff.
Had I let my heart decide, I'd have bottled most of it and waited. But upsetting myself I let my head decide and put it down to experience and use it as a lesson to better learn and tune my methods. In future I feel if I was to transfer to a bottling vessel again, to then bottle it right away, certainly with a few hours to let most of any drawn sediment to have settled again.
And looking at better cleaning my gear in case that was the problem or to ensure everything is good to go for my next brew weekend.
As a side note as I only have bog standard no rinse cleaner\steraliser powder here, is any household cleaners usable, like baby's steraliser fluid?. Don't want to use bleach as such as plastic might take it in and affect brews. Pay day and no issuis getting this starsan stuff.
IainM
Landlord.
@Dutto knows the score. Clean it with a soft sponge, a couple of kettles worth of boiling water slowly down the sides, pour it slowly out making sure the whole thing is covered. Same with the lid. If there is a tap, I'd disassemble that and boil it too. A bit of diluted unperfumed thin bleach won't do any harm, give a good thorough rinse and then next time round you're good to go with the no rinse stuff you've got.
Nice to see someone has actually listened to me
Dutto
Landlord.
Nice to see someone has actually listened to me
We all listen to you ...
... it's just that some of them don't take any notice!
Interesting. This looks and sounds very similar to what just happened to my most recent brew, a Munton Smugglers kit, which I've made before and liked. This time something went very wrong and after 48 hours there was absolutely no fermentation and the SG hadn't moved, so it seems that the kit yeast was dead. I had a sachet of ale yeast left over from a previous Suffolk Strong Ale kit so I bunged that in and sure enough it went off like a rocket, but slowed to a near standstill only 3 days later. I measured the SG 4 or 5 times over a few days to check that is wasn't still going, so by that time I suppose the FV had been opened maybe 10 times, lots of opportunity for air and other microbes to enter. When it came to bottling, the FV had a thin white / grey film floating on the surface, similar to how you've described, and not something I've ever seen before. The siphoning tube dislodged some of the dead yeast from the bottom of the FV and that looked a similar colour to the surface film, so I hoped that the surface film was just dead ale yeast that had dried out.
However, a month down the line and with the "beer" completely clear in the bottle, it tastes pretty vile, sort of medicinal or hormonal in some way it's hard to accurately describe. The worrying thing is that the 2 times I've tasted it, only a couple of mouthfuls, it's given me the sort of jittery feeling with minor palpitations that I associate with strong coffee and some very tannic red wines. I'm prepared to believe that's a psychosomatic thing, but after experiencing the same thing twice it doesn't seem worth risking.
Since this is a 23L batch in 500ml bottles it's quite an investment in time to pour down the sink, but it probably has to be done.
However, a month down the line and with the "beer" completely clear in the bottle, it tastes pretty vile, sort of medicinal or hormonal in some way it's hard to accurately describe. The worrying thing is that the 2 times I've tasted it, only a couple of mouthfuls, it's given me the sort of jittery feeling with minor palpitations that I associate with strong coffee and some very tannic red wines. I'm prepared to believe that's a psychosomatic thing, but after experiencing the same thing twice it doesn't seem worth risking.
Since this is a 23L batch in 500ml bottles it's quite an investment in time to pour down the sink, but it probably has to be done.
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Dutto
Landlord.
For me, whether or not a brew is "off" normally depends on:
It tasted "not too bad" when I transferred it and the trub smelled like a good beer when I cleaned out the FV.
However, today I drew off some of the 10 litres being carbonated with CO2 and it didn't smell or taste anything like the descriptions above.
It smelled okay, but tasted a bit "funky" - if anyone knows what that's like!
I'll give it another week and try again; but I live more in hope than expectation and it may very well find its way to the drain!
- The smell and/or taste of vinegar.
- A smell like a Turkish Wrestlers Jock-Strap (i.e. damp and musty).
It tasted "not too bad" when I transferred it and the trub smelled like a good beer when I cleaned out the FV.
However, today I drew off some of the 10 litres being carbonated with CO2 and it didn't smell or taste anything like the descriptions above.
It smelled okay, but tasted a bit "funky" - if anyone knows what that's like!
I'll give it another week and try again; but I live more in hope than expectation and it may very well find its way to the drain!
IainM
Landlord.
Dutto
Landlord.
Sir, may I point out that:
- Not all Turkish Wrestlers are men!
- Some of the lady wrestlers wear jock-straps and have hairier chests than me!
- Once you have been nearly smothered by close contact the latter you will know what is "off" and what isn't!
BTW the only time I ever felt nauseous during my time at sea when we were tied up alongside the quay in Izmir and I was supervising the unloading of No.3 Hold.
The Hold was up against the ship's boilers and it was a warm day. The Turkish Foreman must have eaten a ton of garlic, not bathed for at least a month, was sweating heavily and had to stand close by my shoulder so that he could agree the cargo tally as it was offloaded.
For eight hours, the smell of a garlic on his breath and his unwashed body I could cope with, but what turned my stomach was that these smells were mixed in with the perfume that he had doused himself with before coming to work!
Even now, nearly 60 years later, I remember that smell; and believe me, nearly being smothered by the lady who looked like a wrestler was something of a treat after that experience!
Hi @Dave 666,I had brewed a Red Ale for a competition last year and noticed a white pelical had formed covering the top of the brew.
What I did was taste it and was fine so went ahead and bottled though did sterilise the FV.
I knew it was infected but was intrigued by the pelical and wondered how the beer would turn out as this is a style for certain European brewers and I was glad I did as this gives insight as to what actually happens over time whilst the beer is conditioning and I was curious as to how it would turn out.
A year down the line I've only three bottles out of 38 and as it matured over time the better it has got albeit with the nose of sourness when opened that relates nothing to the taste.
Pity that you binned it but if you do have a next time......
What I did was taste it and was fine so went ahead and bottled though did sterilise the FV.
I knew it was infected but was intrigued by the pelical and wondered how the beer would turn out as this is a style for certain European brewers and I was glad I did as this gives insight as to what actually happens over time whilst the beer is conditioning and I was curious as to how it would turn out.
A year down the line I've only three bottles out of 38 and as it matured over time the better it has got albeit with the nose of sourness when opened that relates nothing to the taste.
Pity that you binned it but if you do have a next time......
Dave 666
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To be honest, I do somewhat regret binning the lot even if it was only about the 8 litre mark. As even for allowing to drain from the bottom I could still have drawn maybe 5 litres and left most of the crap on the top. I did however notice some of the stuff a little under the surface and wasn't to sure how far. I didn't really notice anything overly bad smell or taste wise at all. But the other half did comment it smelt horrible, yet I couldn't detect anything.
If only I'd done just half of it into bottles and stuck it in long term storage to mature and observe!!!. Maybe next time I might not be so annoyed with myself and simply bottle it anyway. But as said, new inexperienced brewer and didn't know for sure exactly what it was and even if worth bottling!.
Everyday is a schoolday and lessons to be learned and to be honest you done what you thought was right and rightly so as you're the one who's brewing and will be drinking your beer.
The great thing about this forum is there is always plenty of advice on hand and you can be guaranteed that if you have a question someone has an answer as they have already been there or know of someone who has and don't ever think you're obliged to take it on board as it is only advice.
I personally have and still do make loads of blunders and don't always learn by them or realise when it's to late but you can always try again.
Good luck going forward...
I would let it sit for month personally as it may take a bit to start mellowing out....
Dutto
Landlord.
Had another wee taste today. The "funkiness" is hardly noticeable and it's beginning to taste like an ordinary beer!
That's the 10 litres being carbonated with CO2 and I've turned the heater off in the fridge where the rest of it is carbonating with sugar. I will give it another two weeks before I give it a whirl by opening one of the bottles.
