Sour beer

[netman]

.
Have made 3 all-grain batches to date.

First one was sour when bottling, but I didn't care. It was just a learning batch. No big deal.
Second one was sour when bottling and I was frustrated.
Third one is now sour when I need to bottle it.

Is it possible that this sour taste will go away in time? When the beer clears?

I put the same ingredients in every batch.
3kg pale wheat malt
2,5kg pale pilsner malt
0,5kg karamel
30gr hops

Before all-grain I made about 6 extract beers and they all turned out great. Not sour at all. Is it possible that old grains are to blame? Or my old stuffy mouldy house?
I can't help thinking an infection is almost impossible as I've never had problems with extract brewing.

I sanitize with potassium metabisulphite

Thanks for any tips. At the moment my only thought how to figure this out is to buy some new grain and brew it as soon as I bring it home.

 

[markp]

Do you mean sour as in 'off' or sour as in some flavours need to mellow a bit??

It could be a number of things, but it sounds like you are picking up some sort of infection post boil.

I would buy some good sanitiser and give everything a good clean....something like peracetic acid.
Pay particular attention to your boiler tap.....all sorts of stuff gets trapped in there.
Also, have a good look at your fermenter....are they old? any deep scratches inside?

Maybe try and ferment your next batch under airlock as well......then you are sure there is nothing creeping in from your environment.

ATB

 

[Cussword]

I would agree with mark about the airlock. How long had you had the grains? I'm sure that if there was a problem with them they should have smelled "musty".

 

[netman]

My beer is sour, so you can just taste a sample and then pour it all in the toilet. (poor toilet) Stil I am saving all the beer in the cellar. Who knows - maybe after 6 months It might settle out???

To tell you the truth I got the grain from a friend and don't even know how old it really is. I've had it myself for about 6 weeks and its just sitting on my old wooden floor in a bag.

I always use an airlock.

Maybe you could answer this question. How long should an airlock bubble away?

In my last 2 batches the airlock was still bubbling after a month of fermentation, even though the gravitiy reading was at 1.020 for the last 2 weeks. So what's that all about? Wild bacteria fermenting? I'm still too green around the ears to understand half the things that are going on.

Thanks for your help
netman

 

[prolix]

All three brew the same, I would get a new fermenter and go over your brew schedule more closely especially the mash.

 

[Aleman]

I sanitize with potassium metabisulphite.

Sorry but no you do not. Metabisulphite is a very ineffectual sanitiser, and only stuns wild yeast to allow a cultured yeast to grow. I would suggest that you change to a decent powdered sanitiser like Ritchies/VWP and use that instead.

 

[rickthebrew]

In my last 2 batches the airlock was still bubbling after a month of fermentation, even though the gravitiy reading was at 1.020 for the last 2 weeks. So what's that all about? Wild bacteria fermenting? I'm still too green around the ears to understand half the things that are going on.

Thanks for your help
netman

How long did you ferment for? Normal practice seems to be 10 to 14 days on the forum, what was the final gravity reading?

 

[BigYin]

the longer you ferment for, the longer there is for an infection to get in, and to grow...

As homebrewers, we pretty much can't 'sterilise' - we can only 'sanitise' - and there's a world of difference between them!!

That means there will always be some level of infection present, we just hope we've done enough that it's kept to an absolute minimum.

If it's taking a month to ferment I suspect your yeast isn't doing its job - either the yeast has been stored badly, or possibly pitched at the wrong temp? And I'd alos look at what temperature the fermenting is being carried out at - and is it fluctuating throught the day and night? If it gets too cold at night, the yeast will go to sleep, and not wake up very well the next day - stuck fermentation :hmm:

 

[netman]

Thank you all, for your help.

I have been, and will continue looking for a sanitizing agent that I can import to my country. But it's hard. Usually when I find something I like - it doesn't ship to Slovenia, or the postage is criminal. Star-san as an example, can be imported only from U.S. and then I have to pay customs too.

Thanks again for your help.

 

[Aleman]

You can take care of sanitising quite simply using diluted thin (unscented bleach) . . . I can't recall the dilution but it is something like 1 cup in 5 gallons (US - 18.9L) . . . A 20 minute soak will kill practically any bug . . . it does need rinsing very well though . . . a final rinse with metabisulphite usually does the trick of eliminating any chlorine residue

 

[netman]

Thanks. I might just try unscented bleach and see what happens.

OG of my beers was around 1.050 and end gravity of all three batches was 1.020 at 17°C. This final gravity was measured one month after beginning of fermentation. Fermentation really did stop over night and continue during the day, although i don't understand why. Temperature never fell under 16°C.

I haven't ever measured Ph of my mash. I will do this next time. First I have to buy some bleach.

Some of you think I should get a new fermenter, but the truth is, that my last batch was made in a brand new fermenter, and is still sour.

Getting a good sanitizer is probably the first step to make. Getting fresh grains, second.