Vinegary smell?

[kiloechovictor]

hello all,

I've just started homebrewing, i've done 2 kits, the first was a cooper's pilsener which went well, too well in fact but my second, a cooper's australian pale ale hasn't gone quite as well. I brewed it during the fairly recent heatwave (in the UK), according to the strip thermometer on the FV the temp during fermentation was 24C which i know from browsing the forum was too high. when checking the FG and tasting at the same time the beer smelled and tasted fine but now, after being bottled for 14 days upon opening there is a vinegary smell, not overpowering but definately there and the taste is a little sharp although not unpleasant. there didn't appear to be any signs of infection, the 1 litre bottles were primed with 10g of brewing sugar, the kit was brewed with 1kg of munton's brew enhancer, i santized with vwp and rinsed everything. will the beer improve as at 14 days it is still very young or is the vinegary smell a warning of worse to come? thanks in advance for any responses.
Kev.

 

[Asalpaws]

I guess the concern is acetobacter contamination, where acetic acid is produced instead of alcohol, essentially producing vinegar. Warmer fermentation temp can induce the yeast to produce more phenolic compounds which I believe are the peppery/clove taste you get in Belgian beer. However warmer temps also make airborne microbes more common. I wouldn't throw it out yet, see how it goes beer changes a lot with age. I'm not sure of any diagnostic test for bacterial contamination, a more experienced member may know. On a side note I ruined a couple of brews by not rinsing off VWP well enough. Get some starsan, one of the best home brew products I've bought.

 

[Slate Miner]

I brewed a batch of Cooper's Aussie Lager back in March, each bottle I have opened has given off a bit of a vinegar smell. However once it's in the glass the vinegar smell disappears and the beer tastes great. Make of that what you will. :shock: :hmm: :

 

[kiloechovictor]

thanks for the replies, i'm not going to be chucking the beer, while the taste is a bit different, it's not unpallatable and it definately works in the way that alcoholic beverages should(gets you p****d :grin: ). Will invest in starsan methinks, nearly every post that involves sanitizing in it has a mention of starsan so it must be good stuff!
Kev.