Just had some crap luck on my brewday. I brewed a doppelbock today. Everything was going great - hit all my temps and gravity readings within a point. I was planning on pitching on the yeast cake from a Dunkel I brewed recently. I was looking forward to getting the Dunkel kegged as well, since the pre-lagering sample I took tasted fantastic.
Unfortunately, when I cracked the lid on the Dunkel I got hit with a pretty strong sour aroma. The beer has a thin, shiny skin on top. It is undoubtedly contaminated It’s been a hectic winter/spring, and I’ve definitely taken my chances and rushed through some cleaning/sanitization. Of course it has to catch up to me at the most inopportune time - with a big lager ready to pitch on the yeast.
Thankfully, I had a pack of 34/70 in the fridge. It’s a bit less than I’d like to pitch in this beer, but not such a drastic underpitch that I’m worried about it.
On the bright side, I have an extra keg open now. The best plan of action is to get back on the horse and brew something easy. Looks like I’ll be brewing some IPA soon…
I had a recent infection on a batch split between fermenters. One half was one of the best beers ytd and the other was awful. Turbid- the brew tasted like meat almost. Or rubberized broccoli. :-\ Monitoring this half up to racking time revealed that it was obviously still working despite reaching expected FG. Regardless, I kegged it. And it didn’t condition out. The solution was to spike my glass with limeade to make the beer palatable and managed to finish it off last week.
I also suspect rushing the sanitation process.
It’s a good idea to keep backup yeast for emergencies!
It’s been a hectic winter/spring, and I’ve definitely taken my chances and rushed through some cleaning/sanitization. Of course it has to catch up to me at the most inopportune time - with a big lager ready to pitch on the yeast.