We all have made beers that were…well, not that great.
A very recent Munich Helles that I brewed fell into this category. Actually, might be one of the worst beers brewed here at Bel Air.
At first I thought it was good, taking a sample as it went into the keg.
But later, it had a pronounced aroma of movie theater buttered popcorn. This was also in the taste.
The buttered popcorn became more obvious as the beer warmed up.
I invited my brewing friend over to try a sample. He picked it up right away, saying the beer was flawed having a diacetyl taste and aroma.
So…I pulled the keg out of the lagering freezer, and set it at room temp. Waited 6 days. No improvement. None!
Next step, I pulled a pint of very fresh Diamond Yeast slurry from another beer, and pitched it in the room temp Munich Helles. 4 days later I crashed the keg, getting it down to 31 F.
Yesterday, I pulled a half pint of it and took it to my neighbor. This was a blind taste test, as the beer was in a stainless steel cup and he knew nothing other than it was a beer.
He took one sniff of the aroma, and immediately said…“Munich Helles”. Dave said he could detect no flaws in this beer, and it was close to perfection.
I just now pulled another 1/2 pint to sample.
This beer, having been fixed, is the best example of a German beer that has come out of my brewery. It is good enough to make me think I’m in a beer hall in Munich Germany. It has that “it” flavor. Authentic. German.
It is with some sadness that I post this, as it is doubtful I could ever reproduce this particular beer.
But for those who make errors, there is always hope. A bad beer can be fixed!
And thanks to those of you who have offered help in the past, because this is where I got the idea of pitching fresh yeast slurry to fix a beer gone bad!