Help! Stubborn brewer ruined beer with sea salt

Ingredients
1

Against the advice of others  :-[, I added sea salt and one pureed lime to a batch of Mexican lager at kegging. The amount of sea salt was 1 tbsp which weighs out to about 1/2 oz. For some reason, I decided to steam the lime with sea salted water and combine it all together. It has been in the keg for only a few days however the salinity is way overboard. I have been sampling every day and it seems to have lessened a bit but still way too much.

I had dosed a couple of Mexican lagers with some sea salt to come up with an amount of 2 tbsp for the whole batch however I just wanted a hint so cut that amount in half. Maybe my math was bad or something…

Is there a chance that the salt didn’t fully dissolve and is moving to the bottom of the keg?

Any advice or ideas?

I will either have to mix with commercial Mexican lagers to make it drinkable or dump it. It kind of tastes like a gose with too much body and a very limited tartness from the lime.

2

Just took the keg out and shook it good. No change. Looks like it is what it is unless it somehow subsides over the next couple of weeks.

3

Yeah, you’re F’d. A half ounce of salt should put you in the 350 ppm range for sodium. The taste threshold is around 250 ppm and that is where the taste starts to be ‘salty’. Below that, its generally perceived as sweeter.

You would have needed to keep the table salt addition in the 2.5 gram/gal range to stay under 250 ppm. That happens to be somewhere around 2 TSP in 5 gal.  3 TSP = 1 TBSP

Too bad you used TBSP as your measure. Its not over. You can always dilute that beer in the glass with another beer.

4

Thanks Martin. Not sure what happened. 1/8 tsp was tasting fine to me in 12 oz. That works out to 2 tbsp for 48 twelve ounce beers and I used half that much. My perception must have been off or the salt never fully dissolved in the commercial beer.

I think I am going to brew a new batch and blend them. Haven’t ruined a batch in some time…

5

Try putting a potato in the keg.

6

Ok I always heard that helps with soup, but what sugars and bugs are you potentially putting in the keg?

7

Will do. Thanks

8

I am only half kidding.  If it works share the results please

9

Don’t worry.  Joe Q. Public LOVES beer that’s way too effing salty and tastes like seawater.  58,000 people can’t be wrong… Or can they!?

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10

So if bars put out salty snacks so you’ll buy more beer, what do they expect you to buy when they put out salty beer?:thinking:

11

LOL! I Hate that style but brew it every year anyway. The kids love it. I just cringe and watch them pay for it.

12

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13

I’m with Dave on not liking Gose.  One sample from a commercial brewer goes in my “One and Done” category. Quoth the raven “Nevermore”.

But cheers to all who like the style.

14

There are some that are done really well around here but I don’t ever need more than one.

Final verdict is to brew another batch and blend. Maybe I will use a few pints with some frozen lime juice to make margaritas

15

What the hell, add some lactic acid and tell your friends it’s a gose. You could always dilute it down a bit with some boiled and cooled water.

16

absolutely hilarious!

17

Tastes like a completely different beer today and the salt is barely detectable. I think it is going to be fine. Impatient as usual. Ha!

18

The dog in the pic on the left looks nervous.  Like he’s worried you might make him taste it.

19

Was this with or without the potato?

I wonder if some undissolved salt had collected at the bottom and was getting pulled into the first few pints in large amounts?

20

Interesting, I had a similar experience with a salted caramel stout once. Tasted too salty at first then a couple days later I wasn’t even sure I could taste the salt.