# infected beer? **URL:** \ **Category:** General Homebrew Discussion\ **Created:** [January 23, 2012, 6:51pm UTC](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/t/infected-beer/9034 "2012-01-23T18:51:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![madscientist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@madscientist](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/u/madscientist)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 6:51pm UTC](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/t/infected-beer/9034/1 "2012-01-23T18:51:55Z")
Dumb question, but what are the effects of an infected beer?  Just bad taste?  Is there anyway you could get really sick from one?  Reason I ask is that I am battling a stomach bug since last night.  Instinct tells me that it’s not from the beer, but just wondering for curiosity’s sake. ---
**Author:** ![brewmichigan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cdc98d/32.png) [@brewmichigan](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/u/brewmichigan)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 7:06pm UTC](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/t/infected-beer/9034/2 "2012-01-23T19:06:06Z")
From what I have heard over the years from many very well known brewers, there are no known pathogens that can survive in beer. PH and alcohol kill most bacterias that might infect beer. ---
**Author:** ![majorvices](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/brewersassociation/user_avatar/forum.homebrewersassociation.org/majorvices/32/12825_2.png) [@majorvices](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/u/majorvices)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 7:18pm UTC](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/t/infected-beer/9034/3 "2012-01-23T19:18:13Z")
Remember that the human race has turned to fermented beverages through out history because it was safer to drink than waTER. While I wouldn’t rule out the possibility that an infection is lurking out there that may make one sick I would be willing to say it is not highly likely. ---
**Author:** ![anje](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/brewersassociation/user_avatar/forum.homebrewersassociation.org/anje/32/1357_2.png) [@anje](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/u/anje)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 8:01pm UTC](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/t/infected-beer/9034/4 "2012-01-23T20:01:07Z")
Be aware, too, that food poisoning often takes on the order of 24 hours to show up.  It wasn’t necessarily the last thing you consumed.  Basically anything non-acidic that wasn’t fully cooked shortly before you ate it is a potential culprit; produce especially, these days. ---
**Author:** ![madscientist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@madscientist](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/u/madscientist)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 8:51pm UTC](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/t/infected-beer/9034/5 "2012-01-23T20:51:03Z")
Thanks everyone.  I was pretty sure it was nothing beer related, and I didn’t think about food poisoning. Edit:  I’m feeling a lot better.  Hunger is a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![curnes](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/brewersassociation/user_avatar/forum.homebrewersassociation.org/curnes/32/921_2.png) [@curnes](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/u/curnes)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2012, 3:39am UTC](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/t/infected-beer/9034/6 "2012-01-28T03:39:34Z")
I think bad beer is the issue.  Last time I had 6 or 7 in a night, I woke up with a stomach ache. ---
**Author:** ![madscientist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@madscientist](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/u/madscientist)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 1:27am UTC](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/t/infected-beer/9034/7 "2012-01-30T01:27:59Z")
While I still don’t believe the beer caused me to be that sick, I had another bottle of said beer today and it isn’t tasting good.  Seems very astringent, overly bitter. Edit:  Looking back at the recipe, maybe 3oz of hops at flameout in a partial boil were way too much. ---
**Author:** ![morticaixavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb9ed0/32.png) [@morticaixavier](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/u/morticaixavier)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 2:13pm UTC](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/t/infected-beer/9034/8 "2012-01-30T14:13:32Z")
3 oz at flameout is not terribly high. a little but shouldn’t cause bitterness as not much of the alpha acids will isomerize when added then. how much did you add at 60 minutes? the more likely culprit of  too bitter. ---
**Author:** ![madscientist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@madscientist](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/u/madscientist)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 7:13pm UTC](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/t/infected-beer/9034/9 "2012-01-30T19:13:34Z")
> [@morticaixavier](#): > > 3 oz at flameout is not terribly high. a little but shouldn’t cause bitterness as not much of the alpha acids will isomerize when added then. how much did you add at 60 minutes? the more likely culprit of  too bitter. If memory serves me, (I’m at work so i don’t have the recipe sheet or access to beersmith), I believe bittering was 1oz Chinook at 60min.  Don’t remember the exact alpha acid content. The recipe was a Celebration Ale clone.  I mashed at 157 for 60min (C60 and 2-Row), maybe 1.5 - 1.6 qt/gal.  Batch sparged with 2 steps 0.61 gal and 1.5 gal (I’m pulling those numbers from my memory bank at the moment).  Added 2lb of DME before boil, and added another 2.5 with 30 min left?  Maybe I didn’t stir the extract in well enough and some of it burned on the bottom of the pot?  (I do remove the pot from the heat).  Anticipated OG was 1.066 and I got 1.063. Fermentation was probably 10 days in primary, 10 days in secondary with dry hops the last 7 days (Centennial/Cascade).  Temp for primary was between 65-70.  (Swamp cooler so it did flucctuate) I let it go to 70-71 at the end of the primary. ---
**Author:** ![euge](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/brewersassociation/user_avatar/forum.homebrewersassociation.org/euge/32/5060_2.png) [@euge](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/u/euge)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 7:20pm UTC](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/t/infected-beer/9034/10 "2012-01-30T19:20:49Z")
Let that beer age a bit. The bitterness will subside some. FWIW IMO beer can’t make you sick to the stomach unless you’ve had too much. :🙂 But even just a couple on top of a FBI is the recipe for misery. :-\ ---
**Author:** ![morticaixavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb9ed0/32.png) [@morticaixavier](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/u/morticaixavier)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 7:23pm UTC](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/t/infected-beer/9034/11 "2012-01-30T19:23:59Z")
> [@madscientist](#): > > > [@morticaixavier](#): > > > > 3 oz at flameout is not terribly high. a little but shouldn’t cause bitterness as not much of the alpha acids will isomerize when added then. how much did you add at 60 minutes? the more likely culprit of  too bitter. > > If memory serves me, (I’m at work so i don’t have the recipe sheet or access to beersmith), I believe bittering was 1oz Chinook at 60min.  Don’t remember the exact alpha acid content. > > The recipe was a Celebration Ale clone.  I mashed at 157 for 60min (C60 and 2-Row), maybe 1.5 - 1.6 qt/gal.  Batch sparged with 2 steps 0.61 gal and 1.5 gal (I’m pulling those numbers from my memory bank at the moment).  Added 2lb of DME before boil, and added another 2.5 with 30 min left?  Maybe I didn’t stir the extract in well enough and some of it burned on the bottom of the pot?  (I do remove the pot from the heat).  Anticipated OG was 1.066 and I got 1.063. > > Fermentation was probably 10 days in primary, 10 days in secondary with dry hops the last 7 days (Centennial/Cascade).  Temp for primary was between 65-70.  (Swamp cooler so it did flucctuate) I let it go to 70-71 at the end of the primary. well it’s also possible that your pH was to high and so was the temp of your sparge water. that might lead to astringent flavours. Or the… okay wracking my brain… sulfide to calcium ratio(???) was off, this can also lead to harsh bitterness (I could be wrong about which chemicals are involved in that ratio and I have no idea which is supposed to be where) ---
**Author:** ![madscientist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@madscientist](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/u/madscientist)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 7:31pm UTC](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/t/infected-beer/9034/12 "2012-01-30T19:31:25Z")
> [@morticaixavier](#): > > > [@madscientist](#): > > > > > [@morticaixavier](#): > > > > > > 3 oz at flameout is not terribly high. a little but shouldn’t cause bitterness as not much of the alpha acids will isomerize when added then. how much did you add at 60 minutes? the more likely culprit of  too bitter. > > > > If memory serves me, (I’m at work so i don’t have the recipe sheet or access to beersmith), I believe bittering was 1oz Chinook at 60min.  Don’t remember the exact alpha acid content. > > > > The recipe was a Celebration Ale clone.  I mashed at 157 for 60min (C60 and 2-Row), maybe 1.5 - 1.6 qt/gal.  Batch sparged with 2 steps 0.61 gal and 1.5 gal (I’m pulling those numbers from my memory bank at the moment).  Added 2lb of DME before boil, and added another 2.5 with 30 min left?  Maybe I didn’t stir the extract in well enough and some of it burned on the bottom of the pot?  (I do remove the pot from the heat).  Anticipated OG was 1.066 and I got 1.063. > > > > Fermentation was probably 10 days in primary, 10 days in secondary with dry hops the last 7 days (Centennial/Cascade).  Temp for primary was between 65-70.  (Swamp cooler so it did flucctuate) I let it go to 70-71 at the end of the primary. > > well it’s also possible that your pH was to high and so was the temp of your sparge water. that might lead to astringent flavours. Or the… okay wracking my brain… sulfide to calcium ratio(???) was off, this can also lead to harsh bitterness (I could be wrong about which chemicals are involved in that ratio and I have no idea which is supposed to be where) I do use bottled water, but previously I haven’t monitored mash pH, but I think I am going to start, and add some 5.2 stabilizer in my next batch.  I guess I could have mished my sparge tem (instead of 168 maybe I hit 178and didn’t realize it).  I’ll revisit this beer in a few weeks. ---
**Author:** ![tschmidlin](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/brewersassociation/user_avatar/forum.homebrewersassociation.org/tschmidlin/32/3857_2.png) [@tschmidlin](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/u/tschmidlin)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 7:53pm UTC](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/t/infected-beer/9034/13 "2012-01-30T19:53:53Z")
> [@euge](#): > > But even just a couple on top of a FBI is the recipe for misery. :-\ Food Borne Illness. I had to look it up. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![madscientist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@madscientist](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/u/madscientist)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 9:05pm UTC](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/t/infected-beer/9034/14 "2012-01-30T21:05:38Z")
> [@tschmidlin](#): > > > [@euge](#): > > > > But even just a couple on top of a FBI is the recipe for misery. :-\ > > Food Borne Illness. > > I had to look it up. 🙂 Haha I admit it, I did too. ---
**Author:** ![tschmidlin](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/brewersassociation/user_avatar/forum.homebrewersassociation.org/tschmidlin/32/3857_2.png) [@tschmidlin](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/u/tschmidlin)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 9:15pm UTC](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/t/infected-beer/9034/15 "2012-01-30T21:15:35Z")
> [@madscientist](#): > > > [@tschmidlin](#): > > > > > [@euge](#): > > > > > > But even just a couple on top of a FBI is the recipe for misery. :-\ > > > > Food Borne Illness. > > > > I had to look it up. 🙂 > > Haha I admit it, I did too. I figured he didn’t mean Full Blooded Irish or Forbrukerinspektørene 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![bluesman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@bluesman](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/u/bluesman)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 9:28pm UTC](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/t/infected-beer/9034/16 "2012-01-30T21:28:52Z")
> [@tschmidlin](#): > > > [@madscientist](#): > > > > > [@tschmidlin](#): > > > > > > > [@euge](#): > > > > > > > > But even just a couple on top of a FBI is the recipe for misery. :-\ > > > > > > Food Borne Illness. > > > > > > I had to look it up. 🙂 > > > > Haha I admit it, I did too. > > I figured he didn’t mean Full Blooded Irish or Forbrukerinspektørene 🙂 or this… ---
**Author:** ![madscientist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@madscientist](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/u/madscientist)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 1:37am UTC](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/t/infected-beer/9034/17 "2012-01-31T01:37:59Z")
Update: Went back and looked at the recipe… I don’t know how I missed this but my bittering addition looks like it was too much.  1.10 oz Chinook (11.8%), 1 oz Centennial (8.7%).  Comes in at 65 IBU but if I threw that much in at 60 min, I guess it would taste overly bitter.