So 12 days ago I brewed 2 batches of lambic and split into four fermenters. As these were larger than normal batches I had trouble chilling and got impatient and threw into my fermenting fridge at zero at 11:30pm to get down to yeast pitching temp. It was perhaps somewhere in the 40's. Next morning one of the fermenters was already bubbling. Of the 20 odd beers I've made this has happened once before and I tipped it.
It was a rookie mistake as the fermenter was sanitised and cleaned a couple of weeks back but was just holding rainwater. Retrospectively it was obviously a breeding feast for bacteria and I didn't even think to clean it after using the water. Idiot...
So said beer has the same character as the one I tipped once before. Slight whiff of DMS, creamed corn/ celery etc but smells slightly lambic ish. It's finished fermenting around 1.010
The other three fermenters are still going and have a lovely lemon sherbet aroma.
I can't risk spoiling the whole batch with 1/4 infected so I've decided not to blend it. I'll just have to make another batch to top up the barrel.
Ordinarily I would just chuck the infected batch, but I wonder being a lambic could it come good if stored it in keg or something?
It was a rookie mistake as the fermenter was sanitised and cleaned a couple of weeks back but was just holding rainwater. Retrospectively it was obviously a breeding feast for bacteria and I didn't even think to clean it after using the water. Idiot...
So said beer has the same character as the one I tipped once before. Slight whiff of DMS, creamed corn/ celery etc but smells slightly lambic ish. It's finished fermenting around 1.010
The other three fermenters are still going and have a lovely lemon sherbet aroma.
I can't risk spoiling the whole batch with 1/4 infected so I've decided not to blend it. I'll just have to make another batch to top up the barrel.
Ordinarily I would just chuck the infected batch, but I wonder being a lambic could it come good if stored it in keg or something?