Is My Bavarian Lager Meant To Smell?

[vlbaby]

Hi,
I am relatively new to homebrewing, and up to now I have mostly been using coopers 1.7kg kits with mostly good results. However this time I decided to try something different and so I bought a tin of ESB Bavarian Lager.

First thing I noticed unusual was the can contained pockets of solids in the syrup, (dark green in colour, maybe hops?). I continued with the brew thinking this must be normal, but after 2 days of fermenting in a temperature controlled enviroment (21-22 deg C) I checked the fermenter and the beer has a heavy layer of green stuff on top of the yeasty scum. I opened it to check it closer, and the smell it gives off almost makes me sick.
I sampled some of the beer and it smells and taste like apple cider.

Does anyone know if this is normal as I am almost thinking of tossing it out?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Batz]

vlbaby
I would be very worried at the start with yukky lumps in your can , green stuff !
smell that makes you feel sick ! :blink:
Tastes like cider h34r:

Sorry mate it's a no goer , chuck it

 

[Gout]

before you throw it, (note: i have never seen these tins / kits) but the JS Lager kit has "green lumps" in it and it is hops!

secondly, the crap on the top is most likly hops and if worried you could skim i guess

3rd the smell if it comes with a lager yeast it might smell like rotten egg, I get this with my AG lagers and liquid yeast also, this is normal with lager yeasts and goes away with aging

cider flavour well... if it is a lager yeast and you brew at 23deg maybe it will be a bit poor, but i would wait and see, also i gather you tried it warm, flat and yeasty sample from the fermenter?

(I could be wrong with some or all the above points but gives you some food for thought)

Some other guys should input some information to indicate there thought re your brew

so sit tight and hold on a day or so before deciding

lastly if you do throw it, bottle 2 or so just to taste test in a month or 2, to see if it would have turned out ok (PET bottles might be best esp if it is infected it may blow up bottles)

 

[big d]

hope ya kept some so you can show the person who sold you the can.get a refund or a new kit and check the use by date for peace of mind

cheers
big d

 

[Jovial_Monk]

ESB cans contain hop pellets, bet the krausen is green-ish!

Lager ferments stink of sulphur.

Unwritten law of homebrewing, let the ******* ferment out and settle down, then take a taste. We do not lightly dump batches of beer!

Jovial Monk

 

[nonicman]

I've brewed with these cans, the green lumps mean good quality, yes it's hops. Don't throw it out let it brew. I can't believe someone would advise throwing out a brew. h34r:

Edit:
The yeast would be SafLager with that can. I've not used lager yeast (use to swap it with safale) before so the advice of Batz, Gough JM and others would be more reliable. Never thrown out a brew, with a bit of time it may well come up a treat.

 

[Gough]

vlbaby,

Your beer MAY well be off, but having brewed a few of the 3kg esb cans in the past, the chunky bits are indeed meant to be there - I always assumed they were hop pellets. I brewed a few Czech Pilsner 3kg kits about 18 months or so back and they turned out really well and had plenty of hoppy bits included. The yeasts that come with them are genuine lager yeasts which if you've brewed at 23 degrees may explain the cidery taste. The disgusting smell has me a bit worried. Yes you should expect rotten egg gas with the lager yeast, but I've never had it actually make me want to be sick :huh: A bit of a dodgy farty sort of smell yes, but chundering... not in my experience. Maybe I just have an iron gut :lol:

Give it another day or two and try it again. If it tastes undrinkable and smells undrinkable... well you know what to do. If not, bottle it and put it down to experience.

Good luck,

Shawn.

 

[vlbaby]

Regarding the brewing temperature, the can of ESB recommends 20 to 25 deg C. The kit contains saflager yeast, which from what I beleive is best suited for much lower temperatures than this.
Which do you beleive? Maybe 23 deg is too high thus causing the cider taste.

I honestly dont know, I'll leave it for a few more days and re-check it.

 

[Batz]

OK OK

So I don't do kits and never knew some had lumpy green bits

Still I have bewed lagers for years and do smell a little rotton eggs , I suppose I know and expect it

Never had to chuck up after smelling one but h34r:

 

[Gout]

i had brewed 2 lagers in my freezer and it was time to clean the freezer out (like to keep it clean) well i opened the door and yeah i smelt the normal lager yeast stink, but once i stuck my head in the freezer to wipe the walls down i jumped back and was dry reaching for a min or 2, had everone that saw it laughing.... then i tryed again, same result god i hate that smell

i ended up not cleaning it brewed some ales to get over my hate for sulphur

 

[Gough]

vlbaby,

If it was the saflager yeast then 23 degrees is too hot. Doesn't mean you should throw it out unless it is actually infected though. Warm brewed lagers are not true to style but that doesn't necessarily make them undrinkable. If nothing else it'll give you something to compare your next one brewed at the correct temperature too I guess The second beer I ever brewed was a Lager kit with a 'true' lager yeast that I brewed at 24 degrees because I didn't know any better. Wasn't a great beer by any means but wasn't undrinkable.

Shawn.

 

[Trough Lolly]

Regarding the brewing temperature, the can of ESB recommends 20 to 25 deg C. The kit contains saflager yeast, which from what I beleive is best suited for much lower temperatures than this.
Which do you beleive? Maybe 23 deg is too high thus causing the cider taste.

I honestly dont know, I'll leave it for a few more days and re-check it.

Vlbaby,
Don't ditch the kit! The green stuff is hops and the horrid smell is confirmation that you have a lager in process! I brew heaps of Bav Lagers - admittedly not all ESB kits - but you appear to have an ok beer going.
The cider taste is a number of things - green beer is one - Lager beers take a while to settle out and develop. That means a low fermentation temp (18C max) and racking the beer to a secondary fermenter off the yeast cake to allow bulk conditioning, preferably in a fridge at about 6C to lager the beer into shape.
What sugars did you add to the kit? Did you add any dextrose, sucrose or corn syrup? In sufficient quantities, these sugars can dominate the flavour of the beer, sometimes in an overpowering and undesireable way.

I agree with JM - don't tip it out yet, keep it and hang in there. If the brewery stinks when I brew lagers, I often sigh with relief - unless I spot one of the kids nappies in the corner!
Cheers,
TL

 

[xaeros]

I actually made a similar post about the ESB Bavarian Lager last week. The yeast supplied is saflager w34/70, which should be fermented nice and low. Anyway, I fermented mine at 12oC, 2 weeks in the fermenter and 2 weeks cold conditioning. When I opened the jerry for bottling, the smell bowled me over Really strong spicy smell. Anyway, I bottled it and tried one last night - I can still taste it now :huh: It all went down the sink unfortunately. I don't think it was an infection as I have never had one before and I am really anal about sanitation. Needless to say I won't be doing one of these again :angry:

 

[Linz]

Looks like the bug in the Bavarian wheat has made its way to the Bavarian lager.
I made up one of these several months back, with the 920 old bav lager yeast and was Beautiful