Lager Smells And Tastes Bad

[arogers]

Hi guys, this is my first post on this forum.

Just want to begin by thanking everyone on here, this is such an informative resource for us budding brewers!!

Anyways, back to my problem....

I put on a Lager a month ago, just a Dry Lager Kit and 1kg of brew mix. Yes pretty basic I know. I used S-23.

Now this was before I realised I had to brew it at low temps, we just put it under the house and it probably sat at 22-24 deg the whole week.

However, a few days into the brew I noticed this shocking smell coming thru the air-lock, nothing like the sweet smell of our previous wheat beer (YUM...)

The only likeness I can think of is a dishwashing sponge. Think a used home brand sponge you use for your dishes. Place on nose and sniff. Thats what it smells like, with a taste to match. It tastes like we left the sponge in the brew during fermentation, it really is unmistakeable.

We thoughroughly cleaned the fermenter out, I'm pretty sure the contamination wasn't caused by our equipment.

And finally, I thought it would fade after bottle conditioning but after a month it's still there. There is also a faint skin on the top of the poured beer, kinda like detergent. Its only visible at the right angle, in the right light.

So any help or advice would be greatly appreciated, and if you are near Camden, NSW I'm more than happy to drive round and give you a sample.

Cheers,

Adam.

 

[Adamt]

Lagers do tend to throw out some weird smells during fermentaion, mostly in the form of sulfur oxides (rotten eggs). However I'm pretty sure this smell you're describing is a mould smell. Old sponges not rinsed out/dried properly are very prone to moulds and other spores (which is why old sponges smell), I'd hazard a guess and say this is a mould or spore type infection, the skin on top of the beer is an ominous sign too.

Take every bit of your fermenter apart, unscrew the tap, undo the tap, take out the tap o-ring, take out the airlock o-ring and the lid o-ring and attack it all with a soft nylon brush and unscented napisan before sanitising.

There's a few guys around Camden on here I think, I'm sure one of them can confirm it for you.

Welcome to the forums Adam.

 

[Brooksy]

Regulator,

100% of what Adam has advised.......

Except

Unfortunately I don't agree with using brushes around plastic fermentation equipment, regardless of how soft they are, I'm pedantic about this. I prefer to use my hands and basically rub and scrub everything with my hands, thus minimising the chance of scratching or eroding the internal surfaces of the fermenter in anyway.

For the outer surfaces and thread areas I do use a sponge but it is boiled & santised prior to each use then ditto after use before storage. Each sponge is only used a couple of times then discard - for kitchen use.

 

[arogers]

Thanks for the quick replies guys!

I definetely didn't use any abrasive cleaning tools and the fermenters are nearly new and we flushed 2 or 3 times with boiling water before brewing in them.

I'll hit it with some of the sanitizer I have here and let it sit in the fermenter overnight, hopefully that should sort it....

I've got another lager going in our other fermenter, this one is a 1.5kg kit with 1kg of #60 German Lager Converter and S-23 again. This one is in the fridge, and sitting around 9-11 deg. The OG was around 1060, does that sound right?

 

[Brooksy]

You got it mate.

Once you've worked out a system, you'll be right.

Unfortunately I'm paranoid about the cleaniness, now after some stuff ups years ago, my system is in place and followed religiously. Checking, washing, double washing......

Drives SWMBO nuts, just watching...........

1060 sounds a bit high for a lager, in my experience, but.....

What kit is it? Temps about right, I'd prefer a couple higher though (imo), but most would say you're pretty good.

 

[Tony]

you dont live near a fella with a funny pommy accent do you regulator?

 

[arogers]

Hahaha... Not that I know of.. Why do u ask??

Oh and the lager is actually 1058 (temp error) Its a Brewcraft Munich Lager kit with 1kg of #60 German Lager, and S-23 yeast.

I pitched the yeast dry at about 24 deg and threw it into the fridge running at 10 deg.

No action so far...

 

[DJR]

Hahaha... Not that I know of.. Why do u ask??

Oh and the lager is actually 1058 (temp error) Its a Brewcraft Munich Lager kit with 1kg of #60 German Lager, and S-23 yeast.

I pitched the yeast dry at about 24 deg and threw it into the fridge running at 10 deg.

No action so far...

1058 doesn't sound right, 1040 or so is what i'd expect unless the BC kit is more than 1.7kg or you aren't making up a full 23L batch. Often the malt doesn't mix well and you get a higher than the average density problem in the hydro which screws up your reading.

Anyway, for a proper lager ferment with dry yeast you should pitch 2 packets. 1 packet is simply not enough without a starter. S-23 isn't that great, next time try out S-189 or W34/70, and you'll need to lager it in the fridge at 4C for a couple of weeks. Some of the more clean ale yeasts (US05/56, S-33, lots of US/German liquid yeasts) give pretty decent results in pseudo- lagers.

 

[arogers]

Dunno? Maybe my hydrometer is not working properly...

I checked it twice.

Looks like I'm buying some more S-23 tomorrow to kick this brew off.