My First Ag Is Like Syrup?!?

[Scotty]

Hey all I did my first BIAB (Not my first AG but it has been a few years) which is a pilsener and it all went fine.

I also cultivated my first liquid yeast to go along with it. It was a white labs pils yeast.

After one day in the fermenter nothing had happened so as you would imagine i got nervious BUT my experience has tought me to be patient and sure enough fermentation kicked off the next day.....

Although it was a volcano, and my floor was covered in beery yeast stuff. For 2 days it kept spewing out the air lock but then settled down. After a week in primary I moved onto secondary where its been for about 3 days. I went to get a sample to test/taste and it was a really syrup like consistency and didnt taste quite right.

I have a fantastic comparison which was the exact same beer brewed 2 days later and it looks set to be awesome.

Anyway can anyone shed some light on this first pils? Is it infected??? I have no idea what to make of it

Thanks in advance, Scotty

 

[Steve]

Hey all I did my first BIAB (Not my first AG but it has been a few years) which is a pilsener and it all went fine.

I also cultivated my first liquid yeast to go along with it. It was a white labs pils yeast.

After one day in the fermenter nothing had happened so as you would imagine i got nervious BUT my experience has tought me to be patient and sure enough fermentation kicked off the next day.....

Although it was a volcano, and my floor was covered in beery yeast stuff. For 2 days it kept spewing out the air lock but then settled down. After a week in primary I moved onto secondary where its been for about 3 days. I went to get a sample to test/taste and it was a really syrup like consistency and didnt taste quite right.

I have a fantastic comparison which was the exact same beer brewed 2 days later and it looks set to be awesome.

Anyway can anyone shed some light on this first pils? Is it infected??? I have no idea what to make of it

Thanks in advance, Scotty

What temp did you ferment it at?

 

[Scotty]

A pretty consistant 13 degrees, the coldest I could manage. The 2nd pils was fermenting in the exact same location

 

[Tony]

If it was spewing out the lid... id say it was hotter than 13 deg. I have never seen a lager yeast do this before if kept to the correct temp. They usually just hold a tight 1 or 2 inch head on the brew surface.

I have been wrong before though.

cheers

 

[Swinging Beef]

Is the flavor reminsciant (sp??) of butterscotch or butter? It could be the boil wasnt long enuf, or the yeast hasnt had a chance to clean up, the DMS from the Pilsner malt.

As for the rocketing yeast, that is kinda weird.
Did the starter taste ok, or did it have some off flavours?
I would suggest that if a lger yeast is rocketing out the air lok, it got infected in the starter, and that would certainly contribute to any off flavors, too.

 

[Georgedgerton]

Definitely sounds infected and I too would be rather sus about the 13 oC. May pay to check the thermometer (or however you determined it) out as well.

 

[chappo1970]

If it was spewing out the lid... id say it was hotter than 13 deg. I have never seen a lager yeast do this before if kept to the correct temp. They usually just hold a tight 1 or 2 inch head on the brew surface.

I have been wrong before though.

cheers

I would agree with Tony here. Lagers just don't do this if anything they are lazy little fookers. Sounds like either too hot fermentation or an infection?

Need more information?

Chap Chap

 

[Scotty]

I would have to guess the fermentation was too hot after doing some temp checks, also I dont think it boiled long enough. Any way the same pils I brewed 2 days later did have a 90 min boil as whereas the other only 60 min boil.

So should i pull the plug and tip it down the sink??? Or be an optomistic and hope it will fix itself....... I think im about to lose 20L of beer :angry:

 

[manticle]

While it sounds like an infection to me, I would advise against throwing it. It's just a basic personal rule. If you only have the one fermenter and are keen to get something else on then by all means but if you can afford to keep it and not have it interfere with your brewing then just see how it goes.