Just had my second skunked bottle from consecutive brews, these are stored in the shed in Adelaide where the temps have fluctuated recently drastically from night to day. would this be enough to invite the skunk in? They are uncovered although no direct sunlight gets in. I always leave four or five bottles in with the fermentor of the next batch to carb up which were awesome. the rest left in a crate to carb for a couple of weeks and the first of these tonight tasted terrible. I can only assume if temp control is so important during primary fermentation then during priming it is equally as essential. pretty sure it's not an infection problem as the other four were so good. might pay to build a priming cupboard with temp control like the fermentation fridge.
the skunk strikes again
- Thread starter FlatStrap
- Start date
Help Support Australia & New Zealand Homebrewing Forum:
Ducatiboy stu
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 2/4/05
- Messages
- 14,269
- Reaction score
- 3,832
Temp fluctuations dont normally affect secondry fermentation as much as primary...and you havent really had any 40*c days recently in Adelaide...
HBHB
Well-Known Member
Go back to basics:
What are the recipes?
How do you clean and sanitise?
Step by step exactly how you do it including fermenter, mixing spoon, beer kit?, yeast pack, Hydrometer, airlock, grommet, tap assembly, under the lid seal, bottling valve and wand, transfer hose, bottles and the CAPS, blah blah blah
Are the long neck beer bottles clear, green or amber glass?
What was the yeast and how much did you use? What temperature did it get fermented at and what was the Finished Gravity? At what temperature was it stored post bottling? How long after it was bottled did you taste it?
As a LHBS owner, we hear of "skunked" "Infected" and "Bad" beer every now and then. This is what I find:
The most common flaw is probably yeasty, temperature control caused flaws, undoubtedly acetaldehyde would be the next most common, then it comes down to unfamiliar flavours for some, where they're just plain different to what they're used to - like hops or malt flavours, esters and funk. Then infections and then skunked beer, usually caused by using green or clear glass bottles and FFS even old pet coke bottles. Garden hose flavours used to feature highly too.
I'm thinking your best bet would be to get in touch with one of the members of the Adelaide Brewers from http://sabrew.com/ there's a few members on here. I'm sure you'll find them more than welcoming and helpful. Rock up to a meeting with an open mind and a few samples of the affected brews...plus a good one, or a decent craft beer.
Once you or someone else has been able to identify exactly what the flavour is, you can remedy the situation. Before that happens, guessing it's "Skunked" isn't going to get you anywhere.
Martin
What are the recipes?
How do you clean and sanitise?
Step by step exactly how you do it including fermenter, mixing spoon, beer kit?, yeast pack, Hydrometer, airlock, grommet, tap assembly, under the lid seal, bottling valve and wand, transfer hose, bottles and the CAPS, blah blah blah
Are the long neck beer bottles clear, green or amber glass?
What was the yeast and how much did you use? What temperature did it get fermented at and what was the Finished Gravity? At what temperature was it stored post bottling? How long after it was bottled did you taste it?
As a LHBS owner, we hear of "skunked" "Infected" and "Bad" beer every now and then. This is what I find:
The most common flaw is probably yeasty, temperature control caused flaws, undoubtedly acetaldehyde would be the next most common, then it comes down to unfamiliar flavours for some, where they're just plain different to what they're used to - like hops or malt flavours, esters and funk. Then infections and then skunked beer, usually caused by using green or clear glass bottles and FFS even old pet coke bottles. Garden hose flavours used to feature highly too.
I'm thinking your best bet would be to get in touch with one of the members of the Adelaide Brewers from http://sabrew.com/ there's a few members on here. I'm sure you'll find them more than welcoming and helpful. Rock up to a meeting with an open mind and a few samples of the affected brews...plus a good one, or a decent craft beer.
Once you or someone else has been able to identify exactly what the flavour is, you can remedy the situation. Before that happens, guessing it's "Skunked" isn't going to get you anywhere.
Martin
