Very Stinky Brew

[Gillopogus]

Hey everyone
I was just racking this brew today and noticed the smell was foul and much different to previous brews i have done. One of my friends described it as a kind of vinegar smell. Just want to know if this might be infected or if its normal since i've never done a beer with wheat malt or this yeast.

Ingredients:
2kg Wheat LME
1kg Lager LME
35g Hallertau @ 60mins
25g Hallertau @ 10mins
250g carapils steeped 30mins
S-06 yeast

Mid Primary
10g Hallertau @ flamout
Orange Peel for 20mins
Coriander seeds 5mins

Pitched at 22degrees and maintained around 18 degrees throughout. Racked after 10 days primary, any help is much appreciated. Cheers

 

[bum]

I did an extremely similar brew recently. No vinegar smells. Have you tasted it. If it also tastes vinegary I'd be leaning towards infection.

Only one way to be sure, bloke - suck it and see.

 

[manticle]

Where was the smell from? Was it malodorous (great word) while you were racking or from a sample and did you rack from the top or from the tap?

You may already know but when a brew is fermenting the gases from the top of the brew can be overpowering. However if it was a small hydrometer sample then you might have more cause for concern.

Either way it's better to err on the side of caution and the side of caution is the side that says do not throw away any beer until you know for a fact it is undrinkable.

Wait, bottle, drink, evaluate. If 1 bottle is rooted, open another and taste. If 5 in a row taste rooted, open another and smell. If the next 5 smell bad, water your lawn and clean your bottles.

 

[Cocko]

Vinegar isn't the best... from what I hear!

BUT have you actually tasted it? sometimes yeast can through out some pretty funky shit but all is fine in fermenter town..

My 2c is: Don't write it off just yet, taste it and if it is absolutely un palatable then maybe you have an infection...

Sorry no real information but its something!

Good luck. :icon_cheers:

 

[mattbrewer]

Yes vinegar smell is not a good sign. Some say it is a sweet smell. Of course the wheat yeast will give off an estery/phenol smell that is evident if you put the glass to the nose. But with an 'off' brew you will smell baddies from a distance or as soon as you open the fermenter.

When I have had it, I have blamed high pitching temperatures or old bacteria left in tap threads as it sometimes turns up only in secondary vessels. I live in the tropics and it seems to be more common in the warmer months (most people won't admit it though)

Replace all taps or old equipment and tip the beer out a couple of blocks up the road.

Otherwise sounds like a nice recipe!

Matt

 

[manticle]

His mate said 'vinegar' . No-one know's how well attuned his mate's olfactory senses are so don't chuck it until you know it tastes bad.

if it's infected, you will know when it's been two weeks in the bottle and it smells and tastes like three day old fish 'n' chips.

 

[Gillopogus]

Cheers guys, yeah it just smelt much sweeter than usual and overpowering to me, i just poured a bit and had a taste, it tastes alright but with a strange lingering aftertaste and that smell is quite obvious even just in the test tube. All my equipment is fairly new and was well sanitised so i'll just have to leave it be n see what happens

 

[crundle]

You never really know until it has had some time in the bottle, and you may have a great beer there still. I side with Manticle on this, bottle it and then wait and try a few - it is also a good excuse to brew another batch 'just in case', so your stocks don't get too low if this batch does turn out to be infected.

cheers,

Crundle

 

[Adamt]

Just checking... did you boil your carapils steepings? If not, there's your source of infection if it is indeed an infection...

The strange taste may be hop debris; if you drew a sample from the tap at the bottom there may have been some debris in your sample.

I would wait until fermentation has finished, then have a look at the beer in the fermenter... the standard "vinegar" infection - acetobacter - tends to create a slick on top of the beer.