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Should I Tip My Infected Brew?


Beerlust

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Hi guys.

I recently brewed a batch of beer using some stored WLP001 to make a hoppy pale ale of sorts. For whatever reason, the end beer presented with a taint of wild yeast infection at the end of primary fermentation. Not severe, but definitely there & unwanted.

I always taste the beer before I decide to bottle/keg it, & I was 50/50 on whether to tip this one once I had tasted it. It had a Belgian yeast-like influence in the flavour that given the style of beer I was brewing, in NO way should have been there. It was there alright, but not in a heavily offensive way. It reminded me of some Belgian Saisons I had brewed that I quite liked & still managed to carry much of the hop character I had put through the brew. I was p!$$@d off on the day & didn't really feel like dealing with it, & also wanted some more time to decide on whether I would tip it or not, so left it in the brew fridge cold conditioning.

I drew off a sample from the FV another week later & felt the overall flavour had improved a little. I put that down to my mind playing tricks on me, & me not wanting to tip 20+ litres of beer given I had 2 empty kegs at the time, but wasn't ready to tip it, so left it alone in the brew fridge still in the FV cold conditioning. When I closed the fridge door that day, I said the next time I pour off a sample & try it, if I don't like it, I'm gonna tip it.

So another week went by with the beer still being in the FV under cold conditioning before I sampled it late this morning. The Belgian-like flavour influence had diminished further & if you look at it from that Belgian yeast based standpoint, it is quite palatable bordering on enjoyable. 🙂 It got me thinking about how this transformation could happen.

IMHO wild yeast strains mimic many Belgian yeasts & derive a lot of their flavour in beer from the strain itself. Many of them are NOT high flocculating strains, thus they remain in suspension & create a decent amount of their flavour profile through that. By cold conditioning my beer for as long as I have in this case I have removed a large portion of that suspended yeast & forced it to drop out.

It got me thinking, is it possible to remove certain levels of wild yeast infection derived flavours in beer by cold conditioning suspended/hazy strains out of solution? 🤔

All thoughts welcomed.

Lusty.

 

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Just on the topic of reusing yeast. Is it actually worth it. Going by some experiences on here the vast majority of infections seem to come from reused yeast. 
I know liquid yeast is expensive but the thoughts of tipping 20 litres of your labour is hard to stomach 

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It is totally worth it but as with anything in brewing if there is a fault in the process somewhere it has the potential to cause problems. 

I've had beers turn out crap with reused yeast before, sort of a phenolic flavour that I didn't want at all, which I can only figure was because it was reused too many times and drifted too far from its original state. There weren't any infections. Subsequent batches of the same style fermented with the same yeast strain from a new pack didn't have this problem.

Edited by Otto Von Blotto
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37 minutes ago, PaddyBrew2 said:

Just on the topic of reusing yeast. Is it actually worth it. Going by some experiences on here the vast majority of infections seem to come from reused yeast. 
I know liquid yeast is expensive but the thoughts of tipping 20 litres of your labour is hard to stomach 

I got 20 odd times of reusing WY2001 Budvar. Mid 20s as well of WY1214 Chimay before they drifted away from the original. The WY1214 i have kept even though its mutated because it actually makes a fantastic beer but is different from the original yeast. 

Sometimes mutations are good 🙂

Edited by Greeny1525229549
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4 hours ago, Beerlust said:

Hi guys.

I recently brewed a batch of beer using some stored WLP001 to make a hoppy pale ale of sorts. For whatever reason, the end beer presented with a taint of wild yeast infection at the end of primary fermentation. Not severe, but definitely there & unwanted.

I always taste the beer before I decide to bottle/keg it, & I was 50/50 on whether to tip this one once I had tasted it. It had a Belgian yeast-like influence in the flavour that given the style of beer I was brewing, in NO way should have been there. It was there alright, but not in a heavily offensive way. It reminded me of some Belgian Saisons I had brewed that I quite liked & still managed to carry much of the hop character I had put through the brew.

 

I'd bottle it and move on for a month. But then, I live on the edge...

So it's not what you were after, but it's not bad enough to be offensive and reminds you of beers you liked but intended to make. We all know time cures many beers fails. The worst that can happen is it doesn't come good, but if you tip it, it never has a chance to.

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Thanks for the replies & views guys. Much appreciated. 👍

For the record, I kegged it that day.

It's drinking pretty well, is quite enjoyable, & resembling a reasonably decent Belgian Pale Ale with a few hoppy influences.

No doubts though, I got a bit lucky on this one.

Cheers & good brewing,

Lusty.

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14 hours ago, Mark D Pirate said:

I wouldn't post or comment on anyone's brewing if I used a stove top and kits 

My 23¢ worth 

After I read this ,and recovered from it, I resolved to compose a stinging response. It would be sparkling with satirical wit, and loaded with sarcasm. I would sharply point out the breathtaking arrogance of a fellow believing his brewing method superior to all others, and the absurdity of being banned from using this forum, sponsored by the world’s leading brew kit maker,for it’s intended purpose. I waited for inspiration for such a masterpiece but alas ,my muse eluded me, tho’ I waited long and late. At last, in despair, I sought solace in a bottle of my favourite, slightly tweaked kit brewed Dark Ale. As I poured the final glass, marvelling at how little sediment we get with a well and patiently brewed kit, my muse finally stirred and spoke. “ Tell ‘im to pull ‘is ‘ead in!” it said, then fell silent again. So there you have it. Sorry it took so long. My muse is sometimes slow, but usually gets it right. Cheers.

Edited by Worts and all
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22 hours ago, Ben 10 said:

My HOUSE yeast is horrid.

 

22 hours ago, Beerlust said:

I wouldn't be game enough to try and establish a house yeast if I lived where you do! 😜

Cheers & good brewing,

Lusty.

Just to clarify......that experience Chad had all those years back scared the crap out of me ever attempting something like that.

Before he described all the BS he went through I was quite keen to try it actually, but after that, I very quickly crossed that off my want-to-try-list.

Cheers,

Lusty.

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On 2/2/2020 at 10:55 PM, Otto Von Blotto said:

It is totally worth it but as with anything in brewing if there is a fault in the process somewhere it has the potential to cause problems. 

And, as Lusty himself quotes ad-infinitum:

Quote

PB2's BEER TRIANGLE: Thorough Sanitation + Fresh Ingredients + Appropriate Ferment Temp = QUALITY BEER

😂

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On 2/4/2020 at 10:20 AM, Worts and all said:

After I read this ,and recovered from it, I resolved to compose a stinging response. It would be sparkling with satirical wit, and loaded with sarcasm. I would sharply point out the breathtaking arrogance of a fellow believing his brewing method superior to all others, and the absurdity of being banned from using this forum, sponsored by the world’s leading brew kit maker,for it’s intended purpose. I waited for inspiration for such a masterpiece but alas ,my muse eluded me, tho’ I waited long and late. At last, in despair, I sought solace in a bottle of my favourite, slightly tweaked kit brewed Dark Ale. As I poured the final glass, marvelling at how little sediment we get with a well and patiently brewed kit, my muse finally stirred and spoke. “ Tell ‘im to pull ‘is ‘ead in!” it said, then fell silent again. So there you have it. Sorry it took so long. My muse is sometimes slow, but usually gets it right. Cheers.

Actually it was just tongue in cheek  dig at Lusty,  I do still occasionally brew kits with the newer brewers I teach or just too time poor to do an AG brew 

 

 

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9 hours ago, Journeyman said:

Yeah... doesn't clarify much for us latecomers. 😄 Still in mystery. ❓

It involved a mass bleach bombing of his extensive home brewing setup & brewing area I wouldn't wish on anyone to rid his brewery of the wild yeast he had cultivated that spread into everything. Before the bleach bombing, the wild yeast was in everything & he couldn't brew a beer that didn't end up having it's taint. 😬

What he went through over quite a number of months with his brewing was awful to read about, as you really felt for him. Chad is a mountain man in Canada & when he realised he wasn't going to win the war with conventional thinking vs this wild yeast strain, he bleach-bombed everything! 😎

Bye bye wild yeast. 🤣

Cheers,

Lusty.

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3 hours ago, Mark D Pirate said:

Actually it was just tongue in cheek  dig at Lusty,  I do still occasionally brew kits with the newer brewers I teach or just too time poor to do an AG brew 

 

 

Yes Mark,I spotted your tongue in cheek, and I hope I responded in kind. My tongue was firmly planted as well. I believe all things brewing should be, among other things,fun. My comic style may not be the sharpest in the shed, but I hope it is obvious. Cheers and happy brewing.

 

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13 hours ago, Beerlust said:

It involved a mass bleach bombing of his extensive home brewing setup & brewing area I wouldn't wish on anyone to rid his brewery of the wild yeast he had cultivated that spread into everything. Before the bleach bombing, the wild yeast was in everything & he couldn't brew a beer that didn't end up having it's taint. 😬

What he went through over quite a number of months with his brewing was awful to read about, as you really felt for him. Chad is a mountain man in Canada & when he realised he wasn't going to win the war with conventional thinking vs this wild yeast strain, he bleach-bombed everything! 😎

Bye bye wild yeast. 🤣

Cheers,

Lusty.

Coming soon... Man Versus Yeast in, the "Nature of the Yeast!" - One man's struggle, in the lonely mountains of primitive Canada, against the wild yeast within, and how he overcomes his limitations... 😄 

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