How Long in Primary

Not "sour" like "blech sour", just an off taste, getting decent reviews from friends who are fussy, but not picky.
Thanks for the response.
 
The first IPA I made from a kit I had a few bottles that had a mild sour to them. Since I got a little more careful with my siphon sanitation I haven't had a repeat.
 
Sour is almost certainly a slight lactobacillus infection. Very likely if you leave the bottles out of the fridge for a few weeks, you'll start to have gushers or bombs. If it's drinkable just down it quickly and be much more careful about sanitation next time.
Spigots, bottling wand, plastic tubing, etc are notorious for harboring just enough bacterial to get a little something going in the beer. Disassemble anything that has parts, soak everything in PBW and sanitize right before using.
Better luck next time! :)
 
Okay, so after 2 weeks, this brew (The Grad Student), tastes fairly decent. Not great, but no bottle bombs as I was worried about.
It has a healthy head, and maintains it well. Has a slight sour off taste, but very drinkable. I made this batch with softened water, not knowing any better, and I did struggle getting down to mash temp. I am going to brew this recipe again with RO water, and get some PH strips and whatever it is that I need to adjust the PH as needed. I will save a few from this batch for direct comparison when the next batch is ready. BTW, got some new equipment from the family for my birthday, including John Palmer's book How to Brew, you know, just a little lite reading...
Cheers!
What kind of sour? A mild tartness could arise from ingredients like acidulated malt or acid to control mash pH. But it's most likely some form of lactobacillus contamination. If there's no unpleasant "funk" to go with it, you'll be okay, the beer will just become tarter, more "Berliner Weisse" like. Unfortunately, that kind of infection is rare.

Cheaper than PBW: Soak everything in a 10:1 solution of water and bleach, rinse thoroughly. Then sanitize right before using.
 
That’s a lot of bleach. Clorox says to use 2 teaspoons per gallon of water to sanitize. You’re suggesting 76.8 teaspoons per gallon. I just splash some in the laundry sink without measuring. Also, for those who are wondering, bleach and stainless steel don’t play nice together.
 
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That’s a lot of bleach. Clorox says to use 2 teaspoons per gallon of water to sanitize. You’re suggesting 76.8 teaspoons per gallon. I just splash some in the laundry sink without measuring. Also, for those who are wondering, bleach and stainless steel don’t play nice together.
Honestly, I don't measure either, just pour in. And I sanitize the hell out of everything. I have some wort downstairs from my last batch, four days ago, in a sterile container, still no sign of bacterial activity. And you're right, you can use a lot less if you're willing to soak for a while.
 
Honestly, I don't measure either, just pour in. And I sanitize the hell out of everything. I have some wort downstairs from my last batch, four days ago, in a sterile container, still no sign of bacterial activity. And you're right, you can use a lot less if you're willing to soak for a while.
Just curious... what are you waiting for? Pitch that yeast!
 
Honestly, I don't measure either, just pour in. And I sanitize the hell out of everything. I have some wort downstairs from my last batch, four days ago, in a sterile container, still no sign of bacterial activity. And you're right, you can use a lot less if you're willing to soak for a while.
I don’t soak at all, at least not by intent. I handwash my utensils in a Dawn dishwashing liquid and Clorox combination. Rinse, and use.
 
Sorry, those were forced fermentation samples. Somehow I got the notion that my sanitation was having some problems so I run tests on the wort pre- and post-pitch adding a chemical to kill the yeast to see how long it takes them to start fermenting on their own. That tells me how microbiologically stable my wort is. Three days is very good, mine went four.... The beer itself is perking along nicely.
 
I don’t soak at all, at least not by intent. I handwash my utensils in a Dawn dishwashing liquid and Clorox combination. Rinse, and use.
Plain water here - no soap in my brewery - hot rinse when done, sanitize thoroughly before using. If I need to soak, it's in a PBW-knock-off, One Step. If I really want to make sure things are as sanitary as I can get them, I pull out the bleach for a nice, long soak, particularly if there's a biofilm or staining.
 
I use oxyclean and starsan primarily. Sometimes barkeepers friend if I need to make my kettle shiny again.
 
I use oxyclean and starsan primarily. Sometimes barkeepers friend if I need to make my kettle shiny again.
Almost identical to mine... One Step, Star-San, then for the HLT and Boil Kettle, Bar Keepers Friend
 
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Thanks for all of the input guys, much appreciated, I would more describe the off taste as maybe a little astringent, which I am attributing to mash PH. Being new to the game, and just not knowing, I used softened water, which I understand can cause PH issues. As mentioned I am going to brew this recipe again with hard water, and check PH during mash. I also now better understand how to calculate the correct strike temperature.
Cheers all
 

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