infection?

Zambi

Zambi

Well-Known Member
Trial Member
Established Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2019
Messages
4,850
Reaction score
11,229
Points
113
IMG_20220217_141943.jpg

It just smells wrong.
Like high alcohol
 
If it smells bad or tastes sour, dump it.

Did the FG go lower than expected?
 
I haven't checked the FG.
I bottled a Belgian pale ale, which smelled good.
Then opened this fermenter and I was taken aback.
It was supposed to be a tripel but smelled fastly different from the pale ale and other beers I brewed. Closed the fermenter and decided to ask here.
Didn't want to use any equipment in/on it.
It's stainless, so I can disinfect it properly.
.
 
It's pretty broken up to be a pellicle. Unless you drained quite a bit out, the pellicle wouldn't be up on the sides like that. Sometimes falling krausen can leave a lot of rafting material and leave the sides covered that way. There won't be any doubt when you taste it. It'll have a sour/solvent flavor or it won't. If the stuff on top drops out, it's just yeast. If it regrows, it's bacteria.
 
I'll taste some tomorrow and check FG.
Will keep you posted!
 
Okay
FG is 7 brix, coming from 14
Smell is not as offensive as yesterday. Taste is flat. Not sweet, but also not sour.

Went ahead and bottled in sprite bottles.
Maybe I should have left it longer in the fermenter to check if it is really finished, but I'll be away for 3 weeks. And it's kveik.... It should have finished. Anyway it is done :)
Now we wait
 
You're bottling at 7 brix? That's 1.027 SG. I hope you didn't add sugar. You've got 51% attenuation if you're measuring correctly and if you added sugar with that much left in the beer, you're going to have bottle bombs! :eek:
Good luck with it.
 
No worries
They are inside a coolerbox on their own.
If they want to explode, they can.
I currently trust neither my eye sight, nor my refracto meter.
But thanks for the warning ;)
I didn't taste any sweetness
 
Zambezi Special said:
No worries
They are inside a coolerbox on their own.
If they want to explode, they can.
I currently trust neither my eye sight, nor my refracto meter.
But thanks for the warning ;)
I didn't taste any sweetness
Click to expand...
Still having issues with your eye there Zambizi?
 
@J A
The og was a bit higher according to my notes. More than 14, less than 15 ;)
Measured at 35 oC
I punched the numbers in this little app I use, called "brew king" and it gives me quite different results,
For OG 14, FG 7, it gives me 83% apparent attenuationand 64 % real attenuation
(For OG 14.5 it gives 86 and 72% resp)

Anyone got a clue where these differences come from?
 
I don't know that app but if you use the calculators right here on the site you'll get about 50% attenuation. Any brix to SG converter I can find shows 14 equals 1.056 and 7 equals 1.027 SG. Just looking at the numbers you can see that it's around 50%. A finished beer should be closer to 2 or 3.
If you're using a refractometer, all bets are off and the direct readings for finished beer are nowhere near correct.
 
But isn't the refractometer reading affected by the presence of alcohol?
So you can't just use the reading and calculate by about 4?

Just checked the BF tool and the figures are pretty similar to the app I use with a FG of around 1.011-1.012 after alcohol correction
 
Last edited:
Zambezi Special said:
But isn't the refractometer reading affected by the presence of alcohol?
So you can't just use the reading and calculate by about 4?

Just checked the BF tool and the figures are pretty similar to the app I use with a FG of around 1.011-1.012 after alcohol correction
Click to expand...
Yes, the refractometer is affected by the alcohol and is very tough to use for figuring out FG. Just get a hydrometer and leave off the guesswork.
As for your FG you said it was 7 brix. You've lost me with all the conflicting figures and information.
You'll either have bottle bombs or you won't. I'm sure you'll figure it out. :)
 
I think @Zambezi Special will be OK with bottling at 7*Brix. I have bottled many batches at or around 7*Brix, and never had a bottle bomb. For me and my refractometer, 7 gets me to 1.011, with apparent attenuation of 81%.
 
J A said:
Yes, the refractometer is affected by the alcohol and is very tough to use for figuring out FG. Just get a hydrometer and leave off the guesswork.
As for your FG you said it was 7 brix. You've lost me with all the conflicting figures and information.
You'll either have bottle bombs or you won't. I'm sure you'll figure it out. :)
Click to expand...
Sorry for the confusion
I measure brix with the refractometer and SG with the hydrometer, so for me it seemed clear.
I forgot that you can also measure brix with a hydrometer:rolleyes:
Anyway, for clarity: OG of 14.5 with refractometer.
Uncorrected FG-refractometer 7, which gives a corrected FG of around 1.012.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Want no ads? Go Premium and unlock all our brewing tools!
Copyright © 2007-2025 Brewer's Friend, Inc. - Send Feedback - Terms - RSS Feed - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

Back
Top