Lager tastes sour

[blackdogtongue]

Hi!
I brewed a lager for the first time and the result isn’t good (yet?). I don’t have a setup for temp control so fermented under pressure in a corny keg with a spunding valve.

After 2 weeks I transferred it to the serving keg. It smells like a good lager, but it’s not clear and the taste is sour.
couple of things that I’m thinking may have given me a bad batch:
- There wasn’t much activity in the first 24 hours of fermentation but when I woke up the next morning the pressure was up at 25psi. I brought it down to 12 immediately and it stayed there for the rest of the fermentation. Too much stress on yeast?
- I have somehow, after brewing for 3 years, only just learned that most brewers leave the trub in the kettle. No idea how this passed me by. Anyway, I don’t think it’s caused any problems in the past, but maybe for a lager it isn’t ideal?
- The pressure in the serving keg actually dropped slowly (about 3-4psi per day) when no co2 was applied. Is that normal or maybe there’s a small leak in the keg?

Can anyone offer any advice? Is there a chance the lager eventually come good?

Thanks!

 

[HighVoltageMan!]

By “sour” do you mean tart?

Lager yeasts can taste tart. The yeast can hang in suspension for a long time. Lagering will eventually drop the yeast, along with proteins and polyphenols. The beer needs time at near freezing temperatures to mature. It can take 2-6 weeks. The high pressure at first isn’t good, but it may not impact the finished beer.

Leaving trub behind is ideal, but many brewers don’t really think it has a big impact. In addition, the trub contain nutrients for the yeast, so it could be helpful in some situations.

The dropping pressure could be from chilling the beer. If it’s at 65F and it is cooled to 33F, the pressure will drop to @12-13psi. This is because the beer’s capacity to absorb co2 is increased by lower the temperature. The co2 is dissolving into the beer.

Let it lager a while. Clarifying with gelatin will force the yeast out of suspension quicker and reduce lagering time. You have to drop the yeast out of the beer to get the true flavor of the beer.

 

[The Brew Mentor]

Good advice above.
Most yeast taste bitter and tart, so you're not getting a good sample until it's mostly dropped out.
Be patient, time will tell.
RDWHAHB

 

[GFHomebrew]

I rekon it's good that it smells good.

No sulphur aye?

As above time will tell don't be a rush to dump good beer.

Be patient and i hope you get rewarded.

And brew another lager

 

[Sandy Feet]

What temp and what yeast? I hope it was at least somewhere cold with 34/70

 

[Minbari]

Hi!
I brewed a lager for the first time and the result isn’t good (yet?). I don’t have a setup for temp control so fermented under pressure in a corny keg with a spunding valve.

After 2 weeks I transferred it to the serving keg. It smells like a good lager, but it’s not clear and the taste is sour.
couple of things that I’m thinking may have given me a bad batch:
- There wasn’t much activity in the first 24 hours of fermentation but when I woke up the next morning the pressure was up at 25psi. I brought it down to 12 immediately and it stayed there for the rest of the fermentation. Too much stress on yeast?
- I have somehow, after brewing for 3 years, only just learned that most brewers leave the trub in the kettle. No idea how this passed me by. Anyway, I don’t think it’s caused any problems in the past, but maybe for a lager it isn’t ideal?
- The pressure in the serving keg actually dropped slowly (about 3-4psi per day) when no co2 was applied. Is that normal or maybe there’s a small leak in the keg?

Can anyone offer any advice? Is there a chance the lager eventually come good?

Thanks!

Need more info. Hops used, yeast used? How much yeast used? Starter?
Without temp control, if it was lager yeast, then what temp did you ferment at?
You are sure sanitation was on par?

24 lag is not out of ordinary at low temp. (Need above answer).

 

[blackdogtongue]

Oh good! Thanks a lot for the advice. I’ve added some gelatin this afternoon so fingers crossed.

By “sour” do you mean tart?

Lager yeasts can taste tart. The yeast can hang in suspension for a long time. Lagering will eventually drop the yeast, along with proteins and polyphenols. The beer needs time at near freezing temperatures to mature. It can take 2-6 weeks. The high pressure at first isn’t good, but it may not impact the finished beer.

Leaving trub behind is ideal, but many brewers don’t really think it has a big impact. In addition, the trub contain nutrients for the yeast, so it could be helpful in some situations.

The dropping pressure could be from chilling the beer. If it’s at 65F and it is cooled to 33F, the pressure will drop to @12-13psi. This is because the beer’s capacity to absorb co2 is increased by lower the temperature. The co2 is dissolving into the beer.

Let it lager a while. Clarifying with gelatin will force the yeast out of suspension quicker and reduce lagering time. You have to drop the yeast out of the beer to get the true flavor of the beer.