good brew down the drain

melbourne man · Post by **melbourne man** » Monday Jun 05, 2006 4:23 pm

i just made my second brew, my first was a ripper but my second got an infection which i noticed after 48 hours. it formed green blotches on top of the brew and smelled strongly of rotten eggs. i threw it out because of the smell and the wort was greenish too. what sort of infection is this? and is there any way it could of been fixed? when i sterilized the fermenter i left the o-ring in could this be the source of my problem?

i took a photo but i don't know how to add it to this post.

Paleman · Post by **Paleman** » Monday Jun 05, 2006 5:00 pm

Are you sure it was an infection ?

What type of yeast did you use with your brew. If it was a Lager yeast, then rotten egg gas, or sulphur is normal.

Try and post up your piccie if possible, maybe you need to upload it to another host site, like Photo Bucket, then use the url from there and paste it on here.

melbourne man · Post by **melbourne man** » Monday Jun 05, 2006 5:12 pm

i hope this works.

it didn't just smell faintly of rotten eggs it stunk out pretty much the whole house. i used saflager yeast. i was going to have a sip of it but it was too awful.

Paleman · Post by **Paleman** » Monday Jun 05, 2006 5:59 pm

Your link didnt work Melbourne Man, try copying and pasting the bottom of three links on your Photobucket image.

Anyway, Saflager explains everything. Ive done lagers using this yeast that stink the whole house out. Bottled the brew, and after two - three months in the bottle, ive ended up with the cleanest tasting, yummy lager.

You did the wrong thing by throwing out your brew. Lager yeasts produce strong sulphur smells. The green tinge may have been from any finishing hops you used.

Next time........more patience is required. A bug, or contaminated brew is highly unlikely.

melbourne man · Post by **melbourne man** » Monday Jun 05, 2006 6:23 pm

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g285/ ... ection.jpg

melbourne man · Post by **melbourne man** » Monday Jun 05, 2006 6:48 pm

Wassa · Post by **Wassa** » Monday Jun 05, 2006 8:03 pm

Hate to say it melbourne, but that looks like hops on the top of the brew. Saflager stinks like hell but makes a great Lager.

Next time don't be so rash. FYI saflager has a different yeast available, W34 something or other and it is a proper German Lager yeast and is the ants pants.

Paleman can probably give you the full details. I have ahd a big dinner and had beer, red wine, bourbon and port so am not thinking toooooo clearly at present.

shane_vor · Post by **shane_vor** » Monday Jun 05, 2006 8:11 pm

Bugger! You threw out...BEER! Poor guy.
I've only poured out one beer and even then it was months after it was bottled. Even the really crap ones come good...mostly

Paleman · Post by **Paleman** » Monday Jun 05, 2006 8:16 pm

melbourne man.

To me that looks like a good dose of hop pellet, that has floated on your krausen.....( fermenting beer head ). Which would have sunk, and gelled to your SafLager yeast sediment.

Racking would have sorted out any problems of overcarry, into bottles.

Please supply me with your recipe. I want to know what hops you used, your initial ingrediants. Just to keep you on the right track.

Im afraid my friend, you have ditched a good beer. If you havnt....put the bloody lid back on, and let it ferment.

A sad day, a good beer has died....a minutes silence may be in order !

melbourne man · Post by **melbourne man** » Monday Jun 05, 2006 8:56 pm

I used a brewcraft munich lager, saflager-23 yeast, brewcraft #40 kit converter to make crownies and cluster hop pellets.
i mixed it all up in a big pan and simmered the hops in a seperate pot for a few minites then added it to the wort in the fermenter.
i pitched the yeast at 26 degrees and it started bubbling after 3-4 hours and i kept it fermenting at 12-13 degrees.

Tourist · Post by **Tourist** » Monday Jun 05, 2006 9:05 pm

Looks and sounds to me like you chucked out good beer. Don't worry, it's all a learning experience, man.

Paleman · Post by **Paleman** » Monday Jun 05, 2006 10:19 pm

Heres my judgment on this one......anyone feel free to add.

melbourne man.

Youve chucked away a brew, that smelt like rotten egg gass. ( sulphur )

You used a lager yeast......Lager yeast characteristics, are rotten egg gasses, sulphur smells.

Also you found some green floaties. That would be the hops you used. Hop scum usually goes up to the top.

Nothing a good ferment, and rack wouldnt have fixed. Not judging you in any way fella, but a good learning curve for everybody.

Patience !!

melbourne man · Post by **melbourne man** » Tuesday Jun 06, 2006 8:38 am

how do i rack the brew? what does it do? and do i need another fermenter?

Chris · Post by **Chris** » Tuesday Jun 06, 2006 10:47 am

You will need another fermenter. And a bit off food-grade hose. Just connect the hose to your primary fermenter, elevate it, and let the beer run into the second fermenter. It will clear out the crud- like any hop pellets, excess yeast etc.

It's well worth doing- especially in preference to pouring out a whole batch.

When will people learn that it is actually difficult to get a major infection.

Wassa · Post by **Wassa** » Tuesday Jun 06, 2006 12:43 pm

Racking is the transfer of your breww from one fermenter to another, to clear the brew and leave a lot of the yeast cake and other unfriendlies behind.

basically you wait until your ferment is about threequarters done, the you connect a sterilsed hose from your tap and coil it into the second sterilised fermenter and transfer the beer. This often leads to the fermentation kicking off again and using more fermentable sugars giving you a clearer and better tyasing brew.

melbourne man · Post by **melbourne man** » Tuesday Jun 06, 2006 3:39 pm

thanks for all the help i will not be so rash again i now know that it is unlikely to infect a batch.
could racking lead to infection?
how much would another fermenter cost?

DarkFaerytale · Post by **DarkFaerytale** » Tuesday Jun 06, 2006 4:12 pm

hey melbourne man, i get my stuff from brew 'n grow in chelsea, they charge about 35$ for a fermenter with tap, sediment reducer, air lock, grommit, lid and seal

-Phill

scblack · Post by **scblack** » Tuesday Jun 06, 2006 4:51 pm

Or try Bunnings, they have 25 litre water containers, basically the same as a fermenter, add a tap and some tubing, and it will cost you around $20.

PaulP · Post by **PaulP** » Tuesday Jun 06, 2006 8:40 pm

Wow, What a waste.Most of my brews look like this.
WAL'S kits have heaps of hops and they always float to the top.
A saflager always smell's,but gives a good crisp finish.
Next time ask before throwing out as it sound like a nice brew.
Cheers

melbourne man · Post by **melbourne man** » Tuesday Jun 06, 2006 9:50 pm

I'm going to try the same brew again this weekend to see how well it turns out.