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I bottled two IPAs last night, first time bottling in over a year, didn't have one of those fancy things with the gravity needle to make it go easily (not sure where it disappeared to). Anyway, one of the two batches probably could have used an extra day in the primary, it was up around 1.022 or something, but I was going to be busy for a few days so it went to the secondary, then I learned how fun adding two ounces of leaf hops into a glass carboy can be. I couldn't get the airlock to sit properly, so I went to check it in the morning, sure enough, the airlock was on the floor. I put it back on and didn't have any other incidents, the fermentation was probably in its dying stages and there was no longer any moisture on the glass or the bung.

Last night my roommate and I did all of the bottling, and drew the last bit off as a sample, as I normally do. It was awful, sour as can be. I guess I've learned my lesson and will draw the sample before transferring, but something must have gotten in in the secondary, because it tasted good when I did the transfer to the secondary.

I guess this is more of a grieving post than anything else - if you don't do a taste test before putting all the effort in, maybe now is a good time to start. Thanks to brufrog for the name.

Bugger.

How long did it sit in secondary? I'm surprised it took on a sour taste that fast! I think you're on to something with the tasting before putting in effort... it seems so obvious yet I more often than not forget to do that.

Jayme wrote:How long did it sit in secondary? I'm surprised it took on a sour taste that fast! I think you're on to something with the tasting before putting in effort... it seems so obvious yet I more often than not forget to do that.

It was in there for a week. I'm really hoping the off-taste had to do with the sample being the very last drops of beer. At this point optimism is all I've got.

It'd be odd for an infection to take hold that quickly, especially with the amount of hopping likely involved in an IPA. Hops having anti bacterial properties combined with the PH level after fermentation had finished plus the alcohol present would make introducing something at that point more difficult. Sometimes the dregs at the bottom of the bottling bucket can be a poor representation of the beer's flavor, as you'll have more yeast/hop bits in that sample. Maybe what you're describing as really sour was something different. You might find the beer is actually fine when you crack a bottle. If it is infected, the most likely culprit would be acetobacter which could have come from a fruit fly or two finding their way in. If there's a decent level of CO2 being produced, that's likely enough to keep them away but it certainly is a possibility. I'd still say you're most likely fine.

BBrianBoogie wrote:It'd be odd for an infection to take hold that quickly, especially with the amount of hopping likely involved in an IPA. Hops having anti bacterial properties combined with the PH level after fermentation had finished plus the alcohol present would make introducing something at that point more difficult. Sometimes the dregs at the bottom of the bottling bucket can be a poor representation of the beer's flavor, as you'll have more yeast/hop bits in that sample. Maybe what you're describing as really sour was something different. You might find the beer is actually fine when you crack a bottle. If it is infected, the most likely culprit would be acetobacter which could have come from a fruit fly or two finding their way in. If there's a decent level of CO2 being produced, that's likely enough to keep them away but it certainly is a possibility. I'd still say you're most likely fine.

Thanks for the detailed response. I hope you're right. The night with no airlock might be enough to have allowed something in. This is my first really big beer, so it could have been the hops crowding the siphon tube or something.