one bad bottle?

What went wrong? Was this supposed to happen? Should I throw it out? What do I do now?

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headwarpage
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Oct 05, 2004 9:08 am

one bad bottle?

Post by headwarpage »

Hey all,

I just recently brewed my first batch of beer, a very simple pale ale. I drank a few bottles about a week ago, and everything seemed good - no noticeable off flavors. Today, I opened up another bottle, and it had a vaguely cidery aroma and flavor, as well as an unpleasant bitter aftertaste, differnt from normal hop bitterness. I popped open another bottle, and the cidery-ness seems to be absent. So, my question is what might have caused this? I brewed the beer from extract, just using single-stage fermentation, if that matters. I didn't see any type of ring around the neck of the bottle, for whatever that's worth. I'd appreciate any feedback anybody can give me. Thanks.
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Mesa Maltworks
Strong Ale
Strong Ale
Posts: 477
Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2001 11:16 pm
Location: Georgetown, Grand Cayman Island

Acetic/Lactic Acid Producing Bacteria....

Post by Mesa Maltworks »

What you describe suggests that an acid producing (beer spoiler) bacteria got a foot hold in one of your bottles. The major producers of such characters in beer are lactic and acetic acid producers. To determine which you have would require a simple lab analysis, but is not really necessary. Just be a bit more cautious with your sanitization efforts. I would suggest using a percabonate cleaner such as PBW and an anionic sanitizer such as idophor or Saniclean, or even better: chlorine dioxide (Starxene/Oxzene). Avoid "one step" cleaners and use only no rinse sanitizing agents.

Eric
Make your next beer (or spirit) a local one!!!!

Eric Watson
Head Distiller & Brewer

Seven Fathoms Rum
Georgetown, Grand Cayman
Cayman Islands
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