American Stout Judging

[tony b]

I'll bring 2 just in case. If we don't use one, then there's less to wash.

[mjhora52]

Be there soon


Mike Hora

[andrewmaixner]

Hmm, tasted my extra bottle of bottle-conditioned stout next to the same beer on tap... Not impressed

And for all of you judges who averaged it a "24" = mid-range of ""Good".... you may be more harsh next time. I tasted the extra bottle side-by-side with the on-tap keg tonight, and it was clearly infected. That will teach me not to bottle a beer right off my (non-sanitary) serving tap.

The infection led to over-carbonation, which led to metallic off-taste and weaker body, as noted by all judges. My curiosity is, what kind of infection would result in that, but no other distinguishing characteristics? Wild yeast that can better metabolize long-chain saccharides? (It wasn't "green" as it had a 5-month secondary at 60F cellar temp.) Google isn't finding anything for "metallic" aside from actual metal contamination and over-carbonation .

[DrPaulsen]

I've found that most over-carb'd beers have a metallic tang to them due to the excess of carbonic acid.

[whitedj]

I'd suggest to bottle some and allow to sit in a plastic bag (bottle bombs?) for proper aging to have the bugs show themselves.

[andrewmaixner]

I'd suggest to bottle some and allow to sit in a plastic bag (bottle bombs?) for proper aging to have the bugs show themselves.

Tasted and dumped the last extra bottle last night, sibe-by-side with the keg. Definitely some organism made it taste off and over-carb. I know it wasn't an aging issue because it bulk-aged in the cellar for months in a sealed secondary, so it had to have happened after that stage.

Lesson Learned: do not bottle from an un-sanitized tap. Take the extra 5 minutes to bottle from sanitized racking cane.

[whitedj]

Even then you may want to consider brewing a clean light beer... cream ale or lager... and prove out the packaging method. I've had bad beers from actual breweries. Packaging isn't trival especially on a homebrew level.

[Matt F]

For my entries I use a counter pressure filler, but a beer gun or other similar device works similar. It has its own beverage lines and everything is sanitized and hooked up directly to the keg. Try filling bottles in some fashion with all sanitized equipment directly from the keg and also do some from the tap. If the ones from the tap change you know the source which will help you steer clear. May be more than you need to do as you have a pretty good idea of the source already.

[DrPaulsen]

It could also be your beer lines. I sent some beers into the IBU Open a few years back that tasted great coming out of the tap, but started developing vegetal flavors after sitting in the bottle for a month or two (I bottled with a growler filler, but did spray a ton of sanitizer into the nozzle of my forward-sealing Perlick taps). This particular brand of infection didn't cause a bottle bomb, but did produce the nasty off-flavors identified on my score sheets. After receiving feedback on my score sheets, I was initially baffled. I then decided to see if it was the lines by letting the beer sit in the lines for a few weeks and carefully tasting a "line beer" small pour vs the stuff coming out of the keg. The initial line beer pour had vegetal flavors consistent with my score sheet feedback, while the fresh stuff from the keg did not. I replaced my lines and have not had that problem since.

[andrewmaixner]

It could also be your beer lines. I sent some beers into the IBU Open a few years back that tasted great coming out of the tap, but started developing vegetal flavors after sitting in the bottle for a month or two (I bottled with a growler filler, but did spray a ton of sanitizer into the nozzle of my forward-sealing Perlick taps). This particular brand of infection didn't cause a bottle bomb, but did produce the nasty off-flavors identified on my score sheets. After receiving feedback on my score sheets, I was initially baffled. I then decided to see if it was the lines by letting the beer sit in the lines for a few weeks and carefully tasting a "line beer" small pour vs the stuff coming out of the keg. The initial line beer pour had vegetal flavors consistent with my score sheet feedback, while the fresh stuff from the keg did not. I replaced my lines and have not had that problem since.

Good to know.
I actually did a full disassemble/clean of the taps/shanks/etc last month, but not the lines.
(You really don't want to see the picture I took of the inside of the taps/shanks ... I think it was generic beer sediment, but boy did it look bad!)

[whitedj]

I know my connections are janked with funk. Beer is good but doesn't store well.

[Eric B]

You know it only takes 4-10 days for bacteria to grow in beer lines? That's why I have a job cleaning lines every 2 weeks... And Star San isn't a cleaner and Five Star BLC is garbage. If you can get your hands on using Draftec Caustic Beer Line Cleaner or Micro-Matic Beer Line cleaner.. use it..

[DrPaulsen]

Where can we buy those line cleaners?

[Matt F]

I also would like to know where I can buy some. I run BLC and soak taps in PBW. Then some star san, and finally a water rinse. I would rather do what the pros do.

[andrewmaixner]

You know it only takes 4-10 days for bacteria to grow in beer lines? That's why I have a job cleaning lines every 2 weeks... And Star San isn't a cleaner and Five Star BLC is garbage. If you can get your hands on using Draftec Caustic Beer Line Cleaner or Micro-Matic Beer Line cleaner.. use it..

Aren't they all just Lye (aka sodium hydroxide, caustic soda, food-grade drain cleaner) + detergent ?
http://www.micromatic.com/sites/5/templ ... leaner.pdf