Beer is fookt?

[Tidyguy]

Ok...brew number 2 is ready for tasting. Its a woodefordes wherry kit, and after a few problems with it reaching a decent FG the fermentation finally stopped 4 weeks ago. i put half the brew into bottles, and the rest into an empty king keg as i didnt have enough bottles to take the lot.

The problem is thus....the beer in the bottles looks absolutley fine, nice and clear, a healthy layer of sediment at the bottom. However, upon opening, the beer gives of a stale aroma, and the beer is stupidly fizzy, almost rola-cola levels of fizzyness. The beer in the barrel is even worse....still the same amount of fizzyness, except it smells horrible and is murkier than my bedroom after a night at the local curry house.

Any suggestions on whats gone wrong? I reckon the beer in the barrel is knackered because ive not cleaned it properly and its got infected, but im not sure. and the only explanation ive got for the bottled beer is that it hadnt finished fermenting before i bottled it and thats made it fizzier

any help for saving my beer would be much appreciated!

[sdcspeak]

The problem is thus....the beer in the bottles looks absolutley fine, nice and clear, a healthy layer of sediment at the bottom. However, upon opening, the beer gives of a stale aroma, and the beer is stupidly fizzy, almost rola-cola levels of fizzyness. The beer in the barrel is even worse....still the same amount of fizzyness, except it smells horrible and is murkier than my bedroom after a night at the local curry house.

Any suggestions on whats gone wrong? I reckon the beer in the barrel is knackered because ive not cleaned it properly and its got infected, but im not sure. and the only explanation ive got for the bottled beer is that it hadnt finished fermenting before i bottled it and thats made it fizzier

any help for saving my beer would be much appreciated!

It sounds like your beer is beyond saving The good news is that you have learned one way not to make beer !

For next time. . . . . . there are a number of other possible issues, however because both the barrel and the bottles are bad, I would conclude that the problem is before racking (bottling/kegging) took place. Sanitation is paramount and it is likely that poor procedures are the cause. Unless you put more than 5ml sugar per 500ml bottle, I would suggest that the extra fizzyness is also down to poor sanitisation too.

Ensure that everthing that is going to touch the wort is sterilised, including the cans, paddle, hose etc. Don't be tempted to "fiddle" with the brew during fermentation and when, after fermentation has stopped, sterilise all the equipment used for bottling, including the bottle caps, bottles, keg (including taps) hoses, bottling bucket, again anything that is going to touch your beer must be scrupulously clean and sterilised.

[Tidyguy]

yeah was pretty sure everything had been sterilized but oviously not. stuff in the barrel is goin in d bin 2morrow so i can crack on with another brew, gonna give d bottled stuff a bit longer see if it helps. not hopeful tho...like you said, least i know for next time. only added 80g priming sugar for the full 5 gallon batch, so dont think thats 2 much.

[sdcspeak]

only added 80g priming sugar for the full 5 gallon batch, so dont think thats 2 much.

80gms should be fine for a full 5 gal brew.

Check that you are mixing up your sanitiser according to the instructions, it is really easy to get the measurements wrong.

Oxidisation would be the next thing I would look for if the beer still smells and tastes stale.

If you haven't already, Invest in a bottling stick

They are cheap and will avoid the risk of oxidisation by splashing the beer around at bottling time. You can go "belt and braces" when bottling by squirting a bit of CO2 into the bottle before filling and another squirt in the top after you withdraw your bottling stick. This ensures no air is present in the bottle.

[Tidyguy]

yeah ive got a bottling stick, and what a life saver it is. ive got shot of the barreled stuff, gonna get another brew on tomorrow hopefully if i can drag myself down to the homebrew shop before it shuts. gonna keep d bottles for another 2 weeks or so, see how they turn out. cheers for ur help guys