Ruined batch :-(

Baz_

So I'm pretty sure I have my first ruined batch...

It was an IPA (coopers kit) and I added some hops (the teabag style - better brew goldings iirc).

I left the batch in the primary fermenter for about 4 - 5 weeks and after I took my hydrometer sample today I gave it a little taste and had to immediately spit it back out again due to a strong vinegary taste. It was awful. And I was devastated.

It was my third brew and the other two went okayish up to now. I did two things differently this time. I left the batch in primary for longer than I have done in the past and I added hops.

From reading around online it would seem that the leaving of the batch in the fv for that length of time should have had little or no affect on the beer and indeed people spoke of leaving their batches in the fermentor for weeks longer and still ended up with drinkable beer.

This leaves the hops as the most likely culprit. Was I meant to take them out sooner? Or is it okay to leave them in as long as the batch stays in the fv? Reading the instruction from here suggests that leaving them in for the duration should be no problem.

Basically I am looking to trouble shoot my bad batch so that I don't run into this problem again, it's a big enough investment in time that I am anxious to avoid it happening again.

Has anyone run into this problem before? Does anyone with experience see the obvious mistake I made from what I have said above (I'm not sure that there is an obvious mistake, but there might well be something obvious that as a newb I missed out on)?

The most devastating thing of all was that when I brewed it up initially and in my first few hydrometer samples it was tasting delicious and I was dying to drink this brew.

I had also gone to the trouble of getting everything sterilised for the bottling chore before I took my final hydrometer reading and then I tasted it, spat it out and fought back the tears while looking at my spick and span bottles...

Krusty_Clown

Try taking another sample or two from the tap. You might have had dead yeast particles or other crap in the sample.

Baz_

Well considering I went to the trouble of preparing for bottling I went ahead and bottled most of it in the vain hope it might correct itself during conditioning. While going through that process I took another couple of taste samples and they were much the same. I'm not holding out much hope for this batch and fully expect to have to tip it out at some stage...

poitinstill

could it be that the ipa is very bitter to the taste ...ive left a good few brews in fv for around that long with no bad effects ...if it is it must be a pure sanitation issue. so next time have your bleach/vinigear or what ever and soak every item in it the night before.

Baz_

I did suspect both of them causes, I believe I wash and sanitise carefully, but maybe I'm not careful enough.

In terms of super bitterness could that be caused by the hops being in so long? And also if it was caused by over long hopping is there any chance that it might mellow out in conditioning?

(As you can see I'm still holding on to my vain hope...)

poitinstill

leave it in the bottle for 3 months before you even taste it.. ive had some terrible tasting stuff ( never like actual vinegar though) turn round to be drinkable. I made one batch of extract ale and it was fair bad going into the bottle but i think it was because it was mainly dme and bittering ( old / out dateed hops) no speciality grain. it tasted bad going in but mellowed to be good stuff after being lost in the shed for months....time is a great healer

also anytime i let hops in there for a long time dry hopping you get an oily film on top that looks v bad , like an oil slick on the top

Tube

Baz_ wrote: »

I gave it a little taste and had to immediately spit it back out again due to a strong vinegary taste. It was awful. And I was devastated.

See here about acetic off flavour:
http://www.nationalhomebrewclub.com/wiki/doku.php?id=off_flavours#acetic

From my own experience it's usually acetobacter, a bacteria that turns ethanol into acetic acid.