So before I went to bottle my MOktoberfest I stole a sample. Same cidery taste as the Belgian. Now granted temperatures in Chicago neared 100deg in the last few weeks which made temperature control difficult and will add some off flavors, but I have to assume it's the same infection. The only equipment they had in common was the fermenter, auto-siphon and tubing. The fermenter is glass so that leaves the siphon and tubing as the likely culprits and I've replaced them. Am I missing anything?
According to: http://howtobrew.com/book/section-4/is-my-beer-ruined/common-off-flavors Cidery "Cidery flavors can have several causes but are often the result of adding too much cane or corn sugar to a recipe. One component of a cidery flavor is acetaldehyde which has a green-apple character. It is a common fermentation byproduct and different yeasts will produce different levels of it depending on the recipe and temperature. Cidery flavors are encouraged by warmer than normal temperatures and can be decreased by lagering." "If it is caused by aceto bacteria, then there is nothing to be done about it. Keep the fruit flies away from the fermentor next time." Does any of this apply to your process? Did you add cane or corn sugar? What type of yeast did you use? Would fruit flies have had access to the fermenter? The temperature definitely has an important impact.
No sugar added. On batch 1 I used SAF Abbaye , on the Oktoberfest Mangrove California [Common] Lager yeast. No flies that I know of. I suspect the temperature did contribute as well, if nothing else by making a good environment for bacteria to thrive.
It's likely the temperature then. See: http://howtobrew.com/book/section-1/fermentation/temperature-factors
That's reassuring as I had hoped my sanitation protocols were on target. I think the worst of summer is behind us and here and will try the water bath your link recommends. Thanks!
The water bath suggestion in the link seems like a great solution for the warmer States. Adding ice cubes regularly should also help, as I'm sure that the water temperature itself would average too high unless the air conditioner was set uncomfortably low. In any case, the water in the bath could be replaced regularly if the temperature of the tap water is relatively low. I know that my son's tap water (in Texas) is already too warm for fermentation temperatures. He decided to purchase an old fridge and a temperature controller, and uses that for a fermentation chamber. Since you live in Illinois, your tap water should be reasonably cool.
Instead of replacing water when the ice melts, just freeze 2-liter soft drink bottles that are filled with water in the water bath and also keep some in the freezer so that all you have to do is rotate the frozen bottles as they thaw out. Replacing the water as the tub fills up from the melting ice cubes can be a messy job.
Our tap gets down to the mid 50's I like the bottle/ice pack idea. Since my batches are 1.25gal or so I think I might get away with doing it in a tub vs a bathtub and using smaller bottles.
