Hey all, I’m wondering if anyone has experienced this phenomenon before. First, a short background: I’ve been homebrewing for about two years. Started with 6 months extract, then 6 of partial, and now I’ve been all grain for the last year. I’ve been happy with the overall quality thus far. No big issues, some over-carbonated (under-attenuated at the time of bottling), and that’s basically it. I got the urge to try some wild ales. The recipe was all-grain with a basic pale ale grain bill and minor hop additions. OG was around 1.050. For yeast I blended W1056 and some East Coast Yeast bug blend (not sure which variety). No starter here. Fermentation went on as normal and was down to 1.005 within 12-14 days. I added VERY finely diced vanilla beans that had been soaking in vodka for about two weeks. I bottled 7 days after adding the vanilla, and made sure to leave behind the diced vanilla. I used the normal ¾ cups of sugar to prime. After about 3-4 weeks I opened a bottle and found that the consistency was syrupy. Not as slow as pure maple syrup, maybe more like warm syrup around 90F. Fast-forward 6 months, the consistency hasn’t changed at all. Some sour character is apparent. I can share recipes and notes if needed, but honestly I’m not sure where to start troubleshooting. My own personal belief was that the finely diced vanilla beans is what caused the issue. However I recently split two batches 50/50 with the ECY yeast cake, and a new 5 gal batch of a quad that was using the Wyeast Trappist high gravity. I didn’t add any flavorings, and they’ve been conditioning for about 3 months, and they are syrupy as well! I’ve never had this issue with normal beers (ales or lagers). Sorry for this wall of text! TL;DR: my wild ale pours like motor oil.
Let me see if I understand this correctly. You bottled a "wild ale" 3 weeks after brew day? Do your clean beers have any off-character?
This is a pretty interesting issue. Are you getting the "syrupy" texture/taste prior to fermentation? What about prior to bottling? I'd start by finding the common elements of each batch. Other than the "syrupyness" is the taste okay?
http://beerbybart.com/2011/04/03/true-lambic-jean-van-roy-cantillon-sick-beer/ Seems to fit this description: "While aging, the mixed organisms form a strange-looking protective film over the surface of the beer, and then go though two summers of warmer temperatures where they become extremely weird, ropey and viscous throughout the entire barrel. This harmless but off-putting polysaccharide slime can pour with the consistency of oil or perhaps thin snot, so it is no surprise that this condition has come to be known as “sick” beer, or more specifically as the fat sickness, “la maladie de la graisse” in French. For contemporary brewers who are embarking on a journey to make a beer inspired by the Lambic method, it’s comforting to know what strange things may happen along the way."
I was thinking pedio. Assuming this since you used bug county there is bacteria in it. In theory it will clear up, but it sounds like you're having the same problem as some bottles of Fantome have had lately. Ideally if your brewing a wild ale you need to let it sit in a carboy for a few months to a few years, unless you're brewing a 100% brett beer.
Let me see if I understand this correctly. You bottled a "wild ale" 3 weeks after brew day? Do your clean beers have any off-character? Correct - my first try of vanilla wild I did bottle 3-4 weeks after brewday. Rookie mistake, I know. Fermentation was down to 1.004 or so. My clean beers had issues with some oxidation characteristics when I was less careful about transferring beer during bottling. Nothing that affected the consistency though. This is a pretty interesting issue. Are you getting the "syrupy" texture/taste prior to fermentation? What about prior to bottling? I'd start by finding the common elements of each batch. Other than the "syrupyness" is the taste okay? The wort looked normal prior to fermentation. Prior to bottling, yes it was syrupy on my first try, and still is with my 2nd/3rd batches. Taste is actually pretty normal, though way too heavy on the vanilla front. The 2nd/3rd batches taste pretty good, other than the off-putting mouthfeel. Man I hope those quotes work.
It was indeed one of the bug blends, and acidity is apparent so I fully assume lacto/pedio at work here. That was part of the reason I split batches and put one in glass and the other in plastic. I should note that the tincture of vanilla in the vodka was EXTREMELY syrupy since I diced up the vanilla like a bonehead. That would not explain my issues with the separate 2nd/3rd batches though.
Interesting read, thank you for posting! Viscous accurately describes the consistency, though it's not ropey. It pours consistently. On the bottled vanilla wild if I pour a whole bottle into a glass, a small silver-dollar size brown mass of slightly MORE viscous liquid will form at the bottom of the glass/flute/snifter. I presumed this was vanilla goop all coagulated.
Here is a really extreme example of "sickness" in a bottle of Fantome: Brett will clean it up eventually, although hopefully it won't produce too much extra carbonation in the process. It is risky to bottle a sour beer so young, even one down to 1.005. It doesn't take much of a drop in addition to priming sugar to result in some very carbonated bottles.
there is very little consistency with wild yeast. that is why it is wild. otherwise it would be domesticated. i doubt your problems are from the vanilla. if you soak in vodka, the extract is virtually guaranteed to be sterile. not just sanitary, but sterile. i know this doesn't help your situation, but i am willing to bet that if you stick with a traditional yeast your problems will go away. in the very least you will have removed a big variable. Cheers.
Welcome to wilds. Sounds like a "sick beer" ie, pedio. It will pass eventually, just keep all the bottles at room temp. If you fridge them it will stay that way much longer as all the bacteria and Brett will move much slower. I haven't had any of my beers do that yet, but I did have a bottle of Burnside Oak Aged Berlinerweisse that was almost $20 for a bomber do that. It was like pouring Vegetable Oil in a tulip... Not cool.
Thanks for the feedback guys. Sounds like this will pass. I'll try and wait it out over the summer when the basement heats up a bit. I'm really wanting to do a straight brett fermentation and see what results I get. I will make sure to post again if things change. I'm not as willing to dump two batches as I am to buy two more fermentors and let the wilds sit longer.
