Bottle Dregs ?

[forcabrew]

I had a few bottles of sour dregs that I added about 6 ounces 1020 wort to in an attempt to build up the dregs to possibly pitch into a beer in the future. So I added the wort about a week or so ago and I took a big whiff of it today and got a paint thinner type smell from it. Should I sit and wait it out or dump it and not waste my time?


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[Oldsock]

I had a few bottles of sour dregs that I added about 6 ounces 1020 wort to in an attempt to build up the dregs to possibly pitch into a beer in the future. So I added the wort about a week or so ago and I took a big whiff of it today and got a paint thinner type smell from it. Should I sit and wait it out or dump it and not waste my time?

Ethyl acetate most likely, an ester formed from ethanol and acetic acid. Personally I'd dump it. However, acetic acid only forms in the presence of oxygen, so you could repitch the bugs into fresh wort, clamp on an airlock, and see if the character goes away.

I actually have the best results pitching dregs right into primary along with a culture of brewer's yeast. Culturing a group of microbes is tricky as they have conflicting optimums for temperature, pH, oxygen etc.

Best of luck!

 

[forcabrew]

Thanks for the info much appreciated


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