So, I've been trying to get my helles recipe/technique dialed in for about 2 years now and have about 12 or so batches pale blonde lager under my belt, with results varying from best-in-category to undrinkable. My recent attempt seemed to be the best one so far, it was crystal clear on bottling day and was the cleanest and maltiest tasting batch I've seen. So now, about 4 weeks later, they're all cloudy and have a wierd funk to them. It almost tastes/smells like the mildest bavarian hefe yeast strain in the world got mixed in, but the yeast I used was wyeast bavarian lager. I actually might be able to tell people its an all-barley hefe, but I really don't like the phenols of that style. I'm assuming it was contaminated or mishandled during bottling, has this happened to you guys?
What makes this batch special was that I didn't do all the work at home like usual. I did the secondary fermentation in a walk-in cooler at work (I work in the kitchen at a catering company) and bottled it there before taking it home. The bottles and equipment were sanitized in a high-temp commercial dishmachine that goes up to 190-200 during the sanitizing cycle, I'm wondering if that machine did a poor job of sanitizing somehow? Or maybe I missed a hose and didn't notice or something? I let them carb up slowly at cellar temp in my basement, roughly 54 degrees.
It's always possible I had a case of the 'ol "Bottling Day Optimism" and didn't notice, but I've messed up enough lagers that I'm pretty sensitive to wierd flavors. Especially in helles, it would've stuck out like a sore thumb. I can barely taste the pilsner malt anymore. Can anyone help me out?
What makes this batch special was that I didn't do all the work at home like usual. I did the secondary fermentation in a walk-in cooler at work (I work in the kitchen at a catering company) and bottled it there before taking it home. The bottles and equipment were sanitized in a high-temp commercial dishmachine that goes up to 190-200 during the sanitizing cycle, I'm wondering if that machine did a poor job of sanitizing somehow? Or maybe I missed a hose and didn't notice or something? I let them carb up slowly at cellar temp in my basement, roughly 54 degrees.
It's always possible I had a case of the 'ol "Bottling Day Optimism" and didn't notice, but I've messed up enough lagers that I'm pretty sensitive to wierd flavors. Especially in helles, it would've stuck out like a sore thumb. I can barely taste the pilsner malt anymore. Can anyone help me out?
