Is this an exercise in futility?

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Is this an exercise in futility?

  • Yes

  • No


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DaBills

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I have a verified bonafide infection of my Imperial Stout. It's in a secondary just sitting in the corner chillin. I was wondering if it would ever taste good. Will the sour flavors compliment at all after aging for a long time? I am just going to let it go and go and go in hopes that someday I'll be able to drink it. Exercise in futility or not? Vote!
 
No. It's always worth waiting to see how it turns out. It may be the best batch you've ever made as far as you know at the moment.
 
Yeah, I've had several "sour" dark beers, and they can turn out quite tasty. Guinness even uses a small proportion (10%?) of soured stout. I suppose it all depends on what kind of sour flavor you get, and whether any other off flavors come along for the ride, but don't dump it out. Let it go until it tastes good!
 
That is absolutley not an exercise in futility. Ive had many a soured stout and it is a beautiful loving marriage of two different styles.

But, if you dont want it, I will be more than happy to take it off of your hands!
 
i am not a sour beer guy. that being said i have had two infected beers and i drank every drop. sort of a way for me to remember to sanitize better LOL
 
Thanks for replies. It tasted great before it got infected. Really great. Then post infection it got a little funky but still good. I brewed it 9-6 and its been in a secondary since 9-26. I'm just gonna ride it out for a long while and see where it goes.
 
It's not doing any harm sitting there other than sucking up space. Do some tastings periodically and if it ever gets good bottle/keg and drink it soon. The way I see it you have no real idea of what is in there. Wild breweries have their art perfected to the degree that it can be. You just have an infection of some kind so it might turn out good or it might be bad. If you ever decide to bottle and drink it let us know how it turned out.
 
It depends on what infected it, really. A lactobacillus infection? Sure, it will maybe be ok. Some lactobacilli produce some nasty off flavors. Brett? Maybe, if you're into it. There's a host of other bacteria and wild yeast that will make just horrendous flavors. You may have to wait years, if ever, before it tastes good. It may never taste good. If it tastes like bandaids and feet today, it's going to taste like that forever. I can't say definitively it will never taste good but you may be holding your breath for nothing. If it tastes ok now you should probably just drink it now.

I've had a few infected beers that were just awful and got worse. After a year it was like the band-aids just kept multiplying. I should have dumped those. I have a wild ale that when I last brewed it tasted like butter for months. It took two years to develop into something good. I have a wild saison blend that tastes, literally, like sewage after nine months. Last time I brewed it it wasn't this bad after three months but again, it took about two years to turn into something pleasant to drink. I'm about eleven months into the second brew on that one and it will be my last for sure. The flavor is not worth the wait.
 
Well it didn't taste like plastic or a band-aid. Last time I tried it (2 months ago) it was more like an adicic/sour bite at the end. But not overwhelming... Yet. I could see how it could taste good if it mellowed out. I'm just gonna keep trying it every so often. I wonder how it would taste after a run through the still, hypothetically of course.
 
It depends on what infected it, really. A lactobacillus infection? Sure, it will maybe be ok. Some lactobacilli produce some nasty off flavors. Brett? Maybe, if you're into it. There's a host of other bacteria and wild yeast that will make just horrendous flavors. You may have to wait years, if ever, before it tastes good. It may never taste good. If it tastes like bandaids and feet today, it's going to taste like that forever. I can't say definitively it will never taste good but you may be holding your breath for nothing. If it tastes ok now you should probably just drink it now.

I've had a few infected beers that were just awful and got worse. After a year it was like the band-aids just kept multiplying. I should have dumped those. I have a wild ale that when I last brewed it tasted like butter for months. It took two years to develop into something good. I have a wild saison blend that tastes, literally, like sewage after nine months. Last time I brewed it it wasn't this bad after three months but again, it took about two years to turn into something pleasant to drink. I'm about eleven months into the second brew on that one and it will be my last for sure. The flavor is not worth the wait.

I had a saison that tasted literally like sewage for a couple of months. Right now - six months out from brew day - it is easily the best beer I"ve ever made.
 
I had a saison that tasted literally like sewage for a couple of months. Right now - six months out from brew day - it is easily the best beer I"ve ever made.

Nice. I'm just gonna let it go if it doesn't taste good after another year or so I'll probably throw in the towel.
 
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