Pumpkin Ale

[afreitag]

Anyway to salvage this beer?? I added three cans of pumpkin during the boil process so I wouldnt think that would have affect it.

 

[billl]

Salvage? Looks like you've got some wild yeast/brett growing there. I assume that is an accident?

 

[afreitag]

Yeah not sure what went wrong here.

 

[seckert]

Wow! Thats different...before i read it and just saw the picture i thought you had a bunch of plastic things in your beer. Me being me i would at least want to ferment it out just as more of an experiment, i dont think there is any way to stop the process that is occuring now.

 

[billl]

Yeah not sure what went wrong here.

Not to overstate the obvious, but it's a sanitation issue. You had some wild yeast sneak in there somehow. It sure looks a lot like brett. How does it smell/taste?

Do you keg? If so, you can just keg it and toss it in the fridge. That will put the yeast to sleep and preserve the beer in its current state. Just don't bring it back to room temp or they will start up again.

If you bottle, you could either pasteurize it or just let it run its course. I'd personally just let it go and see how it turns out. You might have accidentally stumbled upon the next great yeast strain. Who knows.

 

[afreitag]

I smelt it and it smells like beer. How long would you let it run its course?? Sorry if im asking silly questions still fairly new to homebrewing.

 

[ericbw]

I smelt it and it smells like beer. How long would you let it run its course?? Sorry if im asking silly questions still fairly new to homebrewing.

I would check gravity at 3 weeks then wait till 4 weeks and check. If it's the same, probably done. Since you don't know what it is, it might go to sleep and reawaken.

Then bottle it. Let it condition a few weeks, then try it. Then dump the whole batch because it tastes like crap.

 

[Poobah58]

Rack from underneath it. Let it finish then taste.

 

[billl]

Not a silly question. If it's brett, it might well bubble away like that for a couple months. Don't try to bottle it while you still see obvious activity. Brett moves slowly, so the "stable gravity readings 3 days apart" doesn't apply.

It might end up tasting great or it could turn out horrible. The only way to know is to let it go and do what isn't going to do. It also will likely continue to change the longer it sits - even in the bottle.