Super bummed out. 60 gallons, 6 different brews, ALL SOUR

[stockstinks]

Last night I was restocking my keezer and I poured myself a fresh saison. That beer tasted sour, but I thought it should.

I then poured a cream ale... Tasted sour like my saison. I thought I maybe I miss labled the keg. WELL, I proceded to taste the next 12 kegs (6 different variety) and most of them taste sour. The only ones that didn't taste sour are the hoppy variety.
I make 10 gallon batches so I had 6 different beers.

The only thing I did differently with these brews is that I naturaly carbed them with priming sugar instead of force carbing like I usually do.

I think I screwed up when I added the sugar. This was a new bag of priming sugar and I used 3.5 oz per keg. HERE IS WHERE I THINK I SCREWED UP.. I did NOT boil the sugar, I just poured it straight into the keg and let it sit for a month or two. These beers are sour smelling and tasting, and are over carbed and foamy.

Is this caused from pouring the priming sugar directly into the keg without boiling it first?

I am so upset. What do you think caused this?

 

[DrunkleJon]

Shouldn't. Sugar is a natural antiseptic. It was used on the battlefield to treat wounds. People do not boil carbonation dops. Yes, you should boil, but I do not think that should be the cause. Did you perhaps have any beer backup into the gas lines? Maybe it is the keg(s) or lines in need of a thorough cleaning?

 

[CadillacAndy]

I'd look more at the plastic parts of your brewing process - siphon, tubing, etc. I'd probably replace all of that if possible, then sanitize everything else with boiling water or bleach bomb everything. Just make sure to rinse properly.

Are there any other tools or pieces of equipment that are common to all of these beers?

 

[stockstinks]

The beers that I sampled last night were taken directly from the kegs using a picnic tap. So, It is not the lines causing the sour taste.

I did however use some new buckets that I bought for fermenting. I cleaned them well and sanitized them too. I just don't know what the heck went wrong. I have made about 100 gallons of good beer before this happened.

Todd

 

[DrunkleJon]

Did you use the same picnic tap? Is this a new/fresh exchanged CO2 tank? I was reading somewhere recently about someone finding a CO2 tank had messed up their kegs. Did you taste your beer on transfer to keg day? Was it good then?

 

[stockstinks]

Did you use the same picnic tap? Is this a new/fresh exchanged CO2 tank? I was reading somewhere recently about someone finding a CO2 tank had messed up their kegs. Did you taste your beer on transfer to keg day? Was it good then?

I did use the same picnic tap.

I did not hook anything up to the gas side of the keg. the kegs ended up mega carbonated from the sugar and maybe an infection.

I tasted the beers on transfer day and I thought they tasted normal.

It seems like it was caused from the sugar. But I just don't know.

 

[DrunkleJon]

Could be something stuck in the cobra tap assembly. The beer might still be okay.

 

[stockstinks]

I wish, but I am sure the beers are what taste sour.


HERE'S SOMETHING WEIRD, The hoppy variety beers do not taste sour. I am wondering if the hopps prevented the souring?

 

[DrunkleJon]

So, not all 60 gal are unintentional sours? That is a definite silver lining. Could be the kegs then. When was the last time you disassembled the kegs and did a thorough cleaning?

 

[stockstinks]

I think I have 8 kegs that taste sour. 4 that don't. Of the 4 that don't, two are hoppy and two are a stout.

 

[CadillacAndy]

So, not all 60 gal are unintentional sours? That is a definite silver lining. Could be the kegs then. When was the last time you disassembled the kegs and did a thorough cleaning?

If the majority of the kegs are sour (expect for hoppy beers), I'd really start looking at sanitation between fermentor and keg. I'd also HIGHLY recommend doing a full cleaning of all the kegs in question. If they weren't contaminated before, they are now. I've successfully used a bleach soak to get rid of contamination bacteria/wild yeast. I'd probably replace gaskets too.

 

[Stealthcruiser]

Easy on the "bleaching" of your stainless!

Sodium Hypochlorite can be rough on the metal!

 

[CadillacAndy]

Easy on the "bleaching" of your stainless!

Sodium Hypochlorite can be rough on the metal!

Just soak for 30 mins with hot water and triple rinse. Or if its a concern, use boiling water.

 

[jnr1005]

I read a post a while back about the CO2 tank being what made the guys beer taste off (something about the gas or the tank had a bad smell in it.) Did you replace or refill your tank recently and maybe the hoppy beers just hide the taste?