Beer Forum

I think I did not pitch enough yeast in my schwartzbier. Used 2 wlp830 slants and made a starter--did not give starter enough time to get active. Had over a week--possibly week and a half lag time until any fermentation started. Now after 2 weeks, I notice a vinegar-like aroma in the beer.

I'm guessing it's contaminated, that the yeast took too long to get going, and some other bacteria got in there. Should I dump the beer, or is it likely some by-product of Lager yeast strains, and it will clear up as time passes?

Perhaps I can enter it as a Schwartzbier spiked with Bret?

What's the gravity?

It was 13 plato starting Gravity- about 1.052
Currently gravity is 1.016. It's still fermenting, and I expect it to go down to 1.011-1.012

I wouldn't dump it. Let it finish fermenting and then try it before you dump it.

Ummm... Schwartz-O-Lambic.....


Mylo

2 weeks isn't too bad for wLP830 to go from 1.052 to 1.016. Are you sure there wasn't active fermentation? Sounds like there was. Lager yeasts can throw off some nasty odors, so I would let is sit for a while. What temp were you fermenting at?

Acetic Acid/vinegar smell generally indicates acetobacter infection. Do you have any fruit flies around your place? They are the most notorious carriers of acetobacter. If that really is what you have, you are probably hosed. Still, you should follow the rule of never throwing out a bad beer until it is old and bad. Sometimes they get better.

Wayne

I will follow your advice and keep the beer. I measured the gravity again a week later and it dropped another few points. Acetic smell hasn't gotten worse--it actually might have improved a little-lessoned a tad. It seems to be only in the aroma--not so much in the taste, or more prominently in the aroma, and less in the taste. I'll let it ferment out--there is still some krausen on top, but it has gone past high krausen and has cleared up alot.

I'm going to wait until it has cleared on top and then start lagering. I'm currently using my chest freezer as my lagering/serving tank. I was planning on lagering the beer at my serving beer temp--about 40 degrees. Is that good enough? Should I go lower, like 38 or higher--like 42?