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Possible spoiled batch...

P

punkinatux

I made an Oktoberfest/Marzen AG recipe about 3 weeks ago.  My brew partner somehow talked me into adding canned pumpkin towards the middle of the primary fermentation and i fear that somewhere in the process i spoiled my batch.

I was having problems keeping my fridge between the recommended 52-58 F temp range.

Mainly i'm wondering if something in the pumpkin could have spoiled the patch.  I boiled it up for almost a half hour and was careful about sanitization.  I'm just curious if some preservative in the pumpkin could have diseased the yeast or caused it to produce an off smell.

I'm hoping before i go to bottle the smell will go away, but for now i'm letting it truck along hoping for the best.
 
Since you boiled it for 1/2 hour it should be fine as long as your sanitization processes were good. I always use Libby's 100% pure pumpkin (not the Pie Filling). Fruit additions take time to mellow. I made a holiday ale in June which used 6 cans of Libby's pumpkin, it wont be ready for consumption until Thanksgiving.

I make the assumption that it is in the secondary by now. Is there any scum on top of the beer? If not, then my suggestion would be leave it in the closet, in a secondary fermenter (for bulk conditioning) and forget about it for a few months, then bottle it, you wont regret it!

Cheers

Preston
 
Yes, it is in the secondary,
There is some scum at the top, which at first though was some of the pumpkin matter, but now I'm not sure.  It seems as if the smell may have already mellowed so i will let it sit for a few more days and see if there is any new revelations.  The main reason i want to wait is i really don't want to pitch this batch down the drain.

Thanks for your help.

*Edit, this "scum" may be yeast, it is settling to the bottom slowly.  I used Whitelabs Oktoberfest/Marzen lager yeast (which i understand is a slow fermenting yeast) so i may have rushed it to the secondary, but i'm still worried.
 
I've currently got a batch that will soon be relegated to slug bait, thanks to the white film over the top.
It happens, in my case due to a new container that was obviously not properly sanitized.

I've had marginal luck adding adjuncts to the secondary, but not to the primary.
And pumpkin contains breakable starches that could become fermentable sugars that I would add during the mash.

Either way I follow a general rule of thumb that I learned in my many years in restaurants:  when in doubt, throw it out.
 
Just a quick reminder, Never transfer into the secondary until the primary fermentation has finished. Take a gravity reading.

There may be some fermentation still going. You may want to give it another few days to finish when adding fermentables to the primary.

Give it a few months and then bottle it. It may be just fine.

Cheers

Preston
 
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