Stinky feet smell.

[OHIO BREW]

Ive been fermenting an IPA and ive had it in my priamiry for one week and than transferd it to my secondary. Its been in my secondary for about 3 to 4 weeks i kinda lost track of time on it. I tasted it yesterday and it smelled like stinky feet and tasted like a red wine. I had it fementing at 68 deg. One day i had the heat off and it fell to 57 deg. can i save my beer or is it just not done yet.

[Sent From My iPhone]

What was the gravity when you racked it to secondary, was it done then? It probably wasn't and should have been left on the yeast longer to clean up its' own mess. Anyway, sounds like you might have picked up an infection.

[dmtaylor]

It's surely an infection of some kind. It will probably just become worse with age. Probably bone dry and high in alcohol. If it is drinkable right now, slam it. If not, you could sit on it for a while if you want to see if it mellows with age, or you could try to sweeten with non-fermentable sugars such as lactose, maltodextrin, or Splenda, and drink right away, but that may or may not improve it.

Best of luck. It's happened to me... I've been there. Sometimes it works out, but more often, it doesn't.

[OHIO BREW]

How did i get the infection. Theres also about 2 inches of white stuff at the bottom of my carboy. what is that white stuff. I thought it was the protein. It taste like its really high in alcohol and dry.

[dmtaylor]

Sanitation.... it's very very important. Only you can guess what caused it. If you didn't do anything different from normal, who knows. It happens even to some of the best of us.

It might be wise to replace any rubber or plastic equipment used between the boil and the carboy. Buckets, rubber stoppers, gaskets, hoses, airlocks... all that stuff can get contaminated, and once it's bad, it cannot be sanitized ever again. I know it is true.... I've tried. You can soak it for a week in Clorox and it will still come back to haunt you... maybe not with every batch, but once in a while. Replace your plastic and rubber equipment, and you should be free and clear.