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I have started my first batch of homebrew sake about 9 days ago, following this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3ep5XGdV9I&ab_channel=TheBruSho

I have basically did everything the same with the following differences:

  • I have no access to polished rice, so i have used quality glutonious rice.

  • I did not used lalvin EC-1118 is have used 71b yeast.

  • My fermenter is 16 liters instead of a 10 liter one shown on the video, so i have around 10 liters of free space over the mixture.

Everything else is basically the same.

My fermenter is in the basement in 14Celsius (around 60F) temperature with the batch for about a week. My problem is that i gave it a taste today and its very sour (don not taste or smells like vinegary as far as i can tell). Unfortunately no bubbling, no sweetness at all, and no airlock activity...

What did I do wrong?

  • My Koji rice turned our very nicely. It was clean, fluffy and active.

  • I sanitized everyting nultiple times with IO-Star sanitizer.

  • I was really aware of the temperatures, to cool down everything before combining.

I doubt that this is normal. Any idea what did go wrong? Or any solution to fix this if possible?

Many Thanks!

Jeno
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1 Answers1

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Offhand, it sounds like your brew has a bacterial infection. You say the sourness doesn't have a vinegar quality (which makes sense since acetobacter requires oxygenation to oxidize ethanol into acetic acid). That pretty much leaves lactic acid bacteria, typically lactobacillus or pediococcus. Does the sourness remind you of buttermilk or yoghurt? Get some lactic acid from your local homebrew supplier for comparison.

Any form of sourness that is not intentional (e.g. when you don't intend to brew a sour beer or something similar) is typically the result of insufficient sanitation. I suggest you review and where necessary enhance your sanitation procedures. When in doubt, use chlorine and then rinse thoroughly with boiled water to eliminate any possible remaining micro-organisms. Your sanitizer may not be as effective as you think; water chemistry, sanitizer storage conditions and other factors may interfere with sanitizing. However, iodine bases sanitizers such as IO Star tend to be fairly reliable, which suggests the infection may have been introduces through one or more of your ingredients.

So eliminate sanitation protocols as a factor and try again. If you have the same (sour) result on the second attempt, one or more of your ingredients is most likely the culprit. I don't have a lot of bandwidth in my neck of the woods so I can't view the Youtube video you refer to, hence the question: did you boil the rice? If not, uncooked rice can easily introduce micro-organisms into the brew. Immersing your rice into boiling water for even a minute will greatly reduce the chances of infection via that route. Your water is a another possible source of infection but an unlikely one; if water is potable it's generally safe to brew with.

Also see Why my saké turned out sour?

Good luck, and let us know what happens!

Frank van Wensveen
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