Strange Brew

Finally, about 3 weeks ago, I pulled a batch of beer from a fermenting tub that was… strange. No, really strange. The sample I decanted from near the bottom (but above the trub) seemed OK, but for the first time there was some very ugly black scum floating on top and crawling up the sides, trying to escape into the wild. Did not like the looks of it, so…

Decanted all I could w/o involving the scum directly, filtered it well and then boiled what I got (only about 2 gallons that I was willing to play with)… for a while. I then used THAT liquid as a base for a whole new batch that I just now bottled for conditioning. It took a longer time to come together than previous primary fermenting stages on other brews, but I tasted some (mostly flat, of course, before the bottle conditioning), and… it’s surprisingly good, even uncarbonated! I bottled one bottle as is with no sugar charge for use cooking and the rest in 16-oz Grolsch swingtops. I’m really looking forward to this one.

Now, on to an(other *heh*) experimental batch. Since I’m low on hops, I think I’ll make the next batch some molasses “beer” using the trub off this for whatever “hopsiness” is available. The yeast in the trub will boil to nothing but some dead, mostly protein, additional flavoring, and I’ll likely be at least better-pleased than if I had to use only the hops on hand.

Should be fun.