Spontaneous Fermentation Project Part 11 -- week 30 of fermentation

Not much is new about this beer. Surprisingly it is still not showing any sign of pellicle although the floating islands of whatever have been on the move and shuffled around. The surface is increasingly developing an oily slickness. I forgot to take a picture. (Sorry)


What is new is that I broke down and pulled a sample to taste that was large enough to get a good test of the aroma and flavor. The PH using test strips looks to be in the low 4 to upper 3. It is very clear with some white specks floating in it. The aroma is phenolic and a little rubbery. Not really pleasant. On the other hand, the flavor isn't too bad. It has that wheat beer sweetness to it like a hefeweizen, which is unsurprising given the grain bill. There is definitely some fermentation flavor. There is a moderate amount of fruit. It is fruit salad-like, similar to a saison yeast. Banana, melon, citrus fruit, tropical fruit. Subtle clove, pepper and nutmeg. However, those flavors are mild like a saison strain diluted with a lot of neutral ale yeast. What is particular interesting is that it also has a lager yeast character to it as well. Taken as a whole, it might best be compared to a lager yeast fermented at warm temperatures. If it wasn't as sweet (and I didn't fear bottle bombs) I would think about bottling at least a potion of this beer as it is. Definitely not as bad as I had expected.