Water kefir smells and tastes...like sour milk?

[mamakah]

The last two batches of water kefir I've made have had a smell and after taste.  At first I thought it was because I didn't fully wash the jar in which I kept raw milk to make whey.  It has that soured milk smell and flavor.  My grains don't smell, but once it's fermented it's really strong.

Anyone know what could have happened? Are my grains ruined?

[Lazurii]

I don't think your grains are ruined, but they might need a rest.  My grains started acting funky, the finished kefir started smelling/tasting like sulfur.  There was also other things just "off" about it.  They also weren't multiplying AT ALL, and actually started breaking down.

To be fair to my grains, I had been pretty abusive to them, keeping them in the fridge for about two months without feeding, not brewing on a consistent schedule, using a metal strainer, etc.  I'm working on rehabilitating my grains right now, I put them to rest last night.  Maybe you could try a rest with your grains and see if that helps.  Cultures for Health has a great article on how to rehabilitate your grains.  Best of luck!

[mamakah]

ahhh thank you!! Yes, I think I'll rest them. I need a kefir-brewing break anyway! Thanks again!

[Lazurii]

Very welcome!  I was so excited to find the above article, I'm glad I was able to share it with you.

[Franci]

Thanks for sharing, I'll give it a try

Last week I put my water kefir grains in the fridge, instead of tossing them (when I added dry mango during fermentation the kefir got smelly and syrupy), I rinsed the grains  using tap water (I live in Europe though, don't know if water has flouride or chloride) and fed them again. Hopefully I  can still save them.