On Tue, 04 Nov 2003 23:34:13 GMT, (Bob) wrote:

So don't toss it until you test it.

I have to disagree - but then I am prejudiced from making rotten beer
a couple of times.

It's so much easier to toss it and start over - then there are no
hidden variables. Even if you manage to rescue it, you will never be
able to duplicate it. I would rather have a known procedure I can
count on each time.

But as you said, this is just my opinion - one that is extrapolated
from considerable beer making experience.

The other day I prepared some meat for BBQ and although I am usually
pretty good about bagging the scraps in a plastic grocery sack that I
tie off the end in a knot, every once in a while something goes wrong
and the garbage pail ends up smelling like vomit.

This causes me to think of how dangerous it could be fooling around
with contaminated starter. What if it has a dangerous organism in it
which got there from, for example, meat contamination? Even if you
manage to clean it up to the point where the odor goes away, one or
more pathenogenic organism could still be present in non-trivial
numbers.

I say toss it - for sanitation reasons. It is not worth the risk. The
flour is masking whatever is there - if it were visible it might look
disgusting enough to motivate tossing it without a moment's
hesitation.

I sure would not want to be the person on this forum who advises a
newcomer to infect herself and her family. It's just not worth it over
a couple cents of flour and a day or two of idle time.