Kefir Problem

[brigidsfarm]

I have been making kefir for years without any issues. We do not baby our grains and after drying the goats for a few months they typically sit in the fridge in some sour milk until we start up in the spring. They always clean up nicely and after a few batches to clean them up the kefir is excellent.

So last week I made some. It sat in the pantry which is cool and being in Vermont it has been chilly here. I let it sit longer- about 2 days figuring it was going slower than it did in the summer. When I opened it to add some to pancakes I found some very thick kefir. I can't even make goats yogurt that thick. Additionally it was not the classic sour taste but it was a cultured product. I added it to flour, etc for pancakes and used only baking soda as I do with yogurt or kefir instead of milk. The whole grain pancakes were light and bubbly so it was working. But it did not resemble any kefir I have made.

I am wondering if it slowed down and just clabbered rather than growing the kefir culture? I will say that prior to making the kefir, I drained the grains from the previous batch and they had a very "mucousy" coating on them. But the grains look fine. I always wash them and clean them up before using so I'm not moving older milk into the new batch.

Has anyone else had this sort of experience?

Jane