# Infection Photo Thread



## raven19

Thought this thread may help others in the future in the unfortunate event of having a possible (or definite) infection...


My first and most likely an Aceto infection.








Lesson learnt: Never open the fermentor during ferment, let alone inside a dirty fridge! Clean the fridge religiously now!


----------



## raven19

(a few months later) my landlord is now currupt too! 

Green/white mould ontop in clumps on the krausen.]

I suspect my yeast starter was not in good condition allowing this beast to take over. Fermented in different fridge after a good nuking too... fksocks!


----------



## ekul

Thanks raven. I have often thought that a thread where people can put up pics of infections would be great. I might have one of my own very soon. A coopers clone didn't fire up for a few days. I din't bother checking it because the coopers yeast has never failed on me. I had forgotten that i had frozen my yeast samples.
There's something on the top growing, it may be yeast, or it may be infection. Smells like coopers though so we will see.


----------



## Margwar

Gee,

I just opened my fermenter the other day to dry hop.... Hope my fridge was clean.....? Might be adding to the album too


----------



## Nevalicious

raven19 said:


> My first and most likely an Aceto infection.
> 
> View attachment 43623




Ouch mate. That freakin sucks... Last years case swap beer?? Didn't you need to re-brew due to an infection??


----------



## adryargument

Actually in the process of using my second top-feeding yeast, transfered to secondary and im getting these white foamy patches starting to grow on top...
Can i safely assume these are yeasts? cant get a good photo at the moment due to camera phone / gladwrap layers.


----------



## raven19

Nevalicious said:


> Ouch mate. That freakin sucks... Last years case swap beer?? Didn't you need to re-brew due to an infection??



Yes mate, made a version of Janets Brown Ale (Tasty McD's recipe from Brewing Network) - enjoying a pint of it now actually. Rebrew went from grain to bottle in 2 weeks.


----------



## haysie

Just call it a pellicle, add the dregs from a say Orval. No one be the wiser :blink:


----------



## Yob

thoughts on this? 

saw it a few days tp a week ago developing, been in CC for a 2 days and now and has a definate film on the top.. can sort of make it out in the photo... looks like colonies of something to me.. taste test is non committal as yet.. to the lawn or let it go? 

Fave fermenter  

is this my first infection? 

[edit] must remember to add photo....


----------



## Silo Ted

iamozziyob said:


> is this my first infection?



I would say so. Those grey bubbles dont look good at all. How does it smell ?


----------



## Yob

Silo Ted said:


> I would say so. Those grey bubbles dont look good at all. How does it smell ?




from the glass like beer, nothing I could pick up anyway.. following thought was.. and from the fermenter??.. went outside and had the_* teeniest*_ whif and almost burned my nose off... evil... 1 first garden brew... 

 :angry:


----------



## beerbrewer76543

Are you sure you didn't get a lung full of CO2 from the fermenter?

I did that once... Not recommended!


----------



## raven19

What does it tastes like? FG?

Give it a swirl to drive out any CO2 (which could be those bubbles) then reassess in a few days maybe.


----------



## adryargument

I had the a very simiar looking fermenter the other week. Kegged it asap and force carbed. 40 liters are 5/6th gone and ain't noticed it!


----------



## dr K

The film right on top is most likely cling wrap
The film on the wort surface is likely acetobacter
I won't kill you and many do not treat it as an infection.
Chuck it and sanitize the f out of your fermentor, so much you end up with an ermentor

K


----------



## Yob

raven19 said:


> What does it tastes like? FG?
> 
> Give it a swirl to drive out any CO2 (which could be those bubbles) then reassess in a few days maybe.



just tasted like beer from the tap, FG was 1012, I gave it a swirl right into the gutter, time is short, ive not seen bubbles or a film like that on the beeer before, not chancing it, will take the hit and move on.

Cheers



dr K said:


> The film right on top is most likely cling wrap
> The film on the wort surface is likely acetobacter
> I won't kill you and many do not treat it as an infection.
> Chuck it and sanitize the f out of your fermentor, so much you end up with an ermentor
> 
> K



 damn film on top gets on all my brews.. I must have a constant glad infection  

roger on the nuking


----------



## RetsamHsam

iamozziyob said:


> from the glass like beer, nothing I could pick up anyway.. following thought was.. and from the fermenter??.. went outside and had the_* teeniest*_ whif and almost burned my nose off... evil... 1 first garden brew...
> 
> :angry:






L_Bomb said:


> Are you sure you didn't get a lung full of CO2 from the fermenter?
> 
> I did that once... Not recommended!



I've got money on it being the CO2 burning your nose as well.. Not sure on the infection front though (But it looks as though you already fed this one to the fish anyhow).


----------



## petesbrew

iamozziyob said:


> just tasted like beer from the tap, FG was 1012, I gave it a swirl right into the gutter, time is short, ive not seen bubbles or a film like that on the beeer before, not chancing it, will take the hit and move on.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> 
> 
> damn film on top gets on all my brews.. I must have a constant glad infection
> 
> roger on the nuking


Just tasted like beer? If it tastes like beer it's a good thing right?
Maybe you should stop looking in the top.


----------



## Silo Ted

petesbrew said:


> Maybe you should stop looking in the top.



Problem solved with a tea-towel. 

Infection
No Infection
Infection
No Infection
Infection
No Infection
Infection
No Infection


----------



## The Scientist

A lot of these microbes can only live on the surface of your beer as they need contact from the air to reproduce / survive. If you notice it quick enough and your beer still tastes clean, there is no reason why you can't keg this beer. Just make sure to leave the surface of the fermented beer un-disturbed and once carbonated I'd drink it asap.


----------



## vykuza

If you leave the tea towel on, you could have a Schrodinger's infection - where the beer is both infected and not infected at the same time! (Just don't peek).


----------



## Pennywise

if it's an Acetobacter infection you might be able to save most of the beer underneith, from most reports it can take quite a while for Aceto to ruin the rest of the beer. It thrives on o2 or Co2 (cant remember) and because there's not much of either left in your brew it's effects will/can take some time to become noticeable to the point of undrinkability. I say bottle/keg and drink it ASAP, just be very careful with the transfer and leave a good few liters in the fermenter so nothing from the top transfers. I've had films on top of brews before, ones that are very hard to determin wether it's aceto or just hop oils, but I'm sure at one stage in my 260 brews I've had one, never tasted it though


----------



## petesbrew

Silo Ted said:


> Problem solved with a tea-towel.
> 
> Infection
> No Infection
> Infection
> No Infection
> Infection
> No Infection
> Infection
> No Infection



Made me think of a youtube clip I saw the other day. Lost Youtube at work sadly, so enter "Hilarious British Animal Voiceovers".
"Nighttime, Daytime! Nighttime, Daytime!"


----------



## Silo Ted

Nick R said:


> If you leave the tea towel on, you could have a Schrodinger's infection - where the beer is both infected and not infected at the same time! (Just don't peek).



So glad wrap locking still involves the paradoxical kitten ? Homebrewing seems to get more complicated by the day :lol:


----------



## Silo Ted

Back on-topic. I know many people would keep a surface-infected beer to see how it pans out in the bottle or keg. But personally, any sign of something wrong, and there's no hesitation to tip it. It's $30 down the drain, but if it only happens once in a blue moon then youre still way ahead. Besides, stuffed if I want to spend unenjoyable time bottling a 'maybe' beer. 

Fortunately I have only had three infections in my brewing time, two in the fermenter and one in the cube. Now that I have said that after just pitching onto two batches an hour ago, I shouldnt be so cocky !


----------



## Rieewoldt

Hi guys, relatively new to brewing and am currently having a crack at neils centarillo ale. Today was my first time racking to secondary; about 4 hours later I noticed these spots.they don't look mouldy per se, they look like spit? Beer still tastes and smells beaut hopefully I'm just


Code:




 jumping the gun.any feedback would be greatly appreciated! Sorry my android phone won't let me upload?


----------



## mwd

Should be fine an infection will show up after 24-48 hours. Did you rack while it was still fermenting what was the hydrometer reading.?

Need to post a picture really but a few bubbles are not really indicative of an infection.


----------



## Rieewoldt

Tropical_Brews said:


> Should be fine an infection will show up after 24-48 hours. Did you rack while it was still fermenting what was the hydrometer reading.?
> Need to post a picture really but a few bubbles are not really indicative of an infection.


Thanks mate it had finished fermenting, had two readings of 1009 over 24 hours. Think (hope) I am getting a bit paranoid. Pictures I've seen on google of infections look nothing like this, heres hoping. Thanks mate


----------



## The Giant

I wish i never read this thread! haha Every white bubble in my brew i keep fearing infection now hahah


----------



## The Scientist

My suggestion is to stop looking at your fermenting beer. If you sanitise everything correctly the only way microbes are getting in, is by you opening the seal and having a look. Just let it do it's thing, take a SG reading at the end and drink the beer. There is too much expecting farther sindrome going around :lol:


----------



## MaltyHops

Gday Raven (& QB if you're reading this),

Below are two photos of a few more bottles of the "English Ale" of mine
I subjected you guys to at the swap yesterday :blink: showing some of the
floaties in longnecks I told you about. I think the floaty bits are actually
white but the bottle & torch make them look yellow/orange.

Anyways, floaties in other bottles of this seem to disappear after spending
some time in the fridge and while the beer is a bit unusual as you found, it
doesn't taste off. I'm hoping it's just the Wyeast 1469 PC West Yorkshire
Ale which seem to be a real monster muncher and goes nuts.

Any thoughts? Anyone else seen this before?

T.


----------



## raven19

The photo on the right looks ok to me mate. The one on the left, hard to tell what we are looking at, however those specs dont exactly look like yeast...


----------



## petesbrew

The Scientist said:


> My suggestion is to stop looking at your fermenting beer. If you sanitise everything correctly the only way microbes are getting in, is by you opening the seal and having a look. Just let it do it's thing, take a SG reading at the end and drink the beer. There is too much expecting farther sindrome going around :lol:


Totally. Stop looking in the bloody top.


----------



## kelbygreen

yep or use cling wrap you can see threw it no need to disturb anything. I have never had a infection and god knows how many brews I have done lol


----------



## barls

ok people just opened one of my fermentor and saw this





mind you this is a funky beer


----------



## dougsbrew

barls said:


> ok people just opened one of my fermentor and saw this
> 
> mind you this is a funky beer


it dont look good. how funky is it - whats in there?


----------



## barls

wild yeast and sweet mead in my dark braggot thats been on cherries now for 4 months. tastes brilliant.


----------



## white.grant

should be a nice pellicle one day Barls.


----------



## barls

it was a nice one then i had to move it so buggered it. might bring a bottle to one of the case swaps and watch fatz run in fear.


----------



## raven19

barls said:


> wild yeast and sweet mead in my dark braggot thats been on cherries now for 4 months. tastes brilliant.



Just goes to show, don't tip it till you have tried it! Looks... erm... delightful barls.


----------



## barls

its actually the only cube ive ever had swell, decided to taste it and it was kinda sour and belgian like. pitched more yeast to help the gravity get down. i have no idea on how strong it is as it was concentrated in the cube.


----------



## petesbrew

Just had a look in the top of my funky brown cow (oud bruin) and there's a pellicle forming. WOOO! Happy days!
It's only been 2 months in the secondary now. And damn it smells brilliant!


----------



## Nevalicious

petesbrew said:


> Just had a look in the top of my funky brown cow (oud bruin) and there's a pellicle forming. WOOO! Happy days!
> It's only been 2 months in the secondary now. And damn it smells brilliant!
> 
> View attachment 45018



Sorry man, but that doesn't look right! 

I really have to try a sour beer to see if I could appreciate it, but at the moment, that looks a little :icon_vomit: 

I'm sure its awesome, it just looks... off


----------



## j1gsaw

petesbrew said:


> Just had a look in the top of my funky brown cow (oud bruin) and there's a pellicle forming. WOOO! Happy days!
> It's only been 2 months in the secondary now. And damn it smells brilliant!
> 
> View attachment 45018




It looks like the Hulk had a yak in your beer!


----------



## b_thomas

Actually have an interesting one. 

I racked perfectly clear beer into my keg, however some of the trub in the bottom made its way in as well. At the time I thought oh well it'll settle out, however 2 weeks later it's still pouring like a hefeweizen. 

It's not chill haze as I poured a glass and let it sit overnight with some cling wrap on top, still cloudy 24 hours later and 15c warmer.

Reckon I should try some gelatin? It was US-05 yeast so I'm surprised why it's still floating. Could it possibly be an infection? I've read lactobacillus makes beers cloudy.


----------



## petesbrew

j1gsaw said:


> It looks like the Hulk had a yak in your beer!


He couldn't have - there's no carrot.


----------



## bignath

b_thomas said:


> It was US-05 yeast so I'm surprised why it's still floating. Could it possibly be an infection? I've read lactobacillus makes beers cloudy.



US-05 makes beers cloudy. It doesn't settle hard on the bottom like a good lager yeast or S04 does.

I use US05 a fair bit, and most of my beers end up cloudy/hazy. I don't have a filter, but even after a 3 week fermentation which includes conditioning, it still isn't a clear yeast for my money.

Your problem sounds about right to me, and not really a "problem"....


----------



## b_thomas

glad to get some confirmation on the US05 not forming a hard pack. I dropped in some gelatine in this morning so hopefully it clears up some more

edit: mind you though by cloudy I mean it kind of looks like muddy water!


----------



## bowser

Just bottled a clone of the Dr Smurtos Golden and found this when i opened the fermenter (really should have looked before hand), it doesnt smell infected or taste bad. It almost looks like bread on the top.

Should i proceed in emptying all the bottles? This is just after emptying a complete batch of a dunkel that i stuffed up.


----------



## Ross

Bowser, nothing wrong visually with your beer. The clumps are just protein etc coagulating. IT's ALL GOOD.

cheers ross


----------



## bowser

Ross said:


> Bowser, nothing wrong visually with your beer. The clumps are just protein etc coagulating. IT's ALL GOOD.
> 
> cheers ross




Thanks Ross, ive done a fair few brews now and I havent seen this before. I will sleep a little better tonight


----------



## Bubba Q

Bowser said:


> Thanks Ross, ive done a fair few brews now and I havent seen this before. I will sleep a little better tonight


I suggest you dispose of all the evidence and never speak of this incident again


----------



## WadoGoace

+1


----------



## jpScarfac3

Scoop it out for breakfast...


----------



## petesbrew

Bottled my oud bruin the other night and I thought I'd share this photo of the state of the blowoff tube.
The black gunk was sitting at the water level. Not that you can see it, but there were cobwebs on it too.
It made my stomach turn. Thankfully the flavour of the beer did not.


----------



## bear09

Bowser said:


> Just bottled a clone of the Dr Smurtos Golden and found this when i opened the fermenter (really should have looked before hand), it doesnt smell infected or taste bad. It almost looks like bread on the top.
> 
> Should i proceed in emptying all the bottles? This is just after emptying a complete batch of a dunkel that i stuffed up.



It amazes me how disgusting beer can look at the fermented stage. Many a person who knows nothing about brewing (but loves a beer or 3) has looked in my fermenting fridge with a very strange glance. Then they look up at me like im some sort of maniac for thinking that I would even drink that.

2 weeks later after secondary and kegging out comes the finished product and a smile on my face...

+1 with Ross on this one - that looks totally normal to me.


----------



## stux

Bowser said:


> Just bottled a clone of the Dr Smurtos Golden and found this when i opened the fermenter (really should have looked before hand), it doesnt smell infected or taste bad. It almost looks like bread on the top.
> 
> Should i proceed in emptying all the bottles? This is just after emptying a complete batch of a dunkel that i stuffed up.



Looks like beer to me


----------



## Pennywise

I'd be worried if the bottom of my fermentor _didn't_ look like that


----------



## jyo

I think I have my first aceto infection? It's only on the very edges of the krausen though I'm sure that if left this will spread like a cheap bogan after a few vodka cruisers. I was seriously boasting to a mate the other night that "since starting AG, I have not had an infection in 30 odd batches". Haha fkin haha. Eat that!

Spewing, it's my first mild attempt. The only thing I did differently this time was just napisan and then starsan and not my usual napisan, pinkneo, boiling water then starsan, then boiling water.
It tastes fine out of the samples, I'm thinking that if I keg straight away, I should be alright....
Bugger.


----------



## jyo

Maybe lacto?


----------



## Yob

thoughts ladies and gents?



Im OK with the green bits.. just pellet dust..


Its the brown bits that have me concerned.. aint never seen them B4 :unsure: 

Been @ 2'c for 5 days.

As always

:icon_cheers:


----------



## Acasta

Hows it taste yob?


----------



## Lodan

Looks like yeasties to me. Did you disturb the fermenter any time recently?

Edit: is there a film there as well?


----------



## bradsbrew

Looks like what i get sitting on top of an oat laden stout or dark ale.


----------



## Yob

hard to say for sure for 2 main reasons. 

Firstly my _*sorly abused*_ taste buds just aint the best and secondy Ive never done one of the english bitters before so Ive nothing to guage it against really.. I ran off a half plastic cup and am letting it warm a bit before I make up my mind, smells ok, but I am a white ox smoker so... 

the missus is crook too so I cant jam it in her face either.. poor thing.. her taste buds are better than mine h34r: 


[edit] Was an English Ale with Windsor, I dont have a great alot of experience with English ales or yeasties.. er quite normal?


----------



## bradsbrew

iamozziyob said:


> hard to say for sure for 2 main reasons.
> 
> Firstly my _*sorly abused*_ taste buds just aint the best and secondy Ive never done one of the english bitters before so Ive nothing to guage it against really.. I ran off a half plastic cup and am letting it warm a bit before I make up my mind, smells ok, but I am a white ox smoker so...
> 
> the missus is crook too so I cant jam it in her face either.. poor thing.. her taste buds are better than mine h34r:




Pour some into a clean/sterile glass, cover it with gladdy and a rubber band. If it still looks the same in a few days it should be ok. If it gets white cobwebs send it to TidalPete  

Cheers


----------



## Acasta

I find this may be a good reference, have a taste for any of these flavours; http://www.howtobrew.com/section4/chapter21-2.html


----------



## flano

iamozziyob said:


> thoughts ladies and gents?
> 
> View attachment 47714
> Im OK with the green bits.. just pellet dust..
> 
> View attachment 47715
> Its the brown bits that have me concerned.. aint never seen them B4 :unsure:
> 
> Been @ 2'c for 5 days.
> 
> As always
> 
> :icon_cheers:


I did one just last week and used s-03 yeast.
no idea what I was doing...it was the only yeast I had handy.
I did read afterwards it was used in English ales.

anyway it looked the same with those little bits on top..it seems ok now.
It defintely has a different ..more darker beer taste though.


I drank it flat...it is getting gassed up right now.


----------



## Yob

bradsbrew said:


> Pour some into a clean/sterile glass, cover it with gladdy and a rubber band. If it still looks the same in a few days it should be ok.



did this (nice thinkin Brad) went away for the weekend and when I came home was clear.. 

nice one fellas

B)


----------



## C-MOR

Pulled out the yeast cake from my last beer. W34/70
It doesn't look right. or does it?

What exactly is it?

There is no noticeable off smell


----------



## C-MOR

C-MOR said:


> Pulled out the yeast cake from my last beer. W34/70
> It doesn't look right. or does it?
> 
> What exactly is it?
> 
> There is no noticeable off smell
> 
> http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/albu..._794_245695.jpg
> 
> 
> http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/albu...7_794_62261.jpg



Do I dare taste the liquid?


----------



## mckenry

C-MOR said:


> Do I dare taste the liquid?



That is scary looking! I really want to know what it is.
Yes, you should taste.


----------



## C-MOR

it looks like a brain. Maybe its not infected, its a collective consciousness of the yeast inside. oooohhh! What have i created?!?


----------



## raven19

That looks scary! Taste results are?


----------



## barls

taste it you pansy.
looks like a pelicle to me depending on which wild yeast, it is could be tasty


----------



## Siborg

C-MOR said:


> Pulled out the yeast cake from my last beer. W34/70
> It doesn't look right. or does it?
> 
> What exactly is it?
> 
> There is no noticeable off smell


was it like that in your fermenter? (that's a glass, right?)

Could have picked something up in the glass during transfer?


----------



## C-MOR

Tastes mostly of the base beer. very subtle blue cheese ish.. in the background, a roundness. not aweful, not that interesting or tasty either. Base beer is a munich dunkel, the malt character is not as intense as i remember it at last tasting.
It now looks like this after 24hrs at room temp.
I did not look like this in the fermenter. we'll see what it looks like when it comes out of the cube.


----------



## felon

Yummy.


----------



## C-MOR

looking the two photos, the population explosion is obvious. could be the temp change or the oxygen that got yesterday while i was having a sniff. 
I'll update with more photos and tasting notes this time tomorrow.
What are the chances of vomiting or death ensuing?


----------



## Tony

its the same thing as i have had several times. 

Its a wild yeast infection. It crops on the top and sometimes puts off a nail pollish remover aroma. It dont taste "bad" but it does tend to mask other flavours and has a kind of earth, solventy taste that lies in the background.

It used to hit my beers when i racked and took it off the protective co2 layer in the primary fermenter.

I suspect thats what has happened to you here.

Tip it!


----------



## felten

C-MOR said:


> looking the two photos, the population explosion is obvious. could be the temp change or the oxygen that got yesterday while i was having a sniff.
> I'll update with more photos and tasting notes this time tomorrow.
> What are the chances of vomiting or death ensuing?


No human pathogens can survive in even 3% alcohol so you won't die, vomiting on the other hand... well that depends what it tastes like.


----------



## stux

C-MOR said:


> Tastes mostly of the base beer. very subtle blue cheese ish.. in the background, a roundness. not aweful, not that interesting or tasty either. Base beer is a munich dunkel, the malt character is not as intense as i remember it at last tasting.
> It now looks like this after 24hrs at room temp.
> I did not look like this in the fermenter. we'll see what it looks like when it comes out of the cube.



Snap




Beer had a very "English" barrel/barnyard flavour to it

I was not a fan, but that was one of my most popular brews at the time!

The infection took off when I let some O2 in during a gravity/taste sample.


----------



## Malted

Stux said:


> Snap
> Beer had a very "English" barrel/barnyard flavour to it
> I was not a fan, but that was one of my most popular brews at the time!
> The infection took off when I let some O2 in during a gravity/taste sample.




I think your fermenter has *Thrush*


----------



## C-MOR

Heres the most recent picture of my infection. theres always a silver lining
Wild infected munich sourdough


----------



## Liam_snorkel

48 hrs since pitching. never seen this shit before & it's not looking good.

:unsure:


----------



## Yob

Liam_snorkel said:


> 48 hrs since pitching. never seen this shit before & it's not looking good.
> 
> :unsure:




fer christ sake put the lid bak on... what yeast is it? IME some are fluffy, some are compact goo..


----------



## hirns

Looks like a Wyeast 1469. Looks normal for this yeast!


----------



## felten

looks like a normal krausen to me Liam


----------



## Wolfy

Liam_snorkel said:


> 48 hrs since pitching. never seen this shit before & it's not looking good.


Dunno what you are worried about, it looks fine to me also.


----------



## bignath

Liam_snorkel said:


> 48 hrs since pitching. never seen this shit before & it's not looking good.
> 
> :unsure:



Yep, looks perfectly normal to me too.

A lot of my fermentations look like that after a couple of days.

Top cropping??????


----------



## MaestroMatt

Stux said:


> Snap
> 
> View attachment 47985
> 
> 
> Beer had a very "English" barrel/barnyard flavour to it
> 
> I was not a fan, but that was one of my most popular brews at the time!
> 
> The infection took off when I let some O2 in during a gravity/taste sample.




Is it just me or does this make anyone else think 'aerial view of Canberra' - Parliament House in the centre surrounded by little 'satellite communities'......................yeah, probably just me.

Fantastic looking layer of organisms in any case!


----------



## Liam_snorkel

lol righto. It's brewcellar's re packaged US-05.
I got home half cut from the brewhouse last night and had a stickybeak, guess I was just being a hypochondriac. Cheers guys, nothing to see here!


----------



## going down a hill

So if it looks like spit bubbles, is it trouble?

My camera phone is so crap that it's pointless to show you. I think I'll leave it in the secondary for an extra week to see if it behaves itself.


----------



## hsb

Try smelling/tasting it, should be a good indicator.

I hate even opening this thread, in case I am contaminated by your 'fell microorganisms.


----------



## beerbog

Liam_snorkel said:


> lol righto. It's brewcellar's re packaged US-05.
> I got home half cut from the brewhouse last night and had a stickybeak, guess I was just being a hypochondriac. Cheers guys, nothing to see here!



My US05 quite often looks like this, nothing to fear. :beerbang:


----------



## going down a hill

hsb said:


> Try smelling/tasting it, should be a good indicator.
> 
> I hate even opening this thread, in case I am contaminated by your 'fell microorganisms.


This has been the first time I have racked to a secondary and I dare not open it at present due to giving it oxygen. Smells great, I think I might be getting a little dramatic. 

I know what you mean by looking into this thread, I have a bit of superstition about it as well. But fear not, the fermenter is in another room so it should be ok from your end


----------



## stux

Liam_snorkel said:


> 48 hrs since pitching. never seen this shit before & it's not looking good.
> 
> :unsure:



Looks like fermenting beer to me


----------



## stux

going down a hill said:


> So if it looks like spit bubbles, is it trouble?
> 
> My camera phone is so crap that it's pointless to show you. I think I'll leave it in the secondary for an extra week to see if it behaves itself.



I think that's how the moon colony infection started


----------



## going down a hill

Damn you Neil and Buzz! :angry:


----------



## adz1179

first of all - no photo sorry. Thought i took one and didnt check it and it didnt turn out at all...

just opened a bottle of my latest bo pills - about the 12th bottle i have had, none of the earlier bottles had a problem. The bottle had been in the fridge on its side for about 3 days. as i pored it into a glass i noticed a big floatie come out of the bottle. At first i thought it was only the sediment from the bottom of the bottle, but there was a big blackish floatie in the glass about the diamater of a 10 cent piece (think oyster looking :icon_vomit. The beer smelled fine, but i had to tip it..... 

just had a visual at all the remaining bottles and there the usual amount of sediment on the bottoms, but nothing nastly looking or floating.... what do we reckon? safe to keep drinking?


----------



## going down a hill

Probably a bottle infection, only one way to check if it's alright and that's have another.


----------



## jyo

jyo said:


> I think I have my first aceto infection? It's only on the very edges of the krausen though I'm sure that if left this will spread like a cheap bogan after a few vodka cruisers. I was seriously boasting to a mate the other night that "since starting AG, I have not had an infection in 30 odd batches". Haha fkin haha. Eat that!
> 
> Spewing, it's my first mild attempt. The only thing I did differently this time was just napisan and then starsan and not my usual napisan, pinkneo, boiling water then starsan, then boiling water.
> It tastes fine out of the samples, I'm thinking that if I keg straight away, I should be alright....
> Bugger.
> 
> View attachment 46039



Ok...I thought this was the same beast but it looks different to the above pic. This is the third time I have had an infection like this. It shows up after fermentation is finished, hangs around in the spent krausen and climbs up the side of the fermenter toward the lid. It's never on the surface of the beer and if I keg straight away, I can't notice anything suss in the beer. I've even left the dregs in the fermenter for a few days after and nothing ever grows on the beer. Just in the old krausen and up towards the lid. 
All in common- fermented in my spare room during winter. I can use the same fermenters in my fermentation ice box outside and no issues. 
It looks like mould of some sort. It's really pissing me off! Cheers.





Uploaded with ImageShack.us


----------



## bignath

Hey mate, what part of it are you concerned about?

You say it only turns up after fermentation has finished? How long are you leaving the fermenter after bottling/kegging until it gets cleaned out?
If it tastes fine, kegs/bottles fine, doesn't affect any beer left in the fermenter after "packaging" then i'm wondering if it's an infection at all. Having said that, it looks very normal apart from the white bits mixed in with the yeasty stuff.....

Sorry if i'm missing something, i've read your post several times, but i have had a couple of my 6.9% POR Ale, so it's more than a good chance it's me.....


----------



## jyo

Big Nath said:


> Hey mate, what part of it are you concerned about?
> 
> You say it only turns up after fermentation has finished? How long are you leaving the fermenter after bottling/kegging until it gets cleaned out?
> If it tastes fine, kegs/bottles fine, doesn't affect any beer left in the fermenter after "packaging" then i'm wondering if it's an infection at all. Having said that, it looks very normal apart from the white bits mixed in with the yeasty stuff.....
> 
> Sorry if i'm missing something, i've read your post several times, but i have had a couple of my 6.9% POR Ale, so it's more than a good chance it's me.....



No probs, Nath :icon_cheers: 
What I mean is that it starts to show up after I reach FG. I usually leave it to sit on the yeast cake for a week to clean up and this is when the little fecker has popped up. In saying about the kegging as soon as I see the mould; I've never tried a bottle from one of these batches...however I bottled up two from this one so I'm going to leave them for a few weeks and see how they go. 
Cheers.


----------



## bignath

jyo said:


> No probs, Nath :icon_cheers:
> What I mean is that it starts to show up after I reach FG. I usually leave it to sit on the yeast cake for a week to clean up and this is when the little fecker has popped up. In saying about the kegging as soon as I see the mould; I've never tried a bottle from one of these batches...however I bottled up two from this one so I'm going to leave them for a few weeks and see how they go.
> Cheers.



Cool man, maybe let us know how this batch turned out. I'd be interested in how it comes up.


----------



## jyo

Big Nath said:


> Cool man, maybe let us know how this batch turned out. I'd be interested in how it comes up.



Will do, mate.


----------



## Fodder

Could have swore there was an article on infections with common things to look out for...but alas I can not uncover it.

Now whilst I dont have a photo of my suspected infection, I figure this is as good a place as any to ask, without starting a whole new thread.

So, I suspect infection due to my beer smelling like apples at the end of the ferment and also having some small white floaties on top...the sample tasted ok and I have continued as normal in the hope that its nothing major...but just wondering if an Apple smell would indicate anything untoward?

I brewed Neills Centamarillo Pale Ale http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...&recipe=867, except sub the centennial for chinook and used US-05 in place of Notts.

Any help greatly appreciated.

Thanks!


----------



## felten

Apple could be from acetobacter (white floaties are characteristic too), they alcohol into acetaldehyde (green apples), then acetic acid (vinegar). If you don't let any air into your beer though you should be fine, they require oxygen to survive.

Or it could just be from a poor ferment, acetaldehyde is created by yeast as a precursor to ethanol, sometimes they don't have the legs to clean it all up at the end. 

How long has it been fermenting for?


----------



## Fodder

felten said:


> Apple could be from acetobacter (white floaties are characteristic too), they alcohol into acetaldehyde (green apples), then acetic acid (vinegar). If you don't let any air into your beer though you should be fine, they require oxygen to survive.
> 
> Or it could just be from a poor ferment, acetaldehyde is created by yeast as a precursor to ethanol, sometimes they don't have the legs to clean it all up at the end.
> 
> How long has it been fermenting for?



It was in primary for a week exactly, but I believe it had finished fermenting in about 4 days, as it hit 1010 on the Weds and didnt drop any lower from there. Was sitting at about 18 degrees for the first 3 days, then raised to 22 for a day or two after that. 

I also took the air lock out whilst taking my hydro samples and accidently left it out...Rookie error!

I'll just wait and see how it develops and if its no good i'll feed it to the lemon tree...


----------



## ledgenko

Fodder .. I found Nottinghams at Brewcraft in Ossie Park .. if you are looking for it ... Danstar ... has worked a treat for me .. thankfullly I learnt how to reuse the yeasties when I was living in Brissy .. and now my 2 pkts of yeats should last me the year ... (yes I now about generations and mutations) ..  just letting you know .. 

No infections over here yet .. had a doozy in Brizzy on a Fat Yak clone .. almost blew the Ghetto no chill method plastic container it NSW ... actually it was around the same time as the scond State of Origin so would not have been a bad thing really !!!! 


LOL


----------



## Fodder

Interesting...I might give the old Nottinghams another run one of these days. I did get a pack once from the Bibra Lake store but it never fired off for me...not sure if it was old or just a dud batch...

I've got a few things to work on at the moment to get myself back in order, then I'll probably start experimenting again...


----------



## adz1179

what do we reckon trendsetters? smells and tastes just right, but never seen floaties like this on top. US-05 re-hydrated, the small bits on top also seem to be suspended in the beer, there isn't too much of that tho....


----------



## freezkat

adz1179 said:


> what do we reckon trendsetters? smells and tastes just right, but never seen floaties like this on top. US-05 re-hydrated, the small bits on top also seem to be suspended in the beer, there isn't too much of that tho....View attachment 50504


whats wrong with using an airlock? buy some extra caps and put an air lock on your fermenters. I like glass secondaries, You can bleach them if need be, plus you can see if they are clean. Yes they are a PITA if you want to brew more than 26L


----------



## adz1179

freezkat said:


> whats wrong with using an airlock? buy some extra caps and put an air lock on your fermenters. I like glass secondaries, You can bleach them if need be, plus you can see if they are clean. Yes they are a PITA if you want to brew more than 26L


.................. :blink: ...................... :unsure: ....................

so are you saying it is infected???? or i should go buy an airlock? 

p.s. what' an airlock? h34r:


----------



## raven19

Looks different for sure, taste test description?


----------



## adz1179

raven19 said:


> Looks different for sure, taste test description?



It's ok. A little but watery, malty, smells nice and tastes ok????


----------



## raven19

Then I reckon chill it down, keg and enjoy! Fingers crossed its ok.


----------



## Brewman_

Never seen a US05 like that.

Agree with Raven, if it tastes and smells OK, give it a go. However that does look a little unusual.
Fear


----------



## flano

I have had a few look similar.

glad wrap lid...when I took off the plastic that stuff seems to sink a bit.

more noticeable when I did a 0 min hop addition .


----------



## Ross

adz1179 said:


> what do we reckon trendsetters? smells and tastes just right, but never seen floaties like this on top. US-05 re-hydrated, the small bits on top also seem to be suspended in the beer, there isn't too much of that tho....View attachment 50504




Relax, it's perfectly fine.

cheers Ross


----------



## adz1179

Ross said:


> Relax, it's perfectly fine.
> 
> cheers Ross




Thanks guys.


----------



## craigo

is this an infection it smells like eggs but tastes fine


----------



## Cortez The Killer

Can't see exactly but that looks fine to me 

Just some yeast sitting on top that hasn't flocculated 

Cheers


----------



## craigo

why would i be getting a sulfur fart smell i used nottingham yeast? and will the smell disapate over time?


----------



## petesbrew

FFS guys, stop looking at it.... unless it's a wicked brett infection that you're proud of!
FWIW, My latest one looks fine but tastes phenolic.  
Fingers crossed, but not hopeful.


----------



## Ross

craigo said:


> why would i be getting a sulfur fart smell i used nottingham yeast? and will the smell disapate over time?



Brews will often smell sulphury in the fermenter. Don't stress.... & your beer looks fine.


----------



## np1962

:icon_offtopic: 
This is a common misuse of the word Flocculate.
It actually means to form clumps, but many think it means the yeast sinking to the bottom of the fermenter.
In fact many ale yeasts, particularly top croppers flocculate and rise to the top of the wort.
Yeast sinking to the bottom is dropping out.
Nige




Cortez The Killer said:


> Can't see exactly but that looks fine to me
> 
> Just some yeast sitting on top that hasn't flocculated
> 
> Cheers


----------



## craigo

thanks for your reply ross makes me feel a bit better and to think i was thinking about feeding it to the grass.


----------



## Cortez The Killer

NigeP62 said:


> Yeast sinking to the bottom is dropping out.


Thanks for clarifying

Cheers


----------



## iralosavic

Got a Coopers Blond that has apparently stalled at 1.022 after 4 days. (It's now on day 10). It was at 19c +-.5c.

Is the surface scum suspicious? I've now roused/stirred it and popped the temp up a bit.


----------



## hirns

My hybrid yeast infection. <br><br><font face="Times New Roman">Well I've not had an infection for a number of years so I guess I had to go all out! Did Boonie's LCPA and was not happy that the US05 had done the job, so rather than rouse it I pitched a packet of Cooper's International yeast and a second packet of Cooper's standard yeast. Four days later and presto!</font><br><br>


----------



## MaltyHops

This is the funniest freakiest case I've seen - one to add to the catalogue for sure.
Looks like a colony on the moon!

T.


----------



## Brown_hound

C-MOR said:


> Heres the most recent picture of my infection. theres always a silver lining
> Wild infected munich sourdough



Take that, you stupid f**kin' infection!


----------



## flano

iralosavic said:


> Got a Coopers Blond that has apparently stalled at 1.022 after 4 days. (It's now on day 10). It was at 19c +-.5c.
> 
> Is the surface scum suspicious? I've now roused/stirred it and popped the temp up a bit.




looks ok to me.


----------



## The Giant

Ross said:


> Brews will often smell sulphury in the fermenter. Don't stress.... & your beer looks fine.



+1 to this. Got a fat yak clone atm and peeled the glad wrap back and got that sulpher smell
beer is a ok though and ready to keg


----------



## damoocow

I may just be worrying over nothing but have never had this happen before in plenty of brews.

A spell of hot days caused by brew to bubble out of the airlock and sit on the top of the keg/wort. As the entire thing was covered in towels etc I didn't notice until I had bottled, that there was mould [like on old bread] on the lid and around the airlock - brew smelt normal and I couldn't see any mould inside. Am I being overcautious - should I be concerned about getting crook after drinking this batch?

This happened to anyone else?


----------



## raven19

@Damo - I would not be concerned as positive pressure in the fermentor should keep the mould from getting sucked back in thru the airlock.

I would be giving the lid a good clean though, then spray sanitiser around the airlock hole, etc, then if there is crud in the airlock, I would be removing and cleaning that too (covering the airlock hole with a clean sanitised shot glass or similar while the airlock is out).


----------



## raven19

I hate posting pics on this thread!

Wild yeast damn you!

Latest Alt Bier gone bad. Wild yeast defo, intense plastic / bandaid aroma.

This fermenter is going to the tip.


----------



## ballantynebrew

Did a nice stout a little over 3 weeks ago with a coopers stout, dark malt and a few coopers yeasts.
Bottle day came along and everything when well, when it got to cleaning I had noticed the darkish scum around the top and these little bastards!


----------



## Thefatdoghead

hirns said:


> My hybrid yeast infection. <br><br><font face="Times New Roman">Well I've not had an infection for a number of years so I guess I had to go all out! Did Boonie's LCPA and was not happy that the US05 had done the job, so rather than rouse it I pitched a packet of Cooper's International yeast and a second packet of Cooper's standard yeast. Four days later and presto!</font><br><br>


**** man that shit looks fake like computer generated or something! crazy...


----------



## hirns

Gav80 said:


> **** man that shit looks fake like computer generated or something! crazy...




With the cost of the ingedients! I wish it was computer generated infection porn!


----------



## Fish13

got my first infection today. smells like cream corn through everything. the house yeast is dead.


----------



## Goldenchild

my guess is aceto. its only in the very early stages.

beer is a dunkelweizen and at racking it tasted and smelt like a dunkelweizen. some nice esthers coming from the harvested schneider weizen yeast. 

racked to secondary 5 days ago. now has a strong paint thinners nose maybe a bit moldy fruit. taste is gone and hints of sourness. hard to make out in the photo but on the skin theres little mold spores forming.


----------



## Ross

goldenchild said:


> View attachment 52458
> 
> 
> my guess is aceto. its only in the very early stages.
> 
> beer is a dunkelweizen and at racking it tasted and smelt like a dunkelweizen. some nice esthers coming from the harvested schneider weizen yeast.
> 
> racked to secondary 5 days ago. now has a strong paint thinners nose maybe a bit moldy fruit. taste is gone and hints of sourness. hard to make out in the photo but on the skin theres little mold spores forming.




aceto is what it is..... one of the dangers of racking to secondary..... unless you really have a good reason to, stop racking!!!

cheers Ross


----------



## Goldenchild

Ross said:


> aceto is what it is..... one of the dangers of racking to secondary..... unless you really have a good reason to, stop racking!!!
> 
> cheers Ross



cheers for confirming.
yeh i know theres risks with racking. i just needed some fermenter space. so racked to bottling bucket and left till i found time to bottle.
next time i guess i should just bottle straight away and stop being lazy . It just cost me a nice dunkel and my bottling bucket.


----------



## Mags

OK it may be that I am just worrying about nothing but my current brew using US05 yeasts krausen seems different to my previous brews. The krausen looks normal apart from the right back which looks rather gooey/thick compared to the rest being really bubbly and light looking like foam. Also when the fermenter was moved white clumps fell to the bottom from the krausen, probably yeast but never seen this before.










the last photo isnt very clear you can't tell with the krausen. on the top photo you should be able to make out the white clumps about to fall.


----------



## barls

looks normal to me mate.


----------



## Mags

barls said:


> looks normal to me mate.



I thought it might be but I have never seen the krausen become so gooey looking. Just worrying as it's my first brew introducing hops and I put a lot of time into trying to get it all right, and i don't want it going bad :icon_cheers:


----------



## jyo

US05 does this for me sometimes too. It will just sit on top in a thick layer until I keg.


----------



## phoenixdigital

Ok so I am out of town and my mate rang to get info on the dry hopping required for the two all grain brews we had going. He rang back and said that one was infected then sent these pictures through.










I am thinking he is being paranoid as it doesn't look anything like things in this thread. Sure there is some weirdness going on but thats just normal isn't it?

I have told him not to tip it until I can see it and taste it in person.

Whats the opinion here?

Oh and in the interests of disclosure it has been in fermenter for about 25 days at 21 degrees. I have been told the airlock did dry up. Rookie error I know but I still think this doesn't look infected.

He reckons it doesnt smell off too which I think is a good indicator too.

If its not infected then please explain the weirdness on the top of the beer. I am thinking its just old krausen that never popped???

Edit: it should be noted this is an allgrain batch and we generally dont bother trying to get the hops out of the pot as we pour into fermenter so that I assume is what is all up the top above the beer as it would have floated to the top during high krausen and stuck there??? or it has evaporated somewhat due to airlock drying out?


----------



## crd0902

Your right about tasting it first. I think I remember having one look like this. Never really look yuck or anything in mine and beer was fine. I may be wrong of course but maybe a more seasoned brewer may enlighten us lol 

Cheers Chris


----------



## Camo1234

phoenixdigital said:


> I have been told the airlock did dry up. Rookie error I know but I still think this doesn't look infected.




Rokkie error for sure... the experts use gladwrap!  That stuff never dires out! B)


----------



## [email protected]

Well i have my first infection!
Just went to bottle my stout that has been in fermenter for 2 weeks.
I am pretty sure i have bought this on myself and that it is aceto.

I have had a persistent fungi infection on my toes where i got bitten by a spider 6 months ago.
All prescribed meds exhausted for no relief i turns to the internet and seems that many people have great success
with apple cider vinger, unfiltered and non pasteurized variety that contains mother.

Great we have 20L drum in the shed used for horses. I was hesistent to bring it into the house where my brewing takes place.
So somwhere somehow at some stage it has made its way into my wort/beer or yeast. 

The beer tastes and smells like vinegar big time :icon_vomit: gravity is 4 or 5 points too low.

Quite disappointing, time to nuke the shit out of everything and take the vinegar back to the shed.

On the other hand the fungi on my toes is just about gone.


----------



## Yob

Dont think it's infection but also probably didnt want to start a thread just for this... its weird enough to be here




chunkalitious... WTF is going on with that? Bottled the AIPA off this last night... is it just break thats made it through maybe? Ive not seen anything like it before, usually its just flat compact cake after CC

:blink:


----------



## Gar

Looks exactly like the bottom of the Rye IPA I bottled last night...

Mine was having little volcanic eruptions too which was kinda cool...


----------



## manticle

Beer4U said:


> .
> 
> I have had a persistent fungi infection on my toes where i got bitten by a spider 6 months ago.



OT but were you able to identify the spider at all?


----------



## staggalee

Geeeze, when you look at some of the pics. of infections in this thread, it`s no wonder when you offer some blokes a home brew they say "no, I`m good thanks, but you have one yourself". :lol: 
{I actually thought I had an infected brew last month, after 23 days primary it had a very thin cobweb type thing over the top of it, never seen the like before. It smelt and tasted ok so I bottled it, tried one 14 days later and it was fine. So don`t be to hasty chucking beer out}


----------



## phoenixdigital

phoenixdigital said:


> Ok so I am out of town and my mate rang to get info on the dry hopping required for the two all grain brews we had going. He rang back and said that one was infected then sent these pictures through.



An update on my post last week. Beer tasted weird.. not disgusting but just weird. We bottled 3 and tipped the rest. Will taste the 3 later on to ensure we didn't make a mistake.

Can anyone tell me what the werd oily and waxy stuff was on the top?

I have seen it in other photos here and in other beers we have made in the past.


----------



## popmedium

My second infection and it feels like I've lost a child. I even had a few moments of silence (or wordless seconds while I figured out what to do).

Here is the picture:





*NOTE* Originally the film was covering the entire surface of the beer. there were a fe perfect circles of something growing that got disturbed when I panicked and lifted the fermenter out of the chest freezer

And what I think happened (any advice or tips would be appreciated 

- So it's only my second infection, both of which have happened while using clingwrap instead of the lid (Searched the forums and read up on it first - seems people don't usually have a problem). Method? Wipe around the fermenter with sanitiser. Remove a few layers of clingwrap before I find a sheet to use. Lay sheet over fermenter lid and hold in place with the O-ring from the fermenter lid.
- This happened only last night, approximately three weeks in to the brew.
- Nearly a week in primary, then racking to secondary where it has been for the last two weeks.
- Last Friday (being of second week conditioning) I dry hopped. I soaked the bag in that white stuff that gets rid of stains (sorry I forget the chemical name) for 24 hours and then in Iodopher for 30 minutes. So I don't think it was the actual addition of hops that did it.
- I soaked a sponge (not a new one, one that we have been using for a while) in iodpher for 20 minutes. then I removed the cling wrap and wipped down the rim of the fermenter with the "steralised" sponge)
- Unbeknownst to me, the wife had recently used the sponge to clean up a bunch of pollen and dead flowers from our kitchen table. The pollen left a yello stain on the rim of the fermenter which I mistook for Iodopher.
- 5 days later this happens.

Now, I hear yeast grows on flowers, plants, pollen etc. I figure it would take about a week for something like this to grow. It couldn't have been anything before then or it would have shown up sooner. So it must have been the dodgy sponge with the pollen and flower debre, even though I sterilised the sponge.

Would you say I'd be correct in these assumptions?

*LESSONS*
Always use a new sponge.
Don't transfer to secondary unless you have to.
By the final week of conditioning, the beer is not "bullet proof" as I have been lead to believe by chaps at my local HBS

Hope this will help prevent folks from making the same mistakes.

Joel


----------



## Maheel

whats it taste like Joel ?

does not look that infected to me, looks kind of normal ?

i dont clean anything if dry hopping, 
just pull off cling wrap, throw in hops and replace with new CW

although next brew i should give the fridge a spray and clean...


----------



## popmedium

Yeah it didn't taste very good. And what was previously a beautiful Galaxy aroma is now rancid, sulfuric. I try so hard to be careful and then I go and use and old sponge like an idiot.

Lessons for the future I guess


----------



## Yob

joel connolly said:


> I soaked the bag in that white stuff that gets rid of stains (sorry I forget the chemical name) for 24 hours and then in Iodopher for 30 minutes. So I don't think it was the actual addition of hops that did it.
> - I soaked a sponge (not a new one, one that we have been using for a while) in iodpher for 20 minutes. then I removed the cling wrap and wipped down the rim of the fermenter with the "steralised" sponge)
> - Unbeknownst to me, the wife had recently used the sponge to clean up a bunch of pollen and dead flowers from our kitchen table. The pollen left a yello stain on the rim of the fermenter which I mistook for Iodopher.
> - 5 days later this happens.
> 
> *LESSONS*
> Always use a new sponge.
> Don't transfer to secondary unless you have to.
> By the final week of conditioning, the beer is not "bullet proof" as I have been lead to believe by chaps at my local HBS




^^^ Yep ^^^^

New cloth every time when messing with cold side.. this was likely the issue.. get those chux type wipes.. cheap as chips and throw them away after each use... the bin in my shed is full of the bloody things  

I'd like to know what the "white stuff" was too :blink: 

Sorry for your loss


----------



## popmedium

Totally. I also got some good advice via PM. Don't mess with it! I ferment in a chest freezer, and if I keep the thing closed then the bed of Co2 both in the fermenter and fridge should help protect against infection. I was checkin on it every day! Silly bugger.

White stuff? As per some advice on this forum I clean with some white stuff, active ingredient is Sodium Percarbonate  Then I sanitise with iodopher.

Joel



iamozziyob said:


> ^^^ Yep ^^^^
> 
> New cloth every time when messing with cold side.. this was likely the issue.. get those chux type wipes.. cheap as chips and throw them away after each use... the bin in my shed is full of the bloody things
> 
> I'd like to know what the "white stuff" was too :blink:
> 
> Sorry for your loss


----------



## chunckious

I check my FV on a daily basis as well :huh:


----------



## stux

sponge's have got to be breeding grounds... they would soak up all the crap... like a sponge.

I always use paper towel to wipe up the mess, generally spray with starsan then wipe up with paper towel... and toss.

but if you're just changing a glad wrap cover really there's no reason to wipe anything, change it as cleanly as you can and be done.


----------



## Yob

:icon_offtopic: 





Not an infection... just thought it was purdy B)


----------



## Acasta

My pictures are kind of crappy, but when comparing what I'm looking at in my fermenter at the moment I see this:



jyo said:


>



Also similar to phoenixdigital's post that looks like this, where the strange bubbles are forming on top, which lead me believe there is a film formed ontop.

Taste not too off, a mild solvent like taste that could be contributed by something else.

Thoughs?


----------



## Thefatdoghead

Any thought's on this one?
I can say that it tasted way better 5 weeks ago when it had just finished fermenting. It's a wheat beer fermented with Kolsch 2565. I had another fermentor full of same and it was different in a nicer kind of way. The beer hasn't got as much hop flavour and there is a slight harsh alcohol on the back of my pallet after a taste test.


----------



## barls

looks like brett mate. ether rack carefully from under the layer and carb and drink pronto. or ditch it. your choice.
similar to this one
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...st&p=854896


----------



## Thefatdoghead

barls said:


> looks like brett mate. ether rack carefully from under the layer and carb and drink pronto. or ditch it. your choice.
> similar to this one
> http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...st&p=854896



No worries mate. I tipped it anyway because I just couldn't drink it just wondering what it was for future experience.


----------



## Mr. No-Tip

I am pretty sure these are yeast flocs, not an infection, but I've never seen anything like this, so thought I'd throw it to the AHB masses:

Two separate fermentors with San Diego Super (2l started) 7 days after pitching. I've never seen a yeast clump and stick around like this post krausen before, but I've never used this yeast before, either...


----------



## phoenixdigital

Mr. No-Tip said:


> I am pretty sure these are yeast flocs, not an infection, but I've never seen anything like this, so thought I'd throw it to the AHB masses:
> 
> Two separate fermentors with San Diego Super (2l started) 7 days after pitching. I've never seen a yeast clump and stick around like this post krausen before, but I've never used this yeast before, either...




Seen it on a few of mine before. Left it for a few days and didn't drop to the bottom. Kegged it and tasted fine.


----------



## HBHB

Mr. No-Tip said:


> I am pretty sure these are yeast flocs, not an infection, but I've never seen anything like this, so thought I'd throw it to the AHB masses:
> 
> Two separate fermentors with San Diego Super (2l started) 7 days after pitching. I've never seen a yeast clump and stick around like this post krausen before, but I've never used this yeast before, either...




Yeast and Yeast


----------



## brettprevans

happens to the best of us. an imperial pils down the drain. I tried it and it was ok so i let it ferment out. then tried again. :icon_vomit: massive rubber and pepper taste and phenolics. way gone. nuked the fermentor with bleech and now PBW. what a waste.


----------



## Yob

that will learn you for puttin the parmesan on your kebab over the FV


----------



## Yob

Should I pitch this 1728 onto my Heater ale?


----------



## jyo

Yob said:


> View attachment 57687
> 
> 
> Should I pitch this 1728 onto my Heater ale?



Looks fine, mate. The heater should kill any bugs, if there are any.


----------



## thrillho

Just bottled my second brew today, and when I got down to the gunk at the bottom, found a shred of the paper from the kit label.... I have absolutely no idea how it got in there!

Anyway, will advise on whether fermenting labels for 12 days does any good for the body or flavour of the beer. I'll let you guys know!


----------



## doon

I wouldn't stress I found the top half of the wyeast packet at the bottom of fermenter once. Beer was fine


----------



## benno1973

iamozziyob said:


> :icon_offtopic:
> 
> View attachment 56900
> 
> 
> Not an infection... just thought it was purdy B)



What the hell is that Yob?


----------



## jyo

Kaiser Soze said:


> What the hell is that Yob?



That looks like the break I used to get when chilling in the kettle.


----------



## Aydos

X 2

Looks like cold break.


----------



## benno1973

Oh, ok. Looked like pickled jellyfish. Carry on.


----------



## Blitzer

Kaiser Soze said:


> What the hell is that Yob?



Breakfast?


----------



## Yob

Cold Break was my assumption too..

it was some wort Id frozen to use as a starter, that photo was when it had just thawed.. it continued to "morph" over a few hours and was fun to watch.

B)


----------



## Yob

Went to pitch a cube last night and thought to check the tap before transfer.. which of course I always do :unsure: 





naturally pitched it from the top not through that manky tap.. 

:icon_cheers:


----------



## NDH

So I'm doing an apple and mango cider for the missus, never done one with mango before but the juice wason special. About half apple and mango juice adn half apple juice (Berri 2.4l, about a week past best before date :huh: ).

US-05 yeast pitched and did the usual thing forming a krausen breifly then just bubbling away...then this formed on top about a week in...




Never seen it before. Had a taste and its still a little sweet, SG 1020, but tastes like I'd expect. I'm not sure if the mango has done something funny or its infected. Never seen anything like it though.


----------



## yum beer

NDH said:


> So I'm doing an apple and mango cider for the missus, never done one with mango before but the juice wason special. About half apple and mango juice adn half apple juice (Berri 2.4l, about a week past best before date :huh: ).
> 
> US-05 yeast pitched and did the usual thing forming a krausen breifly then just bubbling away...then this formed on top about a week in...
> 
> View attachment 58282
> 
> 
> Never seen it before. Had a taste and its still a little sweet, SG 1020, but tastes like I'd expect. I'm not sure if the mango has done something funny or its infected. Never seen anything like it though.



looks like mango pulp to me....hpefully its all good.


----------



## Liam_snorkel




----------



## jaypes

Looks like a street pizza without the yak pips


----------



## NDH

Liam_snorkel said:


>



Those noodles did cross my mind at one point. Its a pretty thick layer too, at least 10-15mm


----------



## mr_tyreman

Here's my first attemp at a Berliner Weisse...needless to say it didnt work....


----------



## bignath

mr_tyreman said:


> Here's my first attemp at a Berliner Weisse...needless to say it didnt work....



...and that is why it's a good idea to either Chill and transfer, or transfer and no chill.

bugger.


----------



## beerbog

mr_tyreman said:


> Here's my first attemp at a Berliner Weisse...needless to say it didnt work....


Does it smell like vomit? :icon_vomit:


----------



## beerdrinkingbob

Gibbo1 said:


> Does it smell like vomit? :icon_vomit:



Am i missing something, the beer is meant to be sour, congrats your an over achiever!!!


----------



## mr_tyreman

Hahaha i lost heat on my electric blanket and didn't get an airtight seal, i'll definitely try to have another go, after listening to Jamil talk about his argon blanket at ANHC, i may even try trickling an argon blanket over it.

but first up i will run it into a bucket and seal it up nice and tight, keeping it up around 37*C for a couple of days and see how it turns out.

cheers


----------



## QldKev

beerdrinkingbob said:


> Am i missing something, the beer is meant to be sour, congrats your an over achiever!!!



But Lactic acid tastes better than Acetic acid


----------



## Yob

well.. I think this was my 41st AG/cube.. went into the shed this arvo and found




well swollen cube and far too much 'head' space at the top.. my cubes are generally bull to the brim with most/all air removed.

again a problem with a tap




we have had builders/electricians/roofers all over the joint so possibly contributed..

I know this, it's no tap on cubes and/or a chiller on my horizon.


----------



## manticle

Tap on cubes is fine.

What did she smell like?

Swollen cubes in my experience (invariably* from not sealing properly) smell pretty rank.

*Actually can't think of a single one that sealed properly but still swelled).

Still - clean your taps boss. Every time. Break and clean, sanitise, reassemble. I do that even just for bulk priming vessels.


----------



## Mardoo

I may be completely freakin' paranoid but I've been putting a bit of no-rinse sanitiser made with distilled water in the bottom of a small plastic bag and putting it over the tap (I'll leave the joke just dangling there for someone to pick up  ) and then closing it off with rubber bands so that I'm pretty sure when I use the tap nothing has taken up residence. And as Manticle suggests cleaning the taps every time.


----------



## jaypes

A sanitised bung works for me (on that tap that is)

I must say every time there is a new update to this thread I get a little like this:-


----------



## Yob

manticle said:


> Tap on cubes is fine.
> 
> What did she smell like?
> 
> Swollen cubes in my experience (invariably* from not sealing properly) smell pretty rank.
> 
> *Actually can't think of a single one that sealed properly but still swelled).
> 
> Still - clean your taps boss. Every time. Break and clean, sanitise, reassemble. I do that even just for bulk priming vessels.



mostly they are new taps.. Ive a vast collection of the bloody things but I think my love affair with the tap on cube is over.. 

on the up side, when nuked, that cube will hold +25lt.. how far to those things stretch?

h34r:


----------



## Hippy

Yeh taps can be a pain in the arse sometimes. I have one that gets mould and fungal infections in the spout whenever I store wort for more than a few weeks. Trouble is I always forget about it until the next time after cleaning. My auto syphon tip has got me out of strife a few times now, luckily the tap still seals well or I would have lost a lot of wort by now


----------



## bum

manticle said:


> Tap on cubes is fine.


Not when they leak as shown in Yob's pic. If liquid is getting out then air is getting in.

There is a level of exposure to risk that is inherent in affixing a tap to a cube as opposed to not (especially with the cubes that must be drilled first). We all have different level of willingness to accept risk.


----------



## Yob

bum said:


> Not when they leak as shown in Yob's pic. If liquid is getting out then air is getting in.
> 
> There is a level of exposure to risk that is inherent in affixing a tap to a cube, We all have different level of willingness to accept risk.



agreed, and mine just went down a level.. TBH I always expected that if it happened (first cube infection) it would be the thread not the actual outlet... FK knows why :blink: \

Overall I think its still a winning practice for the right reasons, but Im certainly having a look at process not and may try to eliminate taps from the argument.

and also for information it does indeed smell like


----------



## manticle

bum said:


> Not when they leak as shown in Yob's pic. If liquid is getting out then air is getting in.
> 
> There is a level of exposure to risk that is inherent in affixing a tap to a cube as opposed to not (especially with the cubes that must be drilled first). We all have different level of willingness to accept risk.



Anything that leaks is no good - whether it's the lid or the tap. You should observe when you cube and if there is a leak, change cube or fix the leak. That's good practice.

Obviously there is one more thing to think about having a tap on a cube about but my experience with taps on cubes is reasonable (pretty much every brew is cubed this way and I brew a fair bit). Just be observant.

The reason I switched to fermenting in cubes was to eliminate vessel transfer due to a spate of infections so everything has a risk associated. We do all have a different level but mine isn't particularly large. I've thrown away beer and wort and it hurts. I don't like to take unnecessary risks when I can help it.


----------



## bum

Ha! I didn't mean to suggest you were some gonzo-brewer, manticle. Just saying that adding an extra entry-point involves an inherent increase in risk (even if that risk may often be minimal and almost as often manageable). I'd pretty much equate it with racking to secondary for every brew. Lots of brewers do it without issue - there are still issues and some people might not be willing to accept those issues.


----------



## manticle

No worries Bum - I didn't actually read you as suggesting I was gonzo and my mild defence of that is secondary to my main point: all processes have a risk associated and you manage that by either avoiding that process or paying attention to your process and carrying it out correctly. In the case of a leaking tap, you should be able to notice before it's 'too late', just as you should notice a bad seal on a lid.

It does involve an extra risk, no doubt, just one I feel is manageable with proper care taken when cubing. Racking to secondary I'd put likewise - do it properly and the risk is negligible. You also have to compare risk vs benefit and in both instances I wouldn't say the equation is massively weighted one way or the other, situation slightly dependent.

I rack every brew for bulk priming which is essentially racking every brew (used to rack for secondary ferm, rarely do now). There's a risk for sure. Do it properly and the risk is reduced/controlled. Have a reason for your process and make sure it's done properly. Forget shortcuts. Bob becomes a close relative.

Anyway good luck to yob - I have to drink his beer from time to time so it's in my interests that he gets it right.


----------



## bum

Pretty sure we're on the same page from a technical perspective - just saying it is equally valid that some people might not care for it.

That Bob bloke isn't always welcome at Christmas is all I'm saying.


----------



## manticle

Fair enough. I hate bob and his fat, redfaced, sweaty wife too.


----------



## Midnight Brew

Was about to keg my latest brew but needed advice on this one. This brew had Essex Ale yeast in it (top cropper) and smells fruity which would be due to the cascade. Havnt been game enough to taste. Is this normal? Otherwise shes going straight to the sewer.


----------



## bradsbrew

Going by the pick it looks like yeast to me. Have you crash chilled it?

Cheers


----------



## Midnight Brew

No crash chill but starting to think its gonna need it badly. This yeast keeps rocking at the top.


----------



## Yob

Is it a brew and or yeast you have used before?

Have a taste ya big nancy :lol:


----------



## manticle

Another vote for yeast and taste. At least draw off an hydrometer sample and smell it.

Nancy.


----------



## Midnight Brew

Yob said:


> Is it a brew and or yeast you have used before?
> 
> Have a taste ya big nancy :lol:



New brew have used the yeats before but not in about 18 months. Cultured it up and grew it from a stubbie of fowl extract twang.




manticle said:


> Another vote for yeast and taste. At least draw off an hydrometer sample and smell it.
> 
> Nancy.



Just had a taste and she's all good. This yeast was just still partying at final gravity. Ive only got one fridge so the keg came out and fermenter went in. CC'ing for 2 days to get my keg back in ready for New Years Eve. Not having a fementing fridge or CC fridge sucks.


----------



## MattyH

Hi peeps

I've just brewed a fatteryak recipie and half way through the ferment it turned from tasting fantastic to horrible overnight almost like a wheat flavour in there. At first I thought it was tannins but that would have been in there from the start right?
Now I'm thinking some infection has gotten in and I'm spewing its my first infection ever and it had to be in a fatteryak!!! There's no visual signs just taste has anyone had a similar problem before. Oh yeah when I say a wheat flavour its not in a good way I gather its an astringent flavour that some people refer to but I'm not sure what astringent tastes like. 
Any feedback would be much appreciated I'd like to know what got in there and weather to chuck my fermenter


----------



## felten

Astringency is a mouth feel thing rather than a flavour, it's to do with tannins binding to proteins in your mouth which causes a puckering dry feeling.

Not that this helps your beer at all, sorry.


----------



## philmud

Hi guys, a saison I'm brewing is currently looking like this. It's done fermenting and I was planning on bottling on the weekend - is this an infection? Is it rooted? Should I bottle anyway? It still tastes good, so perhaps its just sitting on the surface so far. I can also rack it to another fermenter & leave the last few litres (including the surface of course) in the primary.


----------



## Camo1234

Phil Mud said:


> Hi guys, a saison I'm brewing is currently looking like this. It's done fermenting and I was planning on bottling on the weekend - is this an infection? Is it rooted? Should I bottle anyway? It still tastes good, so perhaps its just sitting on the surface so far. I can also rack it to another fermenter & leave the last few litres (including the surface of course) in the primary.


Looks like left over yeast to me with CO2 still being produced or still in the liquid..... If it tastes good I would bottle away and enjoy!

Camo


----------



## philmud

Camo1234 said:


> Looks like left over yeast to me with CO2 still being produced or still in the liquid..... If it tastes good I would bottle away and enjoy!
> 
> Camo


That's what I was hoping - any reason to hurry, or will this weekend be fine, all things being equal?


----------



## carniebrew

Shouldn't be a problem leaving it until the weekend, do you have it sealed up, and the temperature under control?


----------



## manticle

Impossible to say 100% from the photo Phil but it looks fine and normal from where i am sitting.


----------



## philmud

carniebrew said:


> do you have it sealed up, and the temperature under control?


Well, the lid is on though its a coopers fermenter, it's at the mercy of my garage's ambient temperatures though. 

Cheers Manticle, fingers crossed - a mate tells me if it tastes & smells ok, it should be Ok, so ill go with that!


----------



## manticle

It's a saison. Temp is less of an issue anyway.


----------



## KingKong

I'm currently drinking an AG Wheat Beer about 3 weeks old. I remember it being very tasty on bottling day, still good a week later and now after three weeks I'm noticing what I think is a strong butterscotch flavour, I have researched and put it down to diacetyl. I'm noticing some bottles are carrying the flavour stronger then others.

Tonight I opened up a largie and it gushed all over the place.

First thoughts I have a developing infection in my bottles causing the diacetyl and gusher???

Could cause be infection through the little bottler or tap perhaps? (Looking for explanation of why I didn't get the infection during fermentation?) 

Second thoughts is the diacetyl is fading with age and I just got a bad bottle??? But diacetyl doesn't develop in the bottle does it??

(Bottled after complete fermentation so that can be ruled out).

Constructive thoughts? 

_*ed: realised this thread is more photo related, please don't crucify me. still seeking thoughts._


----------



## Camo6

Phil Mud said:


> Hi guys, a saison I'm brewing is currently looking like this. It's done fermenting and I was planning on bottling on the weekend - is this an infection? Is it rooted? Should I bottle anyway? It still tastes good, so perhaps its just sitting on the surface so far. I can also rack it to another fermenter & leave the last few litres (including the surface of course) in the primary.



Mate if i were you I'd nuke that shit. Yeast or bacteria it appears to be forming letters and even a small map of Australia. Play it safe and BURN IT.


----------



## philmud

Actually, the white bacteria looking things seem to have dissipated somewhat, hopefully was just yeast & has possibly dropped to the bottom. The Map of Aus bubbles are nothing to worry about - I think it's gonna be ok.

Edit: on second thoughts I think it's spelling out "EXTERMINATE"


----------



## KingKong

KingKong said:


> I'm currently drinking an AG Wheat Beer about 3 weeks old. I remember it being very tasty on bottling day, still good a week later and now after three weeks I'm noticing what I think is a strong butterscotch flavour, I have researched and put it down to diacetyl. I'm noticing some bottles are carrying the flavour stronger then others.
> 
> Tonight I opened up a largie and it gushed all over the place.
> 
> First thoughts I have a developing infection in my bottles causing the diacetyl and gusher???
> 
> Could cause be infection through the little bottler or tap perhaps? (Looking for explanation of why I didn't get the infection during fermentation?)
> 
> Second thoughts is the diacetyl is fading with age and I just got a bad bottle??? But diacetyl doesn't develop in the bottle does it??
> 
> (Bottled after complete fermentation so that can be ruled out).
> 
> Constructive thoughts?
> 
> _*ed: realised this thread is more photo related, please don't crucify me. still seeking thoughts._


Anyone?


----------



## wbosher

Can't comment on the diacetyl, got no experience there, not that I know of anyway. The gusher(s) could be a bottle infection most likely caused by poor sanitation, or overcarbing of that bottle. If the infection was in the tap or bottler you would probably have more than just one or two gushers on your hands.


----------



## KingKong

wbosher said:


> Can't comment on the diacetyl, got no experience there, not that I know of anyway. The gusher(s) could be a bottle infection most likely caused by poor sanitation, or overcarbing of that bottle. If the infection was in the tap or bottler you would probably have more than just one or two gushers on your hands.


So far just the one gusher out of about 6 long necks. .. drinking another bottle tonight and I'm leaning towards more of a green apple type flavor ... wish I had some thing to compare to so I knew exactly what the fault was and could remedy it.


----------



## Black Devil Dog

This publication has helped and will continue to help many brewers, the link I've posted is specifically about beer flavours. Hope it helps.


http://www.howtobrew.com/section4/chapter21-2.html


----------



## Acasta

any thoughts on this? not a terrible taste, but the beer is cold. im hopeing to use it on another batch brewing right now haha.




Hard too see but the white bits are in the krausen and walls on the fv (from draining)


----------



## Goldenchild

carniebrew said:


> Looks pretty normal to me....


If your normal is infected then yes.

I've been having a spate of infections lately and this infection is the culprit. 
Hasn't been affecting the taste too much when caught early. Although within a few days can be pretty rank.

The white powdery Krausin and flakes of skin on the beer and fermenter walls are not normal!


----------



## Yob

best not to use if you are suspicious of it mate, Id take a jar of trub, just in case.. but pour off a jar and let it warm so you can get a good smell and taste?


----------



## Acasta

I've gone the trusty backup US05 from the fridge and dumped the slurry. I've cleared the headspace of the keg but wont waste the gas carbing it for a week or two. I kept a bottle of the beer to assess how its going over the next few days.

This is the second time I've had this infection, 7 batches apart so something is definitely wrong here. It could be a shite coincidence or something causing it. Does anybody know what infection it is? How it is caused ect?

Thanks a bunch guys.

Update:
Between the two infections, no alot is similar. One was no chilled, other plate chilled. I got new fermenters after the first infection.

After poking around a bit I think it may be a Lacto or Aceto infection. My friend just described the flavour as bruised apple and tangy.


----------



## labels

KingKong said:


> Anyone?


Diacetyl can be caused by yeast or infection. If it is geting worse in the bottle or is inconsistent it is likely to be an infection. Read here http://beersensoryscience.wordpress.com/2010/11/18/diacetyl-1/

Steve


----------



## Goldenchild

Acasta said:


> After poking around a bit I think it may be a Lacto or Aceto infection. My friend just described the flavour as bruised apple and tangy.


I have been thinking lacto also but no real way to know for sure. 

A few reasons being
-like you said tangy taste kinda like 'off juice' (i think this comes from when the hops prevent the sourness from the lacto kicking in),
-It is only getting into my lighter beers (lacto struggles to take with higher alc content)
-and the fact I brewed a few berliner weiss batches sometime around when the infections started (even though i did use seperate plastics).

If i was you i would ditch the fermentor and any other plastic that has touched the beer. Small price to pay when you consider the cost of a batch or multiple in my case.
Ive tried nuking everything with bleach and pbw and still manage to have it surviving somewhere so have replaced all my plastics.


----------



## tricache

I'm so following this thread...though not the best to read through while having breakfast :icon_vomit:


----------



## lael

Infection? I haven't seen this brown scummy stuff on top of the krausen before. Still tastes good, so far. Two days into ferment.

Any comments /thoughts?


----------



## jyo

Looks good to me. It's not S04 by any chance?


----------



## lael

jyo said:


> Looks good to me. It's not S04 by any chance?


no, a recultured Delirium Tremens yeast


----------



## beerdrinkingbob

your nose and tongue will serve you better when it comes to infections, doesn't look like there are any issues yet!!


----------



## barls

looks fine to me


----------



## lael

sweet! Thanks all! What is the brown goop likely to be?


----------



## tricache

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I thought it was just hydrated yeast cells


----------



## Edak

it's happy yeast. getting a tan from all of the camera flashing


----------



## lael

Edak said:


> it's happy yeast. getting a tan from all of the camera flashing


lol, thanks all!


----------



## Mr. No-Tip

I put down 20l of berlinerweiss in January. Sometime in March I racked into a 5l and a 15l demi. I decided to add some fresh cracked grain to the 5l batch to hopefully increase the sourness.

The other day I noticed some white stuff in the high krausen mark caused by the newly pitched grain. I opened her up and gave the neck a wipedown with a livwipe. A week later I notice this:









Aceteo or just lacto defending its territory after I opened it up?

I was planning on using this 5l batch as a bottle test batch to compare adding yeast or not, and adding more grain, to the bottle in the next couple days...


----------



## Mr. No-Tip

Another one from me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTfxw9CQjjs

Don't know why I shot this in portrait, but anyway... I brewed this mead in late December and racked it into this demijon on early Feb after primary finished. This is one of four demis and the only one showing this symptom.

You can see a large, gelatinous glob across the whole top. When I slightly move it, the glob starts to break up, but then yoyos back into place. I hope it's just yeast? Any ideas?


----------



## Edak

Mr. No-Tip said:


> Another one from me:
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTfxw9CQjjs
> 
> Don't know why I shot this in portrait, but anyway... I brewed this mead in late December and racked it into this demijon on early Feb after primary finished. This is one of four demis and the only one showing this symptom.
> 
> You can see a large, gelatinous glob across the whole top. When I slightly move it, the glob starts to break up, but then yoyos back into place. I hope it's just yeast? Any ideas?


The fact that only one of the four demis shows the symptom sounds suspicious to me.


----------



## Goldenchild

How does it taste?
I have a show mead with a similar cloudy layer on the surface that drops when i move it. Don't have the krausen though.
Mine also tastes fine. 
Taste it if its funky cut your losses if it tastes fine it probably is. 

Also what is the gravity reading?


----------



## wbosher

Not sure if this is an infection, but sure looks strange. Like big marble (or larger) sized clumps of something floating on the top. Could be yeast? I don't know, I've never seen this before.

I had a taste, and it doesn't taste too bad. A strange after taste but I can't describe it. It's only 9 days old so would still taste a little strange anyway probably.

Any ideas?


----------



## Mr. No-Tip

Edak said:


> The fact that only one of the four demis shows the symptom sounds suspicious to me.


That's what I was thinking...



goldenchild said:


> How does it taste?
> I have a show mead with a similar cloudy layer on the surface that drops when i move it. Don't have the krausen though.
> Mine also tastes fine.
> Taste it if its funky cut your losses if it tastes fine it probably is.
> 
> Also what is the gravity reading?


Considering the small batch and lack of tap, I've not been tempted to taste or gravity read. It was 1.008 from 1.079 when I racked it into this demi.

An opportunity came up today to throw 5l of mead into a still and try to make a mead spirit - maybe this is the contender!


----------



## wbosher

Anyone? I may be worrying about nothing here, but has any one seen this before (my previous post above)? I'm hoping it's just clumps of yeast but not sure, they're pretty huge. Like big ice bergs floating on the surface.

FG is 1.010 after about ten days, so other than that, all seems normal.


----------



## beerdrinkingbob

wbosher said:


> Anyone? I may be worrying about nothing here, but has any one seen this before (my previous post above)? I'm hoping it's just clumps of yeast but not sure, they're pretty huge. Like big ice bergs floating on the surface.
> 
> FG is 1.010 after about ten days, so other than that, all seems normal.


What yeast did you use?

Not sure if it's possible it a top cropper, maybe they clumped, you would think they would drop though.......

Sure a child didn't put ice cream in there


----------



## wbosher

US-05. No definately not ice cream or any foreign object. :lol: I've never seen anything like it before. I'm going to cc soon so will be intersted to see what happens.


----------



## Hawko777

For all you folks, see if you can get Proxitane, some pool places stock it, and chemical stockists.
It's peroxy acetic acid, 1ml to 1 ltr dilution, do a group buy. Fantastic stuff, lasts for ages and you wont get another infection :beerbang:


----------



## barls

Hawko777 said:


> For all you folks, see if you can get Proxitane, some pool places stock it, and chemical stockists.
> It's peroxy acetic acid, 1ml to 1 ltr dilution, do a group buy. Fantastic stuff, lasts for ages and you wont get another infection :beerbang:


have used this stuff in a commercial brewery would not recommend it at the home brew level.
way to easy to do some serious damage to yourself.


----------



## wbosher

Just bottled my beer, didn't taste too flash. Also, instead of the trub looking creamy, it looked like wet lumpy particle board. Not sure if that's a sign of anything, just looked very different to how it normally looks. I can't smell, so could tell anything that way.

Anyway, I'll see how it tastes in a couple of weeks, but it's not looking promising.


----------



## kahlerisms

Not quite sure what I've got here. Noticed it after about ten days in primary and four or five at 1 degree. Here's the photo while I'm racking out of the bottom.







Couldn't smell/taste anything funny at the time.

Don't usually have such floaties after crash cooling. Yeast was 1272. Actually it's the first time I've used 1272 over 1056.


----------



## Edak

kahlerisms said:


> Not quite sure what I've got here. Noticed it after about ten days in primary and four or five at 1 degree. Here's the photo while I'm racking out of the bottom.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Couldn't smell/taste anything funny at the time.
> 
> Don't usually have such floaties after crash cooling. Yeast was 1272. Actually it's the first time I've used 1272 over 1056.


I think it's fine, I am fairly sure that I have seen it and had no ill effects.


----------



## lmccrone

So got this funky stuff sitting at the top of one of my bottles. Looks bad right? But it tastes fine, quite nice actually. The brew was choc choc stout, plenty of coco, chocolate, oats and lactose, could that be the problem?


----------



## tiprya

It could be secondary fermentation in the bottle if there was a lot of fermentable sugars left - is it highly carbonated?

It looks like some sort of infection though. If it tastes fine - no problems with continuing to drink it though.


----------



## treefiddy

kahlerisms - I've had that recently too. A couple months in the bottle and it's fine, no wukkas.

lmccrone - Crack it open, you know you want to. If it's smooth and creamy it's either fat or yeast, have a taste.


----------



## AndrewQLD

lmccrone said:


> So got this funky stuff sitting at the top of one of my bottles. Looks bad right? But it tastes fine, quite nice actually. The brew was choc choc stout, plenty of coco, chocolate, oats and lactose, could that be the problem?


probably cocoa fat, if you've added chocolate and cocoa powder they do contain a lot of fat, approx. 31g fat in 100g cocoa


----------



## Edak

treefiddy: Your avatar blows my mind, makes me feel drunk


----------



## Yob

kahlerisms said:


>



Whats that poking down into the middle of the beer?


----------



## kahlerisms

That's my racking cane autosiphon thingo.

Turned out the beer was fine. I did another batch at the same time with the same recipe except used whole cones the whole way through where as this one was pellets and the pellets one was better. The whole cone one had a weird bitterness that seemed concentrated in the head/foam.

So yeah, you guys were right, nothing to worry about.


----------



## lmccrone

Well Ive had about 6 bottles of my choc choc stout now and there is no off flavors at all. So given the thickness of the film on the surface of the bottle I am going to declare it to be fat from the chocolate, otherwise I would definitely taste the problem.


----------



## Jono1492

This was my first(hopefully only) infection. Discovered it on day 10(ish)and decided to bottle on day 14, is quiet the tasty pale ale. Am using the fermenter for the first time since, replacing taps, hoses etc. which is putting me a little on edge, haha. Everything seems fine so far..




And this is it now. Reserved a few litres for a laugh, added some cherries and vanilla. Smells a lot like acetone and aged cheddar...


----------



## Edak

Looks really tasty Jono. The thought of acetone and aged cheddar together sounds quite unpleasant but hold onto that sucker and let us know what happens in the long run


----------



## Jono1492

Haha, will keep everyone updated..



Edak said:


> Looks really tasty Jono. The thought of acetone and aged cheddar together sounds quite unpleasant but hold onto that sucker and let us know what happens in the long run


----------



## esssee

Yep, another one. Yet another member who is paranoid that half a days work resulted in sweet bugger all.

Here 'tis:




It's a Brown Ale. It has been like this for about 10 days now. I was worried about the white bits being the start of a mould growth, but has not grown in that time.

Despite what it looks like in the photo, nothing has Bubbled up on the surface. It is all flat on the surface.

Your thoughts Gentlemen, please.


----------



## citizensnips

Sure looks like infection to me


----------



## esssee

Those things that look like raised bubbles are actually a white substance, which then has a circle of matter around it. It is still in Primary, so I am surprised that a) it grew under a blanket of CO2, and b) that it hasn't continued to grow.


----------



## scon

Oooh, I can play this game! Do you think this is infected:







But the inside looked alright so I bottled it:






But unfortunately it was infected. Tasted of Diacetyl - I thought it was too much bitter toasted malts (black IPA) but it was actually a more metallic taste.


----------



## Yob

that airlock is spotless though


----------



## scon

It was, so I had hopes that the infection was only from when I spilled some wort on the fermenter when transferring... but unfortunately it got through.


----------



## elronalds

What do you think about this, any ideas what it would be? I can't taste anything bad in the beer but this stuff only seems to be on the top. It only noticed it today, it has been 2-3 weeks cold conditioning (as I couldn't be bothered moving it off the yeast cake into a keg, normally I only leave it 2-3 days then keg) at -4C on the fridge but the beer was probably closer to 1-2C

Edit: I have kegged this (most the white crap just floated and stuck to the sides of the fermenter as I emptied it). I will filter and carbonate tomorrow and have another taste test.


----------



## Yob

you didnt tip wax in there did you? :blink:

looks 'orrible.. hows it taste from the bottom? you may need to invite a few friends around this weekend and demolish it if it aint too bad already


----------



## emnpaul

I second what Yob said. If it tastes alright smash it down ASAP as it will get worse with time. 

I'd have a couple of schooners and see how you go for a headache in the morning. I had a couple of brews go a similar way and while they tasted alright the hangover was all the persuasion I needed to get my shit together, sanitation wise.


----------



## elronalds

Cheers. Is it common for this to happen if you leave it cold conditioning on the yeast cake for ages even at the cold temps? It is the second time this has happened and both times I left it cold conditioning for weeks (coincidence or not), first time was years back when I didn't have a fermenting fridge. It was my second batch using the hops I ordered from you too Yob :lol: I'm guessing those weren't to blame 

It did taste alright from the bottom, I couldn't detect any off flavors. See how she goes down tomorrow then


----------



## Yob

Same fermenter? Two in a row infected or second time ever?


----------



## elronalds

Nuh, not two in a row. Second time ever, years apart. I have pulled the fermenter apart including the tap and I will see how the next batch goes. I'm pretty good with the sanitizing and cleaning, basically just wondering if longer cold conditioning on the yeast may of contributed to it.


----------



## Yob

Not usually, people making lagers would be screwed... How long are we talking about cold conditioning for? Shouldn't really be an issue though…


----------



## elronalds

2-3 weeks and it was left on the yeast cake.


----------



## elronalds

Had a taste this morning after filtering and force carbing and it isn't bad, undecided if I should throw it out. Might leave it a week or two and see if it gets better or worse.


----------



## Yob

Rack it, carb it, drink it, the longer you leave it the worse it will get mate. Nuke the FV like a mo fo with everything you have... Twice


----------



## Liam_snorkel

Bry-97 took a day to fire, then only had a krausen for 1 day. May have been a dud pack? This must have snuck in. I haven't had a taste yet but it doesn't look promising.


----------



## tiprya

Doesn't look too bad to me mate, looks like yeasty bubbles.


----------



## lukiferj

Liam_snorkel said:


> Bry-97 took a day to fire, then only had a krausen for 1 day. May have been a dud pack? This must have snuck in. I haven't had a taste yet but it doesn't look promising.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> image.jpg


I had the same thing happen about 2 weeks ago with Bry-97. I left it a few days as it tasted ok but after a few days, sour city. First time I have tried that yeast. Have one more pack to see how it goes. Otherwise back to old faithful... US-05.


----------



## Liam_snorkel

I've used bry-97 a number of times and haven't had an issue until now. Weird.


----------



## lukiferj

This was my first time. First brew I have ever had to tip out.


----------



## Liam_snorkel

Liam_snorkel said:


> Bry-97 took a day to fire, then only had a krausen for 1 day. May have been a dud pack? This must have snuck in. I haven't had a taste yet but it doesn't look promising.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> image.jpg





tiprya said:


> Doesn't look too bad to me mate, looks like yeasty bubbles.



Looks like tiprya was right - tastes fine. I'm an idiot. Every time my yeast does something different I jump to conclusions (but fortunately don't act upon them).

I was just surprised that the krausen appeared & disappeared within 48hrs of pitching. But I shouldn't have been. It was a mild. Wham bam thank you ma'am. 
the slimy bubbles disappeared a day later..


----------



## 431neb

Liam_s' , I have been weirded out a few times with BRY-97. After so many US-05 clockwork ferments it's easy to expect the same response. 

I run it at 17 degrees and I expect slow starts and a greasy krausen with a significant amount of krud stuck to the side of the fermenter at the "water" level.

I think I've done 4 or 5 so I'm no expert but that has been my experience.


----------



## orangehead911

So, I did a yeast starter yesterday for some nearly 2 year (two!) year old Wyeast 2124 Bohemian Lager. I popped the bags nearly two weeks ago and was about to throw them out when the swelled up.

In any case, this morning when I went to have a look, it looked like in the photo. I haven't made anything with that yeast strain before so I'm not sure. It looks a little bit like some of the photos on here with infections in them... It's been sitting in the laundry over night which drops to below 10C.

I shook it and the blobs dissolved, so I'm guessing it's just yeast. Any input will be greatly appreciated!


----------



## chefeffect

Anyone experienced pepper flavours from yeast? I used a washed S-23 in an American Lager and it has thrown a pepper flavour, I don't have a picture because all appears fine. The flavour was not discernible until after the d-rest. I have had a similar thing happen with a lager yeast as only noticeable as the fermentation came to a close and dried out.


----------



## Liam_snorkel

I got pepper from WY3711 which I had let go above it's recommended temps


----------



## chunckious

Liam_snorkel said:


> Looks like tiprya was right - tastes fine. I'm an idiot. Every time my yeast does something different I jump to conclusions (but fortunately don't act upon them).
> 
> I was just surprised that the krausen appeared & disappeared within 48hrs of pitching. But I shouldn't have been. It was a mild. Wham bam thank you ma'am.
> the slimy bubbles disappeared a day later..


How did the Mild turn out Liam? I need to do another.


----------



## Liam_snorkel

Chunkious said:


> How did the Mild turn out Liam? I need to do another.


ended up at 3.2% - tasted alright except I used too much brown malt (home roasting experiment) & subsequently tastes a bit dusty.


----------



## chefeffect

Liam_snorkel said:


> I got pepper from WY3711 which I had let go above it's recommended temps


Interesting that could explain the ale! I fermented at correct temp around 10.5deg. I did a stability test and it took 4 days before anything happened. Anyway's its very subtle and could be from the polenta?? Never tried it before, sure it will be fine, just strange.


----------



## Kanetoad23

Hi All,

Here is a picture of a new batch that I have just put into the fermenter last night. It was getting late, Australia was getting flogged in the cricket, so I haven't had a chance to pitch the yeast until now. Except it looks strange.....does this look normal or do I have a problem?


----------



## chefeffect

Is that all the break material also? If so then that could be normal, all-though I would pitch the yeast asap and see how it goes, it should be fine as-long as you where careful with sterilization and you pitch plenty of fresh yeast.


----------



## MastersBrewery

No need for a photo, looks like lacto racked it to secondary and is in cc still tastes ok at this point . The thing is it was half of a double and the other fermenter looked fine( now on tap tasting ok). Having said that this one took an extra couple of days to get to FG so wondering if it was the chiller or the fermenter. Was planing a double for the coming weekend so going to nuke the lot. the offending fermenter is soaking in sodium perk right now, I'll then hit it with PBW, then bleach, rinse, then star san. Just tossing up whether to do a double as planned or drop a single and see where things go. Any tips thoughts? Aint had things goes wild for a very long time


----------



## Yob

I cringe every time I see this thread pop up

@ kanetoad, what sort of FV is that? looks like break to me too.

ed: how did it turn out?


----------



## Dunkelbrau

I brewed on Sunday, a pale lager.. Pitched yeast around 1pm.. 24 hours .. Nothing, i peered through the lid to see a couple of whitish dots on top, fearing the worst! Brew shops all close Monday here, and lucky they do, I got home yesterday to a nice Krausen!

My first thought was this thread haha


----------



## Lord Raja Goomba I

Yob said:


> I cringe every time I see this thread pop up


Me too.


----------



## Yob

Ok will admit, lazy and was poor form, fortunately, no beer was lost in this.. I bottled this brew.. a little while ago and just havnt had / didnt make the time to clean the FV.. so today I make the time to clean 6 or so kegs, 2 FV's and a cube that I had thought was clean but was suddenly developing green spots on the inside..

FV looked like this when I opened it.




wassat one then for all the wild yeast knowing peeps... lesson learned to make the time early.

ed: typo


----------



## goomboogo

Yob, at least you don't have to ask whether it's necessary to make a starter. That looks ready to pitch the next batch straight on top.


----------



## Mr. No-Tip

Is that a red tinge around the krausen ring? Looks like a mould that grows on my shower curtain in summer...


----------



## Yob

Na that's just the flash and yeast, the pellicle at the bottom is the big gun


----------



## Thefatdoghead

Can't taste much yet. Brett? Aceto? Looks like the same shit I had a while back. Slight sourness and some stripped flavor.


----------



## Blitzer

same fermenter?


----------



## Thefatdoghead

No it's my 60 liter ferm. The last one was about a year ago in a 30 liter that I got rid of.


----------



## Thefatdoghead

Gav80 said:


> Can't taste much yet. Brett? Aceto? Looks like the same shit I had a while back. Slight sourness and some stripped flavor.


Anyone got any thoughts as to what this is (post 313)? It's reared its head again and im kinda pissed off. I cleaned the Fermenter 2 times perc then bleached the shit out of it, then flushed with fresh water, then filled with boiling water and then sanitized. Pored a kolsch in and it's back. Another 50L on the grass. 
It's definitely sour but not overwhelming. It has definitely stripped the malt profile from the kolsch. I don't want to throw the fermenter but I dont want to lose another 50L batch. So far iv'e lost 100L of beer a filter and a heap of beer line.


----------



## mje1980

Did you use glad wrap?. Always a culprit....


----------



## barls

Gav80 said:


> Anyone got any thoughts as to what this is (post 313)? It's reared its head again and im kinda pissed off. I cleaned the Fermenter 2 times perc then bleached the shit out of it, then flushed with fresh water, then filled with boiling water and then sanitized. Pored a kolsch in and it's back. Another 50L on the grass.
> It's definitely sour but not overwhelming. It has definitely stripped the malt profile from the kolsch. I don't want to throw the fermenter but I dont want to lose another 50L batch. So far iv'e lost 100L of beer a filter and a heap of beer line.


did you culture the yeast? replaced the tap and cleaned the tap thread?
tried hot caustic above 80 degrees? its the only one ive found that fixes this sort of recurring infection.


----------



## Thefatdoghead

mje1980 said:


> Did you use glad wrap?. Always a culprit....


I usually use gladwrap on most of my beers. I didn't on this one though.


barls said:


> did you culture the yeast? replaced the tap and cleaned the tap thread?
> tried hot caustic above 80 degrees? its the only one ive found that fixes this sort of recurring infection.


Yeah man, I split all my plastic taps and I really cleaned the thread. Im sure I got the infection from underpitching a lager (being a lazy c*&t). I haven't tried caustic yet but i'll give it a go. Hows clean with PBW. Caustic at 80deg then wash out with water. Clean with PBW then bleach. Wash out several times with water then sanitize sound? I'll throw out my filter and throw out all the beer line and any silicon hose I used with the infected beer.
As for the beer taps and strainless kegs should I soak it all in the fermenter with the caustic? 

Thanks for the help.

Gav


----------



## barls

have you run it through kegs and taps? if not dont worry.
the above sound well above what i did but will work mine was clean with percab then caustic and then leave to cool then drain and rinse then sanitise as per normal for you. also make sure you wear the right ppe when you do it. the brewing grade caustic is a bitch on the skin.


----------



## Thefatdoghead

barls said:


> have you run it through kegs and taps? if not dont worry.
> the above sound well above what i did but will work mine was clean with percab then caustic and then leave to cool then drain and rinse then sanitise as per normal for you. also make sure you wear the right ppe when you do it. the brewing grade caustic is a bitch on the skin.


Where do I get the good stuff? Caustic that is?


----------



## barls

most commercial brewers use it. i got my last lot from the brewery i was working at.
get real nice and friendly they might help you with a small amount. you dont need much around 100ml to make up a 5% solution.


----------



## Thefatdoghead

barls said:


> most commercial brewers use it. i got my last lot from the brewery i was working at.
> get real nice and friendly they might help you with a small amount. you dont need much around 100ml to make up a 5% solution.


Thanks Barls, i'll try my local but, failing that will the stuff from the shops be ok?


----------



## barls

yeah you just need more to make up that percentage.


----------



## Mr. No-Tip

I bought the little tubs from woolies for a while, but got over paying for such small quantitied. Bunnings does 2kg packets. I've seen a seller on eBay doing up to 10kg but I haven't tried them.


----------



## Mr. No-Tip

Umm...so this is concerning:






30l of 1.044 split into two with a vial of WLP300 in each on 06/09.
Slowly ramped up from 14l to 17.5l over a couple days (on advice from a hef brewer I respect).
Good, tall krausen once I hit about 16 degrees, all the right smells.
Racked one batch onto fruit on 11/06, having seen it was already at 1.010.
Bottle both batches on 15/06, the non fruit batch first. Both were at 1.009/1.010 depending on which hydrometer I trust.
The non fruit beer had dropped all its krausen...well and truly done for WLP300.
Gave some bottles three carbo drops to get a supremely high carbonation to compare (have succesfully done this to a berlinerweiss in both PET and champagne bottles before)
Put into the fridge at 25 as I want to get these carbed quickly.
24 hours after bottling I come home to the picture above.
Both batches are showing this.
The only gear they had in common was a well sanitised bottling wand.
I've never seen anything like this. My immediate thought is an infection and a bit of a concern with those champagne bottles. The PETs are getting hard but nowhere near a high carb rock hard yet.

Any ideas?


----------



## barls

how long in the bottle?


----------



## Mr. No-Tip

24 hours at 24 degrees.

I am currently chilling one down to compare against the one sample I force carbed last night.


----------



## barls

id say more likely just secondary fermentation taking place with increased fermentables.


----------



## Kodos

barls said:


> id say more likely just secondary fermentation taking place with increased fermentables.


What barls said... I had a very similar thing happen with a Witbier yeast. Since you've given it a fair amount of food with the priming sugars it's probably just getting all active again.

Methinks you worry too much Kev. Leave it be for a couple of weeks, nothing you can do about it now anyway!!




Mr. No-Tip said:


> Umm...so this is concerning:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> bottle.jpg
> 
> 
> 30l of 1.044 split into two with a vial of WLP300 in each on 06/09.
> Slowly ramped up from 14l to 17.5l over a couple days (on advice from a hef brewer I respect).
> Good, tall krausen once I hit about 16 degrees, all the right smells.
> Racked one batch onto fruit on 11/06, having seen it was already at 1.010.
> Bottle both batches on 15/06, the non fruit batch first. Both were at 1.009/1.010 depending on which hydrometer I trust.
> The non fruit beer had dropped all its krausen...well and truly done for WLP300.
> Gave some bottles three carbo drops to get a supremely high carbonation to compare (have succesfully done this to a berlinerweiss in both PET and champagne bottles before)
> Put into the fridge at 25 as I want to get these carbed quickly.
> 24 hours after bottling I come home to the picture above.
> Both batches are showing this.
> The only gear they had in common was a well sanitised bottling wand.
> I've never seen anything like this. My immediate thought is an infection and a bit of a concern with those champagne bottles. The PETs are getting hard but nowhere near a high carb rock hard yet.
> 
> Any ideas?


----------



## Mr. No-Tip

Worry? Me?

Possibly/probably. I've seen bottle krausen before, but that's pretty heavy, so thought I'd get some opinions.

I've chilled and tasted the hardest bottle tonight. Despite feeling quite hard with little give, it's come out close to an english style carb. Compared to my well carbed forced sample, the hef character is less pronounced, but I guess that's why this is a carb driven beer. It doesn't taste at all off for the style, so probably a paranoia on my part...


----------



## ajmuzza

Hmmmmm.

7 days in the fermenter. First time I've used yeast nutrient and possibly used a little too much. Fermentation seems to have completed but the krausen or the creamy left overs anyway never died down. Don't worry about the green tinge - I think it's the hops that I chucked in last night. Anyway, everything smells ok and tastes okfrom hydrometer reading. i wanted to keg tomorrow.

Whaddya think?


----------



## NewtownClown

Looks absolutely fine.


----------



## ajmuzza

Yeah no off smells or anything, just the cake on the top is well thick. Like mud in a dried out pond. I've never had it like that before - perhaps the yeast nutrient?


----------



## manticle

Yeast is happy, hops are green.


Skin growths in my experience are usually white and have different formations/patterns to yeast. Many remind me of what might happen if the surface of the moon had sex with the skim milk skin/granny skin I had on cups of milo at school camp.


----------



## damoninja

Surely it isn't... Is it? Hoping that it isn't... Is it? It's only my 4th brew and the first one that I've used star san for all the gear and bottles!

I bottled these 4 days ago, everything was looking fine in the fermenter... No yuckies on top, still a few small bubbles left over from the yeasties. 

But now, when I look at every bottle... The top has this waxy looking stuff around the outer edges of the liquid... 



When I give it a gentle shake, it goes a little cloudy and a tiny bit breaks away. 



It's got cocoa in it and I wasn't sure how if that would produce any odd stuff like this. 
I had to pop one open to take a closer look, surely enough it's white... 

Still tastes ok (actually, tastes great). If it keeps on tasting OK is it even safe to drink?


----------



## Liam_snorkel

if it tastes fine and the bottles aren't becoming over carbonated, you're right.


----------



## Lodan

What's the fat content of the cocoa powder? Could be you're seeing some of it rise up and collect as the secondary ferment/carbing takes place


----------



## damoninja

Lodan said:


> What's the fat content of the cocoa powder? Could be you're seeing some of it rise up and collect as the secondary ferment/carbing takes place


I'm totally going with this haha. 

But it would make sense, most cocoa is about 20 percent fat and I used 190g so about 38g of fat, call it 1.5g per bottle. 

When I gently shook it, the white solids remained a single solid flake, like a bit of shredded coconut. Even when pouring it stayed intact.

If it were a bacteria colony I'd expect it to break up a little?


----------



## pressure_tested

Have you looked into using lower fat cocoa? I understand Dutch processed is better?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free


----------



## yum beer

I prime my porter with 85% chocolate and it always gets a smear on top and some small floaty bits, not the best looking but its just part of adding fatty stuff to your beer.


----------



## damoninja

pressure_tested said:


> Have you looked into using lower fat cocoa? I understand Dutch processed is better?
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free



Dutching lowers the pH, unsure about the fat probably not affected.

As far as the beer goes I'll leave it a few weeks and pop another.


----------



## damoninja

yum beer said:


> I prime my porter with 85% chocolate and it always gets a smear on top and some small floaty bits, not the best looking but its just part of adding fatty stuff to your beer.


I re-sealed the one I opened last night so I could chill it and drink it, I'll get a few of the particles aside and see if they feel greasy or whatever. 

I really don't care about the look, the best beers are full of mud and floaties anyway!


----------



## Proffs

I just finished bottling a ginger beer for the mrs and I noticed this rubbery cap on top of the brew. Tasted fine, maybe a bit sweeter than I'd planned. Anything to worry about?


----------



## Yob

Rubbery cap = gladwrap

Simple Really



Looks clear enough.. I know little about ginger beers though and don't know if the cake is normal.. To my eye it looks fine though.


----------



## FuzzyDropbear

Hi guys,
Been a while since I've been on here. I've just been out to the garage to keg a Brown Ale, cracked the top of the fermenter and found this..... I've never had an infection before but this is definitely not normal. Do I just tip it and walk away?
It still smells ok, but I'm thinking I'd be better off erring on the side of caution.
Cheers,


----------



## Yob

Serve it with cheese...

If it's tasting OK.. Rack out from under it and drink stat?


----------



## FuzzyDropbear

Cheers mate, I'll do that.... bar the cheese.... haha, tastes and smells ok. Just the funky stuff on top.

I kegged the bottom 15L odd and we'll see how it goes.


----------



## damoninja

FuzzyDropbear said:


> Cheers mate, I'll do that.... bar the cheese.... haha, tastes and smells ok. Just the funky stuff on top.
> 
> I kegged the bottom 15L odd and we'll see how it goes.


Why not bottle the rest and see how that goes too?


----------



## ben_sa

damoninja said:


> Why not bottle the rest and see how that goes too?


Not a great idea mate.

Infected beer in bottles are like over primed bottles.

Can go bang very easily!

I wouldnt even risk it with PET. Enjoy the 15L in the keg asap!


----------



## Lodan

Fuzzy what is that grey thin in the top of your beer?
looks like syphon?

agree with ben_Sa


----------



## ben_sa

Is that cord attached to a heater element of some sort?


----------



## FuzzyDropbear

Yeah, at least the keg has the pressure relief valve so I shouldn't end up with scummy beer everywhere 

The grey cord is the power cable to an immersion heater. It's usually black, but the infected goop is all over it as I had to pull it half way out to move the lid to get the photo. The unit looks similar to this (result of quick google search):


----------



## damoninja

ben_sa said:


> Not a great idea mate.
> 
> Infected beer in bottles are like over primed bottles.
> 
> Can go bang very easily!
> 
> I wouldnt even risk it with PET. Enjoy the 15L in the keg asap!


Well, that's a very good reason why!


----------



## macca05

Hey guys,
Think this could be my first infection. I did a AG brew on friday and finished about 9pm. Cooled it down but for some reason stopped at about 35C and added it to fermenter. I was going to put it straight into fridge to cool to about 18C but had one in there already so was meant to do it on sat. Sat became sun and sun became monday. This arvo and bottled the one that was in fermenter and was going to keep the yeast from that to add to the new one, but when I opened the recent ones lid, this was on top of it. No yeast even in there yet.











I took some out to inspect it and it did have a wierd smell but when I took these photos i had a sniff and it bloody burnt my nose. Was almost like CO2 but can this happen if no yeast is in there yet.
I think this one is destined for the grass. Dammit 

Macca


----------



## damoninja

macca05 said:


> Hey guys,
> Think this could be my first infection. I did a AG brew on friday and finished about 9pm. Cooled it down but for some reason stopped at about 35C and added it to fermenter. I was going to put it straight into fridge to cool to about 18C but had one in there already so was meant to do it on sat. Sat became sun and sun became monday. This arvo and bottled the one that was in fermenter and was going to keep the yeast from that to add to the new one, but when I opened the recent ones lid, this was on top of it. No yeast even in there yet.
> I took some out to inspect it and it did have a wierd smell but when I took these photos i had a sniff and it bloody burnt my nose. Was almost like CO2 but can this happen if no yeast is in there yet.
> I think this one is destined for the grass. Dammit
> 
> Macca


So your fermenter is never going to be perfectly sealed up, when your wort and the surrounding air cools it sucks air and other rubbish in. Not a wise idea to leave a brew in a fermenter without yeast to populate it, 

I only have room for a single vessel in my fridge and since I've been doing AG have had trouble cooling worts down quickly without an immersion chiller, so I've opted for the no chill method which is very almost free of air and sterile due to boiling hot wort touching all the sides.
I did one about 5 hours ago actually; still piping hot and won't be cool until at least tomorrow. 

I don't know what it might be, maybe a wild yeast? But it doesn't look very yummy.


----------



## Thefatdoghead

FuzzyDropbear said:


> Hi guys,
> Been a while since I've been on here. I've just been out to the garage to keg a Brown Ale, cracked the top of the fermenter and found this..... I've never had an infection before but this is definitely not normal. Do I just tip it and walk away?
> It still smells ok, but I'm thinking I'd be better off erring on the side of caution.
> Cheers,


Look very similar to what I got in my brewery. Iv'e lost a lot of gear because of it. I tried caustic in my 2 60L ferms and all plastic gear but its still there so Iv'e just chucked everything plastic. 200L of beer and probably $800 worth of gear. You don't want that shit in your brewery. Still waiting to see if its actually gone with this next batch in a new fermenter.


----------



## macca05

damoninja said:


> So your fermenter is never going to be perfectly sealed up, when your wort and the surrounding air cools it sucks air and other rubbish in. Not a wise idea to leave a brew in a fermenter without yeast to populate it,
> 
> I only have room for a single vessel in my fridge and since I've been doing AG have had trouble cooling worts down quickly without an immersion chiller, so I've opted for the no chill method which is very almost free of air and sterile due to boiling hot wort touching all the sides.
> I did one about 5 hours ago actually; still piping hot and won't be cool until at least tomorrow.
> 
> I don't know what it might be, maybe a wild yeast? But it doesn't look very yummy.


Thanks man. I thought it didnt look good. Its my fault as I was lazy to bottle the one fermenter so i could reuse the yeast and the fermenter. I normally chill with the tap water running through my chiller in the boil kettle but as it uses about 400 ltrs of water I tried it a different way and put the chiller in a bucket with ice. Used two bags of ice and the water was still warm and it only got down to about 35C. Thats y i stopped there. Next time ill just use the water method as it doesnt cost that much for water, but at 4 bucks a packet of ice i think i would need 4 packets to cool it right down.
Oh well down the drain with this one. How long can I keep the yeast that I took from the last fermenter. I have it in the fridge in a jug. I did notice it had a slight green tinge to it though in some areas. Maybe it was just me. Its been in the fridge for about 1hr as I was waiting for it to settle.
Thanks


----------



## fcmcg

If the yeast is in the fridge in a jug and not covered , I'd toss it too...
Next time put the slurry into a sanitised pet bottle or coke bottle..something with a lid..
Cheers
Ferg


----------



## macca05

fergthebrewer said:


> If the yeast is in the fridge in a jug and not covered , I'd toss it too...
> Next time put the slurry into a sanitised pet bottle or coke bottle..something with a lid..
> Cheers
> Ferg


Thanks ferg,
I will just throw it cuz I wont be able to brew until this sat so Ill just get some more


----------



## damoninja

macca05 said:


> Thanks man. I thought it didnt look good. Its my fault as I was lazy to bottle the one fermenter so i could reuse the yeast and the fermenter. I normally chill with the tap water running through my chiller in the boil kettle but as it uses about 400 ltrs of water I tried it a different way and put the chiller in a bucket with ice. Used two bags of ice and the water was still warm and it only got down to about 35C. Thats y i stopped there. Next time ill just use the water method as it doesnt cost that much for water, but at 4 bucks a packet of ice i think i would need 4 packets to cool it right down.
> Oh well down the drain with this one. How long can I keep the yeast that I took from the last fermenter. I have it in the fridge in a jug. I did notice it had a slight green tinge to it though in some areas. Maybe it was just me. Its been in the fridge for about 1hr as I was waiting for it to settle.
> Thanks


Wort - Have you tasted it? Never know, if it's a wild yeast in there it might turn out OK. Unlikely but maybe. What was in there btw? 

Laziness - Buy yourself a cube or two mate, I've done 3 brews in a week while I've had time off work so I can do some easy fermenting while I'm back at work. 

Fermenter - When you dump the stuff nuke the fermenter and anything that stuff touches. I'd it it with boiling water, bleach for a day, boiling water again. Hope none of this rubbish sticks around.

Yeast - I'd agree with Ferg on the yeast, ditch it. For $5-10 a pack, not worth any risk. I've only had a go at harvesting yeast once, I boiled some jars in water for 20 minutes as well as hitting them with star san. The water I used was double boiled but I've since heard triple boiling is the safest way to go. 

*Edit:* Ice - when I was chilling with ice I collected the stuff in my freezer between brews. A few trays a day, before you know it you'll have 5kg.


----------



## macca05

damoninja said:


> Wort - Have you tasted it? Never know, if it's a wild yeast in there it might turn out OK. Unlikely but maybe. What was in there btw?
> It was going to be my best one. It was Cdbrowns Hop Hog recipe. I was really looking forward to it. Going to have to buy all the hops again but the grains I have lots of.
> Man I took no chances hey. It cost maybe 30 bucks. This stuff was growing so quick. I took a big chunk out of it to see what it was and the area that i emptied grew back in about 30 min. It was almost like a yeast cake to be honest but was very thick and it was like home made custard thickness that has been in the fridge. Broke apart just like it.
> 
> Laziness - Buy yourself a cube or two mate, I've done 3 brews in a week while I've had time off work so I can do some easy fermenting while I'm back at work.
> When using a cube do u only get 20L + - in it. I brew 25-26L What do I do with the rest
> 
> Fermenter - When you dump the stuff nuke the fermenter and anything that stuff touches. I'd it it with boiling water, bleach for a day, boiling water again. Hope none of this rubbish sticks around.
> Will do that. Will have to buy bleach this week
> 
> Yeast - I'd agree with Ferg on the yeast, ditch it. For $5-10 a pack, not worth any risk. I've only had a go at harvesting yeast once, I boiled some jars in water for 20 minutes as well as hitting them with star san. The water I used was double boiled but I've since heard triple boiling is the safest way to go.
> The yeast was wyeast 1056. Bloody cost $14 from my LBS
> 
> *Edit:* Ice - when I was chilling with ice I collected the stuff in my freezer between brews. A few trays a day, before you know it you'll have 5kg.
> Thought about that but I have a shop about 50mtrs from my house and the day I brewed it was a last min decision cuz i was bored


----------



## damoninja

macca05 said:


> Laziness - Buy yourself a cube or two mate, I've done 3 brews in a week while I've had time off work so I can do some easy fermenting while I'm back at work.
> When using a cube do u only get 20L + - in it. I brew 25-26L What do I do with the rest
> 
> Fermenter - When you dump the stuff nuke the fermenter and anything that stuff touches. I'd it it with boiling water, bleach for a day, boiling water again. Hope none of this rubbish sticks around.
> Will do that. Will have to buy bleach this week


To get to 25L do you usually add any additional water after your boil? If so, don't add as much / any.
If not you could get a smaller cube for the excess, any container that can be sterilised and will not leach toxins by boiling temps should hold up really... 

To be honest all my AG brews have come in well under my desired final volume and have needed a top up... I'm still managing efficiency of about 75 percent with my dingy little mash tun. For a final volume of at my desired OG I usually come in at 20L and top the cube up the the brim (about 22L)... Then I'll add what I need to my wort to dilute and meet final volume / OG. So far they've aligned perfectly.

I think my boil off rate is quite high as I use 3 pots and 3 burners because I don't have a big setup meaning the surface area for steam is quite high. 



With the bleach, buy the cheap no name crap nothing with scents etc and dilute it down of course. 
Rinse the crap out of it many many times with hot water and leave it in the sun for a day, you really don't want any bleach left over.


----------



## Yob

macca05 said:


> as it uses about 400 ltrs of water


Damn that's a LOT of water.. 

No chill is your friend. It's foe this reason I've not gone down the chiller path, I just can't justify running that much water to waste.


----------



## Donske

Yob said:


> Damn that's a LOT of water..
> 
> No chill is your friend. It's foe this reason I've not gone down the chiller path, I just can't justify running that much water to waste.


If the water can be collected and repurposed it's easier to justify.


----------



## Yob

Agreed, doesn't sound like it's the case here though.

I got a 1000lt water tank with this in mind, then decided I couldn't be arsed and hooked it up to the downpipe on our bungalow, if I ever get a chiller I can recirculate back to that.

I used to feel guilty about a laundry sink full to chill my partials going to waste 

Ed: typeo


----------



## Donske

Yob said:


> Agreed, doesn't sound like it's the case here though.
> 
> I got a 1000lt water tank with this in mind, then decided I couldn't be arsed and hooked it up to the downpipe on our bungalow, if I ever get a chiller I can recirculate back to that.
> 
> I used to feel guilty about a laundry sink full to chill my partials going to waste
> 
> Ed: typeo


Yeah, I bought an IBC to collect the water from chilling, then it gets used to water the plants, makes chilling water neutral for me as I'd be watering the plants anyway.


----------



## macca05

damoninja said:


> To get to 25L do you usually add any additional water after your boil? If so, don't add as much / any.
> If not you could get a smaller cube for the excess, any container that can be sterilised and will not leach toxins by boiling temps should hold up really...
> 
> To be honest all my AG brews have come in well under my desired final volume and have needed a top up... I'm still managing efficiency of about 75 percent with my dingy little mash tun. For a final volume of at my desired OG I usually come in at 20L and top the cube up the the brim (about 22L)... Then I'll add what I need to my wort to dilute and meet final volume / OG. So far they've aligned perfectly.
> Im pretty spot on with how many ltrs I end up with. I have a big boil off rate too. My last brew that I threw out I had 35L pre boil and ended up with 26L in the fermenter. Lost about 1L to trub but the rest to boil off. If I can get 25L Cubes II'd be happy with that, But I really dont want to go smaller than that as for the amount of effort on brew day I think it wouldnt be worth it only getting 20L unless I could lift my gravity right up so I could then add 5L when fermenting
> I think my boil off rate is quite high as I use 3 pots and 3 burners because I don't have a big setup meaning the surface area for steam is quite high.
> 
> 
> 
> With the bleach, buy the cheap no name crap nothing with scents etc and dilute it down of course.
> Rinse the crap out of it many many times with hot water and leave it in the sun for a day, you really don't want any bleach left over.
> I just bought some bleach from Coles. The Coles brand no scent one. Lucky that cuz they had lemon and I thought about it and went no scent. Should I dilute it to the instructions? How much hot water should I use. Normally when cleaning out ferms I just use about 1.5L from the kettle a couple of times.
> 
> Yeh the water does concern me too. Thats why I tried the ice method, but will have to figure something out by this wknd. I dont have storage for 400L of water to cool down before using it and if I use it hot I'll kill my veges. Cant have that. I know its a waste too thats why I would like to figure the ice method out.


----------



## damoninja

macca05 said:


> I just bought some bleach from Coles. The Coles brand no scent one. Lucky that cuz they had lemon and I thought about it and went no scent. Should I dilute it to the instructions? How much hot water should I use. Normally when cleaning out ferms I just use about 1.5L from the kettle a couple of times.
> 
> 
> Yeh the water does concern me too. Thats why I tried the ice method, but will have to figure something out by this wknd. I dont have storage for 400L of water to cool down before using it and if I use it hot I'll kill my veges. Cant have that. I know its a waste too thats why I would like to figure the ice method out.


Usually when I use boiling water I use 4-5 litres, only to make it easier to manage and roll about without having to shake the crap out of it... Don't want boiling water mishaps. 
The instructions probably only say how much bleach to use for washing machines not sterilising... I'd go with about 4mL per litre, so if you use 5mL boiling water just add a tablespoon measure (20mL) bleach and it should do the trick. 
As far as how much to use rinsing? No real set amount, last time I did mine I just put it on its side in the yard and belted it with the hose for 5 minutes. 

The ice method did work for me, for those last few degrees are really hard to get down...Did you stir the wort one way and the water the opposite direction? 
Even with a tonne of ice and this method I could only cool to about 28 degrees... Not ideal but still safe enough to pitch and throw it in the fridge.


----------



## macca05

Ive been happy to get mine down to around 28C and then pitch as I put it straight into a fridge so I'd say it will get to 18C in a couple of hours. I disinfect my fridge after each ferment as I end up with a bit of mould growing in there from me either using tap to drain some and it gets on the floor of fridge or the last ferment in fridge had cling film on it so it was kinda dripping out and onto the floor. 
How do you mean did I stir the wort one way and the water the other. My wort was in my chiller going one way, should i have stirred the water opposite in the bucket. I could watch the ice melting so quick tho.


----------



## damoninja

macca05 said:


> How do you mean did I stir the wort one way and the water the other. My wort was in my chiller going one way, should i have stirred the water opposite in the bucket. I could watch the ice melting so quick tho.


Yep, stirring the water the opposite direction will help marginally... Or if using a trough just move the pot left to right. If the water's still the water that's surrounding the pot doesn't move it stays warm so less heat gets exchanged. The method really sucks, I'm so glad I've got cubes and don't have to worry about getting crap in the wort in the 20-30 minutes it would take to cool it down. 

To increase cold surface area I've also seen people freeze bottles of water and sterilise the outside before dumping them into the wort.

What do you mean the wort was in your chiller?


----------



## macca05

I use an immersion chiller that i placed in a bucket of ice and then pumped the wort through the chiller and then whirlpooled back into the pot. I cant place my pot in a trough. Its a 60L pot with about 30L of wort. Too much to carry around. Thats why I can either use the immersion chiller to run cold tap water through it with the chiller in the wort or this time I tried the chiller in ice and ran the wort through it. I'll look in to the cubes at bunnings next time Im down there and it may save me a fair bit of time.


----------



## bum

So how well did you clean and sanitise the inside of the...um...containment chiller?


----------



## BadSeed

IPA after 10 days. Pitched a (I thought) healthy 1337 starter.
Smells absolutely fantastic, I have only taken the cling wrap of to dry hop & take this picture.

I put my nose right in, citra hops is all I can smell, but it looks rank.

What do you reckon m8s


----------



## fcmcg

looks like a good ferment to me with hops in it....


----------



## Yob

Looks nearly done...


----------



## BadSeed

Those are the answers I was hoping for.
I'm going to chill it on Mon and then keg it next weekend.


----------



## fcmcg

Badseed....
We are only telling you what we SEE in the photo...
What does it tatse like ??If it tastes shi*...dump it...
If it tastes okay , keg it and i'll give you my address and you can post it over h34r:


----------



## BadSeed

I haven't tasted it, but the smell is good.It just looks bad, it made me suspicious but I am probably being paranoid.
One xmas I lost a keg of lcpa clone to an infection, it still hurts. -_-

I will taste it once it's chilled and ready to keg.


----------



## kalbarluke

Looks fine to me. Don't see anything that looks like spiderweb or hair ar green skanky mould. Looks like a totally healthy beer. Bottle/keg and consume for the festive season.


----------



## TimT

Bottled a honey-altbier brew I'd been slowly fermenting over the course of months about a fortnight ago. Now I notice each bottle has a film of something on top - not secondary ferment... (actually I decided it would be best as a still beer so I skipped the adding of sugar entirely). So looks like I've got an infection; not acquired during primary ferment (the brew looked fine through several months) but somehow acquired during bottling. _Scheissen_, as the Germans say, _hausen_. Probably acetobacteria, as others have mentioned on this thread, though maybe just a mould infection that lives on the surface. Think my plan will be to give it a taste test and if it works (ie, I don't die or anything) then I'll try and drink it fresh.


----------



## Yob

speaking of infection.. went into the shed today and saw that 2 out of 3 of my saved wort from the last brew were doing stuff.. should have froze them..











to me, they look like different infections.. thinking I might let them go and see what they turn into, I can easily put the glassware in the oven to Sterilize after..


----------



## Yob

so, a few days later, and Id have to say that these are two different populations, the first shot below is from the 500 ml flask and the second from the 1000ml flask.. anyone hazzard a guess as to what they are?







its interesting to watch these grow.. usually you dont see as much of the life cycle as we just nuke it as soon as we see it but with the fridge full Ive got the time to watch these with no ill effect.

:icon_vomit:


----------



## verysupple

Hi all,

So as usual my weissber fermentation reeked of hydrogen sulphide and the beer lacks the distinctive aroma and flavour it's supposed to have. After about 5 days in the FV it like a dull, dirty flavour/aroma going on but now (10 days in) it seems to be smelling and tasting a bit more like it should...which is good. 

However, it also now looks like this...






I'm thinking acetobacter. If it is, what off flavours and aromas should I be looking for?


----------



## DJ_L3ThAL

Yob said:


> so, a few days later, and Id have to say that these are two different populations, the first shot below is from the 500 ml flask and the second from the 1000ml flask.. anyone hazzard a guess as to what they are?
> 
> 
> 
> 500ml.jpg
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 1000ml.jpg
> 
> its interesting to watch these grow.. usually you dont see as much of the life cycle as we just nuke it as soon as we see it but with the fridge full Ive got the time to watch these with no ill effect.
> 
> :icon_vomit:


Can't identify those without a taste report h34r:


----------



## verysupple

Well, the samples poured from the tap weren't too bad. When I stuck my head in for a sniff after taking the photos it smelled atrocious, and not just lots of CO2, a different kind of acidic and kind of like the weird yellow mould that grew behind our bookshelf when water got in.

I took a sample and had a look under the microscope and there were lots and lots of tiny colonies that looked like mini verisons of what you can see on the surface. I zoomed in a bit and it was clear that whatever it was forming colonies wasn't yeast. So that batch went down the sink and I'm cleaning and sanitising everything in my brewery that touches the wort after the boil.

Now that I think about it, I should have just used the microscope in the first place  .


----------



## Dementedchook

So I found this has grown over the last couple of days, fermenter hasn't been open since I pitched, there's a sort of flowery smell to my nose, but not really anything I can identify. doesn't smell like clean freshly fermented beer.

Was looking to bottle today, so is it salvageable or is it going to be a bin the fermenter jobbie?
I've taken a gravity reading now I've had a look, and it's sitting on about 1.002, so about where I expected for the French saison yeast. Seems to taste ok, very dry and tart, maybe slightly spicy (EKG hops coming through?).


----------



## Yob

if it tastes OK from the bottom, bottle it but leave 3-4L of the beer on the top.. wrap towels over/around the crate/storage just in case of kaboombies..

Id have to think though that at 1.002, you arent likely to see explosions..

those BIG bubbles dont look great... does _look_ like yeast though


----------



## GundyBrewer

I went to do a gravity check on a stout I've had fermenting for a bit over a week this afternoon and found what looks like an infection.

It's not a great photo but I think all those little white chunks originated on the krausen stuck to the sides of the fermenter. It looks a bit like verysupple's example above actually. This has smelt like dark chocolate all through fermentation and tastes pretty good at the moment as well, so I don't really want to turf it.

My original idea was to put it in glass bottles and let it sit until the cooler months, but I'm now thinking of putting it in plastic bottles, force carbing and getting through it smartly. I'd look at applying Yob's suggestion to leave the top 3-4L out if I do bottle it.

SG is 1.019 at the moment down from 1.071. The recipe predicted it to finish at 1.014 but it has only gone down one point in the last five days and tastes really dry so I think it's done. I turned the temperature down to cold crash this afternoon.

Could someone please give me some advice on what to do next?


----------



## verysupple

GundyBrewer said:


> I went to do a gravity check on a stout I've had fermenting for a bit over a week this afternoon and found what looks like an infection. It's not a great photo but I think all those little white chunks originated on the krausen stuck to the sides of the fermenter. It looks a bit like verysupple's example above actually. This has smelt like dark chocolate all through fermentation and tastes pretty good at the moment as well, so I don't really want to turf it. My original idea was to put it in glass bottles and let it sit until the cooler months, but I'm now thinking of putting it in plastic bottles, force carbing and getting through it smartly. I'd look at applying Yob's suggestion to leave the top 3-4L out if I do bottle it. SG is 1.019 at the moment down from 1.071. The recipe predicted it to finish at 1.014 but it has only gone down one point in the last five days and tastes really dry so I think it's done. I turned the temperature down to cold crash this afternoon. Could someone please give me some advice on what to do next?


You can't really tell from my pics but mine also had a thin film over the surface. That and the crud growing on top made me think it was acetobacter. It should be pretty easy to find out if it is though because it needs O2 to multiply. Take a small sample and put it in a sanitised container but don't seal it. Just put foil or something over the top to stop any new infections from getting in but still let the O2 get in to feed the acetobacter (if it's there). After a few days at a nice warm temp those clumps should grow noticeably if it's not just yeast or trub or anything that's _supposed _to be there.


----------



## GundyBrewer

I haven't got the thin film on the surface of mine, but I have got a couple of small milky white bubbles and those white chunks floating on top and sitting on the krausen at the sides that don't look great. I'll definitely take a sample of this white stuff like you suggested and see what it does though.

I'm looking into pasteurising the batch too actually. I've filled up a stubbie and put it in 90 degree water for 10 minutes. Depending on how that tastes, I'm thinking about bottling the lot of it and pasteurising the bottles in my urn. After that I'd obviously add a bit of priming solution and yeast with a syringe, recap and condition from there.

I was also looking at the reboiling method on this page here:
http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/41056-killing-infections/page-3

Has anyone tried any methods like these with success?


----------



## Dunkelbrau

verysupple said:


> Hi all,
> 
> So as usual my weissber fermentation reeked of hydrogen sulphide and the beer lacks the distinctive aroma and flavour it's supposed to have. After about 5 days in the FV it like a dull, dirty flavour/aroma going on but now (10 days in) it seems to be smelling and tasting a bit more like it should...which is good.
> 
> However, it also now looks like this...
> 
> IMAG0294.jpg IMAG0296.jpg
> 
> 
> I'm thinking acetobacter. If it is, what off flavours and aromas should I be looking for?


Acetobacter convert ethanol into acetic acid, basically it should smell and taste of vinager depending on how far its gone.

If it is, let it fully ferment out and save it - malt vinager!


----------



## DJ_L3ThAL

FuzzyDropbear said:


> Hi guys,
> Been a while since I've been on here. I've just been out to the garage to keg a Brown Ale, cracked the top of the fermenter and found this..... I've never had an infection before but this is definitely not normal. Do I just tip it and walk away?
> It still smells ok, but I'm thinking I'd be better off erring on the side of caution.
> Cheers,





Gav80 said:


> Look very similar to what I got in my brewery. Iv'e lost a lot of gear because of it. I tried caustic in my 2 60L ferms and all plastic gear but its still there so Iv'e just chucked everything plastic. 200L of beer and probably $800 worth of gear. You don't want that shit in your brewery. Still waiting to see if its actually gone with this next batch in a new fermenter.


****. Think I've got this in my current brew. Mustering up the courage to taste the sample from the bottom but the top looks the same. I pitched a yeast starter of some old harvested yeast for this that was built over a few steps. Tasted slightly apple/sour come to think of it but I attributed it to the wort I used for the starters because they were highly hopped worts. So perhaps I've simply built an infected yeast up and pitched that. It smells fruity in the FV, but the sample from the bottom has that apple/sour smell to it that the yeast starters did, so I'm guessing it's game over for this batch?

_



_
_



_
_



_

From now on I think I will build my starters from plain LDME so that it is as neutral a flavour as possible...


----------



## damoninja

Jurt said:


> Acetobacter convert ethanol into acetic acid, basically it should smell and taste of vinager depending on how far its gone.
> 
> If it is, let it fully ferment out and save it - malt vinager!


Indeed! It will take like, 6+ months to become vinegar though right?


----------



## DJ_L3ThAL

DJ_L3ThAL said:


> ****. Think I've got this in my current brew. Mustering up the courage to taste the sample from the bottom but the top looks the same. I pitched a yeast starter of some old harvested yeast for this that was built over a few steps. Tasted slightly apple/sour come to think of it but I attributed it to the wort I used for the starters because they were highly hopped worts. So perhaps I've simply built an infected yeast up and pitched that. It smells fruity in the FV, but the sample from the bottom has that apple/sour smell to it that the yeast starters did, so I'm guessing it's game over for this batch?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> From now on I think I will build my starters from plain LDME so that it is as neutral a flavour as possible...


Kegged the bottom 16L or so, will gas it up and chill then tastes between kegs for educational purposes. It was a fat yak clone and the sample definitely had no cascade flavour/bitterness which speaks volumes against whether it was partially infected or fully.

Hoping a good hot PBW soak of the FV and another tonight with some sponge rubbing of walls will help. Will use a different FV and cleanout fridgewith bleach for next batch as want to confirm its not airborne mold in the house. We have mold in our pantry from a water flood waiting to be treated, should have known better and not brewed until it was treated!


----------



## DJ_L3ThAL

Sorry the links to my photos were broken, have fixed up the images in my above post. Anybody able to identify?

Edit: Further to add, the OG was 1.049 (Fat Yak Clone) and the measured (two samples one from bottom and one from after transferring to keg I tested some of the remainder towards the top) a FG of 1.006. There was still visible yeast popping up to the surface and dropping down, it was the 1768 London ESB yeast which is supposed to only attenuate around 70%? Not 87%?!?!?! This suggests a bacterial infection of some sort am I correct?


----------



## DJ_L3ThAL

Hmm, adding again to this in hope of someone able to identify visually what it was/is.

Also checked the keg in the fridge and popping the PRV the smell is normal beer, so might have gotten away with kegging the bottom half. I also after filling the keg took a sample in my hydrometer tube and have covered it with foil and left it out in the kitchen, so far nothing appears to be growing in there, in fact if anything appears to be very small amount of yeast activity from the bottom, strange though for a 1.006 beer that's already overattenuated for the strain?!


----------



## verysupple

I still can't see the pics...if nobody else can either that may be why nobody's chimed in with diagnosis.


----------



## DJ_L3ThAL

Hmm, thanks for pointing that out. I have since uploaded them onto AHB. So you can't see these?


----------



## verysupple

Yup, can see those. Unfortunately I can't help a lot because that doesn't look like any infections I'm familiar with. Is the colour accurate? The stuff on top is slightly yellow and not white? It kinda looks like fat, but I'm sure it's not. It looks like there's a skin (pellicle) on top suggesting bacteria rather than wild yeast or something. I can't be more specific though.

EDIT: My bad, mental fart. Some wild yeast inculding Brett _can_ form a pellicle, but the colour still looks wrong for that.


----------



## Camo6

The pics from my phone don't look too dramatic Nathan. Kinda looks like yeast but, in my limited experience, that esb yeast tends to drop like a stone when done. What was your predicted fg? What was your mash temp? Did you have any adjuncts in the recipe? Do you need me to drink it for you?


----------



## DJ_L3ThAL

Camo6 said:


> The pics from my phone don't look too dramatic Nathan. Kinda looks like yeast but, in my limited experience, that esb yeast tends to drop like a stone when done. What was your predicted fg? What was your mash temp? Did you have any adjuncts in the recipe? Do you need me to drink it for you?





verysupple said:


> Yup, can see those. Unfortunately I can't help a lot because that doesn't look like any infections I'm familiar with. Is the colour accurate? The stuff on top is slightly yellow and not white? It kinda looks like fat, but I'm sure it's not. It looks like there's a skin (pellicle) on top suggesting bacteria rather than wild yeast or something. I can't be more specific though.
> 
> EDIT: My bad, mental fart. Some wild yeast inculding Brett _can_ form a pellicle, but the colour still looks wrong for that.


Colours are correct, the "yellow" stuff I'm assuming is yeast, although as Cam mentions the 1768 should have dropped out, especially by now seeing as though it has over attenuated (OG 1.049 and I did hit that and predicted FG 1.010 Attentuation 80%... where as I'm measuring 1.006. Perhaps a wild yeast? I built the starter off a vial I got from an experienced brewer who had used the yeast recently to make a lovely pale ale, so no issues there. I didn't take readings of the starter though, just waited for visible activity to subside and then chilled, decanted and stepped. I used leftover wort from a recent brew that I "no chilled" in 3L Coke PET bottles, *I didn't re-boil the wort though which could potentially be a source of the problem?*. I tasted each step and there was a tartness which is still present in the main brew samples, maybe a wild yeast got into the starter and I've cultured that mostly instead of 1768?

There is definitely a pellicle (top right of all three photos it can be seen mostly) which is the problem I'm concerned with mostly and what made me act quickly. A thin milky/cloudy white film over some parts of the surface with milky white bubbles, it "cracks" apart when I disturb the surface by moving the FV. It's also the white stuff growing on the Krausen scum ring.

Recipe was:

Fatter Yak
Australian Pale Ale
Recipe Specs
----------------
Batch Size (L): 23.0
Total Grain (kg): 4.602
Total Hops (g): 64.00
Original Gravity (OG): 1.049 (°P): 12.1
Final Gravity (FG): 1.010 (°P): 2.6
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 5.14 %
Colour (SRM): 6.9 (EBC): 13.5
Bitterness (IBU): 26.8 (Average - No Chill Adjusted)
Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 79
Boil Time (Minutes): 60
Grain Bill
----------------
3.641 kg Pale Ale Malt (79.12%)
0.435 kg Carapils (Dextrine) (9.45%)
0.435 kg Munich I (9.45%)
0.091 kg Crystal 120 (1.98%)
Hop Bill
----------------
20.0 g Cascade Pellet (7.8% Alpha) @ 40 Minutes (Boil) (0.9 g/L)
10.0 g Cascade Pellet (7.8% Alpha) @ 10 Minutes (Aroma) (0.4 g/L)
10.0 g Nelson Sauvin Pellet (11.5% Alpha) @ 10 Minutes (Aroma) (0.4 g/L)
12.0 g Nelson Sauvin Pellet (11.5% Alpha) @ 0 Days (Dry Hop) (0.5 g/L)
12.0 g Nelson Sauvin Pellet (11.5% Alpha) @ 0 Days (Dry Hop) (0.5 g/L)
Misc Bill
----------------
0.2 g Whirlfloc Tablet @ 10 Mins(Boil)
Single step Infusion at 66°C for 90 Minutes.
Fermented at 18°C with London ESB 1768
Notes
----------------
Mashout to 75C
Cube hop 0mins
Recipe Generated



It also smelt very very fruity when I opened fridge to check on it, I upped the temp to 20C for 2 days after it looked like most primary activity had subsided, but then when i took out to take first gravity sample I noticed the pellicle.


----------



## DJ_L3ThAL

...and yes Cam, I need you to come over and drink it for me please!!! Haha.

I am thinking about disconnecting my chestnut pilsner on the pluto gun and tapping this brew in the coming weeks to see how it tastes. If it tastes OK I might de-gas the keg, open it and add the dry hops, or would I be asking for trouble on an already troubled brew??


----------



## Camo6

Ooh, yeah, now I see that white patch hiding in the top right. If it tastes alright I'd drink it quick and clean everything thoroughly.


----------



## DJ_L3ThAL

Is it definitely bacterial if a white film like that? ie. lacto or aceto? Can mold grow on the liquid surface? As we have mold in the adjacent pantry from a house flood around Xmas (getting fixed at the moment)... I've asked the mold specialists to do an air test in the room where I ferment but they said they would need to do it later so they can clear the pantry job first.

I think I'm dead centre on the fence as to the cause being from my not perfectly best practice starter preparation versus the know concentration of mold in the house at the moment.


----------



## Camo6

Never had any 'visible' infections so will leave it to the experts to contribute. A lot of my starters have a slight tartness which I contribute to lack of hops, warm temps and oxidation so I wouldn't condemn the starter too quickly.


----------



## verysupple

DJ_L3ThAL said:


> Is it definitely bacterial if a white film like that? ie. lacto or aceto? Can mold grow on the liquid surface? As we have mold in the adjacent pantry from a house flood around Xmas (getting fixed at the moment)... I've asked the mold specialists to do an air test in the room where I ferment but they said they would need to do it later so they can clear the pantry job first.
> 
> I think I'm dead centre on the fence as to the cause being from my not perfectly best practice starter preparation versus the know concentration of mold in the house at the moment.


Well it's hard to say that it's _definitely_ bacteria but AFAIK mould doesn't form a skin like that, more furry clumps. It's kind of the same colour as the crud ring on the side of the FV. It's not just yeast is it? Anyway, it sounds like you saved a fair bit from underneath which is good. And you have a sample to see what happens. I'd just wait and see.


----------



## DJ_L3ThAL

So the sample I took at the end sitting near the stove has got a pellicle forming in that, so it looks like most of the beer volume was infected. I've had the bit I kegged in the CO2 bottle, is there a risk that the disconnect and gas line infecting future kegs connected to it? As when I burped the headspace etc this may have splattered some of the beer near the gas IN port?

I know easiest thing to do is just remove the section of line back to the gas splitter including the disconnect and soak it in PBW before next use and sanitize (and I will do this).... But I am more interested in whether it is a significant risk, or I'm just stressing about nothing?

I'm also keen to de-gas the headspace of the keg and pop the lid to do a visual check on the beer, as if a pellicle is forming on that then I probably won't bother drinking this keg at all. Has anyone done this after they have started carbonating a keg? Just wondering if it means as the CO2 comes out of solution it will break the pellicle and potentially look fine, when really it is infected?


----------



## verysupple

I don't keg so I can't comment on the risk of future infections. As for the current batch, leave the CO2 on because the bacteria need O2. The keg shouldn't have very much O2 in it so the buggers shouldn't grow too much in there.


----------



## DJ_L3ThAL

Ah of course they do! Sorry friday brain fail. It might be drinkable after all. Will report back how it taste FWIW


----------



## GundyBrewer

verysupple said:


> You can't really tell from my pics but mine also had a thin film over the surface. That and the crud growing on top made me think it was acetobacter. It should be pretty easy to find out if it is though because it needs O2 to multiply. Take a small sample and put it in a sanitised container but don't seal it. Just put foil or something over the top to stop any new infections from getting in but still let the O2 get in to feed the acetobacter (if it's there). After a few days at a nice warm temp those clumps should grow noticeably if it's not just yeast or trub or anything that's _supposed _to be there.


I took a sample of the krausen from side of the fermenter, put it in a glass, filled it with some Hahn Premium Light and covered it with Glad Wrap. I set up a control next to it, poked air holes in the Glad Wrap and left them for a while.





That's the result of the experiment after 10 days. It looks like photos of acetobacter I've looked at since it happened, and it smelled like vinegar too so I think that's what it was. Thanks for the hint.


----------



## DJ_L3ThAL

DJ_L3ThAL said:


> Ah of course they do! Sorry friday brain fail. It might be drinkable after all. Will report back how it taste FWIW


Unfortunately was definitely infected. Tapped the keg mid-session on Sat night and it had a distinct sour flavour coupled with lots of fruit. Couldn't detect the cascade hop flavours at all... surprisingly I think now I know what a belgian sour should taste like and have come to realise what these bacteria can provide flavour-wise. Whilst not my cup of tea, my sister's fiancee enjoyed a glass of it. It is destined for the lawn though :unsure:


----------



## Scooby Tha Newbie

I bet that runs the him like a dose of salts.


----------



## damoninja

The aceto might make the hahn better h34r:


----------



## NewtownClown

Scooby Tha Newbie said:


> I bet that runs the him like a dose of salts.


Why? There are many lacto fermented beers (foods for that matter , too).
I love a Berliner Weisse


----------



## tateg

So I opened the Fv to the below after two weeks, us05 



Should I be worried ?


----------



## Camo6

Yes... you should worry...ABOUT HOW GOOD IT'S GONNA TASTE!!!

Looks fine from here. I've found US05 to linger a bit sometimes but cold crashing usually sorts it out.

Now put the lid back on.


----------



## tateg

Camo6 said:


> Yes... you should worry...ABOUT HOW GOOD IT'S GONNA TASTE!!!
> 
> Looks fine from here. I've found US05 to linger a bit sometimes but cold crashing usually sorts it out.
> 
> Now put the lid back on.


Lids back on, only had it off cause I was gonna dry hop it 
Should I cc it before dry hopping?


----------



## Camo6

I like to dry hop right before I cold crash for 3-4 days. Not really sure how temperature affects dry hopping but this is the method I tend to use the most as it suits my schedule. YMMV.


----------



## GundyBrewer

damoninja said:


> The aceto might make the hahn better h34r:


I'd been trying to think of a use for that stuff for ages...


----------



## StalkingWilbur

Brewing partner poured out a no chill cube that has been sitting around for a while after getting stuffed around with fermentation fridges. 

A couple of days ago the lid had popped off and so we were obviously concerned about what was going on inside. 

Poured into a fermenter today and found this. 





Buh bow 

This is the same brew that I blocked the pick up tube with hop flowers. It was cursed from the start! 

Luckily we have another no chill of the same brew that seems to be fine.


----------



## Stimsoni

After having no luck with my first lager and not having any activity for the first week I finally got some movement in the airlock in the second week.
I thought great maybe it will be ok, but after another week the gravity still hadn't move and what I though may have been krausen doesn't really look like that any more.
Today I took the lid off and found this. Any thoughts?


----------



## DJ_L3ThAL

Looks more like a mash then a ferment. Definitely not normal to my eyes and therefore probably destined for the lawn :-(

I tipped out a keg today, I feel for you brother! :beer:


----------



## Lodan

Stimsoni said:


> After having no luck with my first lager and not having any activity for the first week I finally got some movement in the airlock in the second week.
> I thought great maybe it will be ok, but after another week the gravity still hadn't move and what I though may have been krausen doesn't really look like that any more.
> Today I took the lid off and found this. Any thoughts?


Nothing terribly nasty from my perspective. If you had an infection, it would be eating the delicious sugaz and you would notice a change in gravity. What temp are you fermenting at? Maybe the ferment is just super slow? What does the brew taste like?


----------



## Camo6

I was thinking it looked like a mash too. Is there any grain in there?


----------



## Stimsoni

It certainly does look like a mash, but definitely no grain in there. It's been poured through some muslin and also had about 1 - 2 litres left in the pot so that no trub got in either.

The first week it was perfectly clear. This has only formed since the air lock started to bubble. The confusing part is if the sugars aren't being consumed where is the co2 coming from. Haven't tasted it yet, might have to do that this arvo.

There's only 8 litres in there so I was tossing up weather to fertilise the garden with it and start over or give it a bit longer and see what happens.


----------



## Mardoo

Weird. Let it keep going in the name of science! Or curiosity really...


----------



## Lodan

By the sounds of it the beer has only just started fermenting and what you're seeing is krausen. If CO2 is being formed then sugars are being consumed, just not at a significant rate. also be sure to correct hydrometer reading for temperature.
Keep the batch, never ditch a beer unless it's rancid


----------



## Stimsoni

The gravity has finally changed. It's down to 50 (started at 64).

Tasted it last night and it's pretty aweful and very sweet. I don't know how to explain the bad taste, it's definitely not good.
I've never thought to taste the wort when first in the fermenter, so I can't even compare the difference (will have to do that next time). Unless the wort tastes bad to start with i'd say this one has to go.


----------



## DJ_L3ThAL

Wort doesn't taste "bad" at all, it certainly doesn't taste like beer though.

The smell (and to an extent, taste) of wort reminds me of a strong cup of sweet black billy tea (more "gumtree-like" than black tea), so it's sweet, but astringent (someone correct me if that's the wrong descriptor). It should definitely not be unpleasant though.


----------



## Mr. No-Tip

DJ_L3ThAL said:


> Wort doesn't taste "bad" at all, it certainly doesn't taste like beer though.
> 
> The smell (and to an extent, taste) of wort reminds me of a strong cup of sweet black billy tea (more "gumtree-like" than black tea), so it's sweet, but astringent (someone correct me if that's the wrong descriptor). It should definitely not be unpleasant though.


Good description. I got concerned about tannins the first time I tasted a hydro sample a few brews in - very tea like - but it goes away.

I'd definitely see that one out, even if it tastes bad. When it finishes chill a sample and judge based on that - better yet a carbo cap. To my taste, even finished warm and flat samples don't taste great.


----------



## marksy

Hello fellow Brewers,

Adding to whats already been discussed, I recently made two brews and decided on try the S-04 yeast. Fermentation was normal, and then I racked them both into secondaries on two different days.

Come bottling time for the first I noticed this (see image). I've had a film like substance before many times and I've never been worried, nor am I worried about this latest incident/s.

I sampled the beers before racking into bulk prime vessels and tasted fine to me on both occasions.

Still waiting for bottles to carb up.


I've never brewed with this yeast, so I'm not sure if this is an after effect of it or not. I`m going to make another this weekend using the same yeast to see if I can produce the same results.


But as mentioned before, it tasted like beer in the fermenters.


Anyone else had anything similar like this with this yeast or secondary fermenting?


Cheers

marksy


----------



## tiprya

Looks like an infection to me mate, but see how the beer goes, it will probably be fine to drink.


----------



## marksy

Yeah thats what I was thinking but i got it with both beers in secondaries a few days apart. See what happens.


----------



## fcmcg

Looks like acetobacter ...
Half the reason why I don't do a secondary any more
Unless ( IMHO ) you fill the secondary with CO2 , and are anal sanitary , you increase your chances of an infection in the secondary...


----------



## marksy

Beer tasted fine. Put another one down using the same yeast s-04.


----------



## davedoran

Bad day. Been a couple of bad days really. last 2 brews gone bad. To me they taste like oxidation has occurs. Lots of cardboard tastes.

This may have been down to my own laziness. After boil I simply put cube up the tap on the urn (biab in a urn) and opened tap to flow down into cube, drop of maybe 300mm where it would have splashed on the bottom of the cube. This is where I am guessing the oxidation is occurring. Have bought a valve and hose so now will hopefully remedy this.

Other source of infection may be after the 1st of the above brews I experimented with first wort hopping and threw the hops in free balling not thinking of the exposed element. In the boil some of there residue burnt on to the element which I haven't fully been able to remove.

My first brew a hoppy apa so its not as noticeable. This one was a weissen and completely unpalable. Cardboardy and think there may have been some other infection also. Have bottled 330ml of it to bring to a brewclub.

As always any advice greatly appreciated.


----------



## law-of-ohms

Comon Schwaztbeir dont end up in this thread! fingers and toes crossed.


----------



## davedoran

bump



dave doran said:


> Bad day. Been a couple of bad days really. last 2 brews gone bad. To me they taste like oxidation has occurs. Lots of cardboard tastes.
> 
> This may have been down to my own laziness. After boil I simply put cube up the tap on the urn (biab in a urn) and opened tap to flow down into cube, drop of maybe 300mm where it would have splashed on the bottom of the cube. This is where I am guessing the oxidation is occurring. Have bought a valve and hose so now will hopefully remedy this.
> 
> Other source of infection may be after the 1st of the above brews I experimented with first wort hopping and threw the hops in free balling not thinking of the exposed element. In the boil some of there residue burnt on to the element which I haven't fully been able to remove.
> 
> My first brew a hoppy apa so its not as noticeable. This one was a weissen and completely unpalable. Cardboardy and think there may have been some other infection also. Have bottled 330ml of it to bring to a brewclub.
> 
> As always any advice greatly appreciated.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> photo 1.JPG
> 
> 
> 
> 
> photo 2.JPG
> 
> 
> 
> 
> photo 3.JPG
> 
> 
> 
> 
> photo 4.JPG
> 
> 
> 
> 
> photo 5.JPG


----------



## Liam_snorkel

dave doran said:


> This may have been down to my own laziness. After boil I simply put cube up the tap on the urn (biab in a urn) and opened tap to flow down into cube, drop of maybe 300mm where it would have splashed on the bottom of the cube. This is where I am guessing the oxidation is occurring. Have bought a valve and hose so now will hopefully remedy this.


I do this every brew now with no noticeable negative effects, so I doubt its the cause of the cardboard tasting beer. That's assuming the wort was piping hot at the time.

Burnt crud on the element isn't a good sign, but I'm not sure if the flavour would be described as cardboard, it's more of an acrid burnt twang.


----------



## davedoran

Yeah mate. Would have been 90 deg or so during transfer.


----------



## phoenixdigital

dave doran said:


> Bad day. Been a couple of bad days really. last 2 brews gone bad. To me they taste like oxidation has occurs.


Correct me if I am wrong here (and its likely) but prior to fermentation isn't it advisable to have an oxygenated wort to help the yeast get started?

After chilling (to approx 50 deg C) we always let the wort flow from the kettle through the air (no hose) and into the fermenter. In the hopes that the rough landing will oxygenate the wort. It goes into the fermentation fridge and when it hits pitching temps 12 hours or so in goes the yeast.

Sure we do run the risk of infection I accept that but again isn't oxygenation at this point a desired thing??

Excuse the cheesy wordplay but the word "WORTerfall" just popped into my head to describe our method of transfer. The photo below has no hose and is just the worterfall in full stream.


----------



## Blitzer

Oxygenation with cold wort (close to fermentation temp) = good 
Oxygenation with hot wort = bad
Oxygenation after/during fermentation = bad


----------



## Liam_snorkel

here's a good podcast regarding the relative (in)significance of hot-side aeration:

http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/475


----------



## phoenixdigital

Blitzer said:


> Oxygenation with cold wort (close to fermentation temp) = good
> Oxygenation with hot wort = bad
> Oxygenation after/during fermentation = bad


Good to know... which brings me to my next question how hot is hot?

In over 50 brews we pretty have never had an issue as far as we know.

What are the effects of hot oxygenation?


----------



## Liam_snorkel

have a listen to the podcast I just linked.

basically it _can_ lead to long term flavour instability.


----------



## davedoran

Im thinking it must have picked up infection either in the cube or in the starter. Never tasted the wort before adding the yeast.


----------



## TheWiggman

Dave, I can't see anything wrong. Pics look good, hops on an element not an issue (many do it) and oxidation prior to pitching is a good thing (granted I haven't heard the podcast yet re: hot vs. cold). Surely a strong cardboard taste would develop over time if oxidation was at fault?
You're not going to get an infection from a boil, I'd be looking at your fermenter first if you even have an infection.


----------



## davedoran

Thanks wiggman.
Tasted a bit funky when I added the yeast but after 2 weeks it was plain nasty. Couldn't drink it. 
Have bought one of the cheapo Bunnings fermenters to get the next brew happening but will be giving this fermentor a thorough clean and sanitise before anything goes back in there.


----------



## Edak

i second the wiggman. Pictures look completely normal with no sign of infection. The cardboard flavour comes from oxygenation post fermentation. In case i missed it what was the recipe?


----------



## davedoran

Was a weissen.

62% Wheat
16% Pilsner
16% Vienna
6% Munich

Bit hard too describe. Dry cardboardy taste. Got my missus to taste it and although she doesn't drink much beer she thought it was undrinkable as well.


----------



## Dan Pratt

Dave,

have you cleaned your tap lately?

And by clean i mean, taken it apart and cleaned it?


----------



## davedoran

Yeah mate. The plastic one on the fermentor gets cleaned after every batch. The tap on the kettle I think missed a clean this time round now that I think back. 
Replacing that with a ball valve now so I can attack a nylon hose for transfer from urn to cube.


----------



## marksy

Did you taste the starter?


----------



## davedoran

No mate. Yeast was 6 months old but gone through 2 steps on a stir plate.


----------



## Edak

Starters always taste like cardboard to me because they sit on a stir plate. This is why I like to chill and decant them before adding to my wort.

Edit: I am less fussy if it's a beer with a lot of flavour like a porter.


----------



## stakka82

Did the yeast flocc properly after fermentation? I mean relatively speaking. Was there a defined yeast cake at bottom of fermenter?


----------



## davedoran

Yes I noticed a fairly large yeast cake at the end.
Thinking I might try brew it again this weekend.


----------



## marksy

Sorry I also meant to ask did you smell it before hand? 

What cleaning products do you use? How did it smell and taste during fermenting? I made a beer once that smelt beautiful then I cleaned the bottle bucket with detergent that was minty, the beer didn't taste month but you could taste the detergent and I haven't drunk any of the beer.


----------



## davedoran

Smelt a bit nothing. Not bad not good. Tasted v bad though. 
Cleaned with aldi version of napisan and flushed with water then with no rinse sanitiser. Keg king one.


----------



## davedoran

Im probably being cautious but am hoping to get the next brew happening. Was hoping to get the yeast from sediment of some coopers celebration ale bottles. 

Have done starter steps from 0.5L up to 1.5L. On Stir plate for about 3 days.
Checked the gravity with a refractometer and its at 1.046. Forgot to take the brix reading so not sure what the corrected reading is.
My main concern is it tasted sour. Not aiming to ruin another batch so a bit reluctant to use this yeast and infect another batch.
Need help if possible.





Photo shown of chilled starter.


----------



## Mr. No-Tip

I had a taste of a starter once, really unpleasantly sour. 

It was for a big RIS and decided not to use it, and had to sub in some less attenuative yeast. I decided to use the "sour" WLP005 starter on a 2l sample. The main batch was a little too high at the end. The 2l batch was fine and not sour. 

By no means saying yours I'd not infected, but in my limited experience, they don't taste great... Hence I just won't taste from here


----------



## Yob

If it ain't jumping out the flask and giving the results you want on a small scale, don't risk a full batch with it..

Culturing from dregs is a process, half a litre first step is a bit large, I'd normally go 50ml, 500ml, 2000ml.

I've got one on the plate at the moment done from the dregs of a WLP vial, 10ml, 30ml, 500ml, 2000ml and even at the 2000ml starter wasn't quite happy so run the 2000ml again, exploded overnight and had yeast spilling out the top... Happy with it now


----------



## davedoran

Ok thanks.

Might ditch this batch but will definitely remember that next time yob. 
Think this one is destined for the sink. Put a sample in a hydrometer and came up with 1.050. OG was 1.038 so im stumped what happened there but ill not be using the starter either way.


----------



## Edak

Perpetual malting machine?


----------



## Lochem

This mild i brewed exactly two weeks ago Doesn't look nearly as nasty as some other photos I've seen in this thread....

But it's got a funny too-sweet caramel smell.... And this film....

I used dry S04, OG 1038, FG 1010...

any thoughts? Not sure what to do. Doesn't taste very good. But I can't tell if it's infected or of I just don't like Milds. I've never brewed a mild before.


----------



## Liam_snorkel

looks fine


----------



## lael

Yob said:


> If it ain't jumping out the flask and giving the results you want on a small scale, don't risk a full batch with it..
> 
> Culturing from dregs is a process, half a litre first step is a bit large, I'd normally go 50ml, 500ml, 2000ml.
> 
> I've got one on the plate at the moment done from the dregs of a WLP vial, 10ml, 30ml, 500ml, 2000ml and even at the 2000ml starter wasn't quite happy so run the 2000ml again, exploded overnight and had yeast spilling out the top... Happy with it now


I've never had impressive krausens on my starter - just stepped up a 1728 scotch ale, looked like little to no action. 2 days in the fermenter its @ 13C and 5 inches of krausen... not alway an indicator. Wouldn't mind having a krausen explosion out of a starter just once lol.


----------



## Lochem

Liam_snorkel said:


> looks fine


I bottled it all. I think the strange smell was probably Co2


----------



## jatterbury

Can I get your thoughts on this? First biab after lots of extract brews. Ben in the FV since Sunday morning. 

No off flavours but the white stuff on the left I haven't seen before.

Finishing this post on the pc as I cat upload the photo


----------



## marksy

Lochem said:


> This mild i brewed exactly two weeks ago Doesn't look nearly as nasty as some other photos I've seen in this thread....
> 
> But it's got a funny too-sweet caramel smell.... And this film....
> 
> I used dry S04, OG 1038, FG 1010...
> 
> any thoughts? Not sure what to do. Doesn't taste very good. But I can't tell if it's infected or of I just don't like Milds. I've never brewed a mild before.


S0_4 is the English dry yeast? This happened to me on 2 different brews 1 week apart new packets of yeast, so I think your right. I even posted in here my pics of one of them. The yeast had a tang about it in both beers. I don't think I'll use the yeast again. Ive been using liquid again and you can't beat it.


----------



## jatterbury

I cant edit my earlier post for some reason, here the details:

Can I get your thoughts on this? First biab ( stout ) after lots of extract brews. It's been in the FV since Sunday morning.

No off flavors but the white stuff on the left I haven't seen before. any ideas?


----------



## Lochem

marksy said:


> S0_4 is the English dry yeast? This happened to me on 2 different brews 1 week apart new packets of yeast, so I think your right. I even posted in here my pics of one of them. The yeast had a tang about it in both beers. I don't think I'll use the yeast again. Ive been using liquid again and you can't beat it.


There ya go Yob. Another S04 story.

Although I dare say, on my porter it did a fair job.


----------



## Liam_snorkel

jatterbury said:


> I cant edit my earlier post for some reason, here the details:
> 
> Can I get your thoughts on this? First biab ( stout ) after lots of extract brews. It's been in the FV since Sunday morning.
> 
> No off flavors but the white stuff on the left I haven't seen before. any ideas?


Looks like clumps of yeast sloshed down from the side of the fermenter where it was deposited by the krausen.


----------



## lukiferj

Looks fine to me too



Liam_snorkel said:


> Looks like clumps of yeast sloshed down from the side of the fermenter where it was deposited by the krausen.


----------



## marksy

Yeah mate, mine fermented fine, there is just a tang to it that I didn't like that was also strong during fermentation. Same symptoms though. If it taste like beer then its fine.


----------



## jatterbury

lukiferj said:


> Looks fine to me too


Thanks Liam and Lukiferj


----------



## jatterbury

Cold crashed the stout this morning. Definitely yeast as it's all dropped out now. Thanks again.


----------



## Not For Horses

Check this shit out!
This is a brown ale that went bad a few or 6 months ago. Has a very strong acetone aroma and flavour mixed with a sort of fruity raspberry aroma. It's pretty nasty so I chucked some brett in there. See if he'll sort it out.


----------



## panspermian

Hi guys,
I've only been brewing for a year or so but I reckon I have gained enough knowledge to add comment to this thread.
The first time I racked my beer into a secondary fermenter, I noticed white spots floating on the top of my brew. I freaked out, I was tempted to tip it. After googling for hours I finally came to the realisation that these were just healthy yeast colonies re establishing themselves. 
This is just part of the process of transferring from one fermenter to another. 
Although I've seen some pretty nasty pics of infection in this thread I think some people jump to conclusions, like I did my first time.
Infection shouldn't be an easy thing to get. Once yeast starts doing it's job, alcohol should kill off any nasties still hanging around. If bad bacteria were around, you would think they would have gotten hold before fermentation.
I hope this puts newbie minds at ease.


----------



## Not For Horses

While there are many non-infections in this thread and you certainly shouldn't jump to the conclusion that your beer is infected, that last paragraph is a bit misleading.

For example:
Many strains of lactobacillus have an alcohol tolerance around 8-9%abv
Some acetobacter can survive in ~18%abv.
Many pediococcus strains can live in 8%abv happily.
Brettanomyces can live in over 10%abv depending on the strain.

All of these can be airborne.

Learning what an infection looks/smells/tastes like is important.
So is sanitation.


----------



## Wilkensone

12 days fermenting this stout and the gravity is stalled but higher than I think it should be at about 1.020, thoughts?






Wilkens


----------



## Liam_snorkel

looks fine, why is it swirling? can't comment on SG without recipe etc. put the lid back on.


----------



## Wilkensone

Liam_snorkel said:


> looks fine, why is it swirling? can't comment on SG without recipe etc. put the lid back on.


gravity has been stuck for about a week and another thread suggested giving it a stir to get some yeast back into suspension. 


Wilkens


----------



## StalkingWilbur

Looks fine to me too. 

Is it at 1.020 or higher?


----------



## Liam_snorkel

1.020 isn't unheard of for a stout - depending on recipe & yeast of course


----------



## StalkingWilbur

I did a stout recently that started at 1.080 and finished at 1.020 with the Mamgrove Jack Burton Union yeast and its delish!


----------



## marksy

You don't need to stir just whoosh your fv around a bit. Don't wanna risk adding nasties.


----------



## panspermian

If gravity is stuck, bottle!

As long as it's within ballpark you know you'll be right. If it was severely stuck then you know something's wrong.
Have faith in your brew. 
2 days straight of consistent FG, I bottle. I bottle after beersmith predicted FG. 
I do get a few floaters, but this just tells me I'm bottling too early. (I would assume this would raise my FG than what was measured before bottling). 
Maybe this ingestion of live yeast adds to my chronic autoimmune disease ailments.


----------



## LiquidGold

I also have a stout that is sitting on 1.020 at day 14 of ferment. There is still alot of dark brown krausen sitting on top which I found strange for 2 weeks but it could be due to the recipe. Taste is fine.
I went with:

Coopers stout tin
1kg dark dme
500g light dme
500g raw sugar
100g choc malt steeped @ 65* for 30-50min

us-05 rehydrated pitched at 15*
fermented at 17-18*

22L with OG 1.060

Ianh spreadsheet told me an fg of 1.012 so has it stalled early or should it actually be a higher fg?


----------



## luggy

panspermian said:


> If gravity is stuck, bottle!
> 
> As long as it's within ballpark you know you'll be right. If it was severely stuck then you know something's wrong.
> Have faith in your brew.
> 2 days straight of consistent FG, I bottle. I bottle after beersmith predicted FG.
> I do get a few floaters, but this just tells me I'm bottling too early. (I would assume this would raise my FG than what was measured before bottling).
> Maybe this ingestion of live yeast adds to my chronic autoimmune disease ailments.


I don't think the opening line is the best advice to give to a new brewer


----------



## Liam_snorkel

LiquidGold said:


> I also have a stout that is sitting on 1.020 at day 14 of ferment. There is still alot of dark brown krausen sitting on top which I found strange for 2 weeks but it could be due to the recipe. Taste is fine.
> I went with:
> 
> Coopers stout tin
> 1kg dark dme
> 500g light dme
> 500g raw sugar
> 100g choc malt steeped @ 65* for 30-50min
> 
> us-05 rehydrated pitched at 15*
> fermented at 17-18*
> 
> 22L with OG 1.060
> 
> Ianh spreadsheet told me an fg of 1.012 so has it stalled early or should it actually be a higher fg?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> IMAG0379.jpg


doesn't look infected US-05 occasionally sticks around like that - it will drop eventually.

with an OG of 1.060 and fermented on the cool side, I'd guess that it's not quite finished, but don't be surprised if it finishes a few points higher than 1.012

if you have the capability, warm it up to the low 20's to help finish it off


----------



## Mr. No-Tip

Pretty sure this isn't an infection, but thought I'd share.

Made a 2l 002 starter on Wednesday night. Was rather inebriated and I did leave it chilling (covered) in the laundry tub more than I usually would.
Stir plate for 24hrs. Was looking quite active on Thursday night.
Friday night, went out to see this:





I swear they are straight on my PC...anyways...Big bubbles ring alarm bells, but they don't look quite like the 'infection' bubbles I've seen before.

When I moved the starter, they all pretty much disappeared. This is it inside a few mins later:




Smells like an English yeast starter...thoughts?


----------



## LiquidGold

Thanks for the fast reply Liam, I brought it up to 20 for a few days then 22 for a bit longer just to be sure. Managed to get down to a steady 1.016. Look forward to tasting.


----------



## J'sGarage

i was about to siphon this but am unsure now, should i drain it from the tap and just put up with the bit of yeast cake that will come out? or is this a straight up garden brew... its smells a little like wine.
Heineken clone, last one we did (just before this) smelled amazing and fruity,and looked nothing like this.
This just smells like wine.

Thoughts? kegs are purged and sanitised and ready to transfer.....


----------



## luggy

Does it taste alright


----------



## J'sGarage

Yeah, tasted fine, and when I went back to look at it just now it looked normal again, so I kegged it.

strange how it changed appearance in the space of an hour....

We'll see.


----------



## Edak

For Christ's sake so taking the lid off your fermenter or you will be a regular in this topic!


----------



## timgkelly

G'day Folks,

So I've done about 30 biab brews and I recently came across this. I've never seen this before. It has been in the fermenter for 1.5 weeks. This beer was poured onto a yeast cake. The beer before it I used seaweed for the first time (didn't really notice much of a difference). The beer before this turned out well. It smells ok, haven't tasted it yet because I'm scared.

Does it look familiar? anyone else have brains or sponge growing on their beer?

sorry, it appears I'm too stupid to attach photos. here are the urls

http://imgur.com/URjnT5X,yelvI4U#1
http://imgur.com/URjnT5X,yelvI4U#0


----------



## jaypes

Edak said:


> For Christ's sake so taking the lid off your fermenter or you will be a regular in this topic!


HAHAHA

A new breed of brewer - Lid Lifters!


----------



## jaypes

I LOVE this thread!


----------



## botch

Hi,

Have an infection problem.

I ditched my old fermenter (was looking bit scabby and was a few years old) and I bought a couple of cheap bunnings fermenters.

I also decided as I'm fermenting in a clean fridge to give the 'glad wrap lid' a go as the Bunnings water cylinders come with a fully enclosed lid.

First brew, all good.

Second brew, infection. Threw the fermenter out and decided I must have done something wrong or not been clean enough,

So brand new fermenter, same beer attempted (extract golden ale with US-05, No dry hopping), same result.

After the first failure I bleached and sanitized my fermenting fridge. I alway's clean it, but I gave it a thorough going over as I thought, using a glad wrap lid somehow it may have been something from inside the fridge.

I pour boiling water and then Star San the tap when I take a reading from it (which was twice only on both brews).

Both seemed to ferment fine, then on day 10 (11 with first brew) I go to take a second reading and it's happened. First samples tasted for hydro reading on day 7 for both brews tasted fine and both were at 1012 (Started at 1046).

Has a real thin sweet twangy cider like taste at the end and no hop flavour.

Suggestions? Ditch the glad wrap lid? Don't use shitty Bunning's fermenters?

Any help appreciated as I'm gutted 

Sorry for poor pic quality


----------



## TheWiggman

First things first - are you sure it's an infection? Not doubting you but I've had the cider-like flavours before which have dissapeared later on (or are acetaldehyde from hot ferment temps and don't go away). Sometimes I'll get that flavour midway through a ferment too.
The pics while fuzzy don't scream infection at me.
If you are sanitising properly I wouldn't be blaming the fermenters and/or Bunnings. Are you no-rinsing with StarSan first or just using hot water? You should be StarSan-ing the whole fermenter internals, not just the tap.


----------



## soundawake

Doesn't look infected to me.


----------



## sp0rk

Yeah that looks a whole lot like a krausen to me, perfectly healthy


----------



## marksy

Are you sanitizing the gladwrap?


----------



## botch

Hi fellas,

Im not 100% sure it's an infection. However, it tastes bad......like I described in the first post.

I am starsan-ing the whole fermenter before use. Also sprayed the glad wrap with starsan before I covered the fermenter.

I got rid of the first brew but I have left this one to see what happens......

So maybe there's hope....?


----------



## ranks76

Went to dry hop today and found this on top. Is this normal after fermentation?


----------



## Lodan

Yeah looks normal, leftover yeast floaties after krausen has disippated


----------



## luggy

Bacteria and spores don't have wings but they will float on air currents, I wonder how many infections have been caused by people opening the fermenter to take a photo


----------



## ranks76

luggy said:


> Bacteria and spores don't have wings but they will float on air currents, I wonder how many infections have been caused by people opening the fermenter to take a photo


I opened to dry hop not for a photo op.

But anyway I'm happy to hear that looks normal. Never seen it look like that when I've dry hopped in the past.


----------



## J'sGarage

J'sGarage said:


> Yeah, tasted fine, and when I went back to look at it just now it looked normal again, so I kegged it.
> 
> strange how it changed appearance in the space of an hour....
> 
> We'll see.


I opened it to put it to keg, how do you do it? (the 'hour later' was because i was waiting for a reply to this thread)


----------



## stevemc32

I'm usually pretty calm with funky looking shit in the fermenter but this one is something I've not seen the likes of before and a very low FG have made me a bit suspicious.

Here it is after draining to keg and bottles.




Looks like there was some sort of black film on the top of the beer that has broken up as it drained. I didn't look at it prior to filling the keg. I've never seen black before however I did add dark candi syrup to this one half way through ferment. I was expecting an FG of about 1.010 and it's gotten down to 1.004 which makes me think something may have gone astray. No terrible smells and the beer didn't taste disgusting but obviously no where near as sweet as I was hoping for. The yeast was WY3787 Trappist High Gravity and there was not the monster krausen production that I was expecting either after what I thought was a fairly healthy pitch.

Anyone recognise the black stuff, it kind of looks like ash. The keg was destined for a 6 month aging period but if it looks bad I'll get straight onto brewing it again.


----------



## tateg

G'day guys 
Just opened up the brew bucket and found the below. Have had it cold crashing for 2 days at 0-1 degree 

It is worth mentioning that I forgot the brewbrite in this batch.






Any help would be appreciated 

Cheers tate


----------



## Camo6

Looks like yeast from my phone. How's it taste?


----------



## tateg

Camo6 said:


> Looks like yeast from my phone. How's it taste?


Tastes normal, you think that the white oil like substance is normal for us05, looks really cloudy


----------



## TheWiggman

Tastes normal = not garden food. I'm with Camo6, almost certainly just some leftover yeast. It's exactly the same colour as the yeast around the edge of the [fancy stainless] fermenter.
Keg/bottle away.


----------



## panzerd18

Pretty devastated.


I am a complete newbie. My first ever batch I decided to try use the Coopers Lager with the kit I purchased. I decided on getting W34/70 yeast that has a fermentation temp of around 9-14 degrees.

My aim was to let get the fermentation at 10. It has been sitting on 10 for the most part. I only use the heating belt when I am home as I don't trust leaving it running. I came back from work and the temperature of the fermenter was around 8 degrees. Could the cold temp caused the outbreak as the yeast slowed down and other bacteria took over?


Anyway pitched the yeast on Thursday afternoon.

Original specific gravity of 1.033.

Now specific gravity of 1.014.

When I opened the lid for the first time, I got a very strong solvent type smell. Like a strong alcohol smell.

I decided to taste the beer and it tastes horrible. Almost medicine like.

I have attached two pictures. You can see the surface with the camera flash. I have never done this before, so looking for some experts to comment if this situation is normal or not.


----------



## panzerd18

Smells bad, tastes bad, I have dumped it.


----------



## luggy

Looks pretty normal, lager yeasts can throw off some funky smells and flavours that clear up in time, may have been worth hanging onto


----------



## TheWiggman

Agree. That's what a fermenting lager looks like because they're a bottom-fermenting yeast (you won't get huge krausens like ales). The orange floaty bits are little yeast clumps. You were almost at the finish line, might as well have waited until it hit FG and bottled.
Colder temps are ok for lagers (and for ales, to a point). It'll slow down or stall the process, and certainly won't cause infections. I've had a lager in the fermenter for 5 weeks and it tasted bloody unreal once it was lagered in the keg for a few weeks.

Beer out of the fermenter will taste different to beer in the bottle after 4 weeks. _Especially_ if it hasn't finished fermenting.


----------



## Yob

panzerd18 said:


> Smells bad, tastes bad, I have dumped it.


Shit man, you didnt give folks much time to respond!! not many playing at 2am I'll wager.

Wouldnt have thought you had much to lose by waiting another 24hrs..

Oh well, chalk this up to a learning curve.. I once dumped one batch that was probably going to be OK in the long run so you are not alone in this


----------



## Donske

Solvent aroma/flavour is fusel alcohol I believe, you didn't want to drink it anyway.


----------



## Liam_snorkel

the "solventy" smell may have been a nose full of CO2


----------



## Donske

Seems like a stretch, solvent smell and medicinal taste are pretty big red flags, it was more than likely lawn food, I would have tipped it too.


----------



## panzerd18

Donske said:


> Solvent aroma/flavour is fusel alcohol I believe, you didn't want to drink it anyway.


I heard that the solvent aroma can be a product of high fermenting temperatures? Its strange, because I pitched the yeast at the recommended temperature of 22 and then is went down to 10 and and has been close to 10 for many days.

I am having second thoughts now maybe I should have kept it. I don't know what green beer tastes like, but it was pretty horrible and burnt the back of my throat. It also had a massive alcohol/acetone flavor smell.


----------



## Donske

panzerd18 said:


> I heard that the solvent aroma can be a product of high fermenting temperatures? Its strange, because I pitched the yeast at the recommended temperature of 22 and then is went down to 10 and and has been close to 10 for many days.
> 
> I am having second thoughts now maybe I should have kept it. I don't know what green beer tastes like, but it was pretty horrible and burnt the back of my throat. It also had a massive alcohol/acetone flavor smell.



You did the right thing mate, I have a mate from my brew club battling a brew house infection that is throwing solvent/acetone flavours and aromas, it's bloody horrid, no way on earth I'd be holding onto anything showing those signs.


----------



## panzerd18

macca05 said:


> Hey guys,
> Think this could be my first infection. I did a AG brew on friday and finished about 9pm. Cooled it down but for some reason stopped at about 35C and added it to fermenter. I was going to put it straight into fridge to cool to about 18C but had one in there already so was meant to do it on sat. Sat became sun and sun became monday. This arvo and bottled the one that was in fermenter and was going to keep the yeast from that to add to the new one, but when I opened the recent ones lid, this was on top of it. No yeast even in there yet.
> 
> I took some out to inspect it and it did have a wierd smell but when I took these photos i had a sniff and it bloody burnt my nose. Was almost like CO2 but can this happen if no yeast is in there yet.
> I think this one is destined for the grass. Dammit
> 
> Macca


http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/51830-infection-photo-thread/?p=1101900

I believe my lager had the same type of infection.


----------



## jester28

So I am concerned this may be infected. Has been in fermenter for 13 days now looked nothing like this when dry hopped after 10 days pellets straight in was pretty clear on top definitely no krausen like action. Today looked like this! Only took lid off as was suprised airlock bubbling a bit tonight. Reading when dry hopped down to 1.013 from 1.052, pale ale. Smells pretty sulphery. I recon it might be f#@ked???? Fermented at 17° just now dropped fridge temp to 4° as planned to bottle this weekend


----------



## barls

looks normal.


----------



## waggastew

As Barls says, looks good. Adding hops can bring out CO2. Wait a few days and smell.


----------



## Dan Pratt

jester28 said:


> So I am concerned this may be infected. Has been in fermenter for 13 days now looked nothing like this when dry hopped after 10 days pellets straight in was pretty clear on top definitely no krausen like action. Today looked like this! Only took lid off as was suprised airlock bubbling a bit tonight. Reading when dry hopped down to 1.013 from 1.052, pale ale. Smells pretty sulphery. I recon it might be f#@ked???? Fermented at 17° just now dropped fridge temp to 4° as planned to bottle this weekend


looks like alot of yeast and hops......what yeast was that ?


----------



## jester28

One packet US 05


----------



## Spohaw

hello everyone

I left a fermenter with about 2 -3 liters of beer / trub / yeast / hops in it for a while , then i had a bright idea about capturing some wild yeast to chuck in a wheat beer I made ( was going to add it when I added some fruit ) so I left the lid off for a few days and put it back on

couple weeks later this is what I got



after having a skim through the forums I think it may be the acetobacter maybe ,

I decided to make my fruit wheat beer without this ..... but I would like to know what it is and if it would be good for any thing

Cheers Spohaw


----------



## barls

that looks more like a brett plus something else pellical.


----------



## Spohaw

I havent rack off my wheat beer or added the fruit yet , do you think it would be ok to add some of this when I add the fruit?

Edit : Smells pretty good , a pleasant smell not an off smell at all


----------



## Spohaw

Yeah , I gave it a miss ... if I want it any more sour then it is in a couple weeks ill just add some citric acid before kegging it up


----------



## Lochem

Opinions please:
Ferment stalled on this one at 1.018 so I raised the temp to 25c. Got it down to 1.009 which i am happy with, however I've got this going on in the top when I opened to dry hop.

Curious if this really can be "yeast floaties" as has been suggested or if I'm looking at garden food.
Tastes alright. Although I should mention it was a very very slow start to ferment (Danstar Bry97) and had a dominant bready taste to it until I raised the temps and got the gravity down.

Infected?


----------



## Lodan

looks like yeasties to me.
plus tastes alright so don't ditch it


----------



## marksy

Think I got wild yeast. After letting it ferment for 7 days, I'd thought I'd give it a taste. The smell that came out of this thing was foul. Rotten fruit like, the taste was not better. 

Was made with a starter I made, which tasted nice to me, but who knows. Could of been from the cube, it was my first brew in over 3 months so probably sloppy cleaning regime on my part. The sister brew is chugging along nicely and used packet yeast. 

This one went to the garden.


----------



## Lochem

Lodan said:


> looks like yeasties to me.
> plus tastes alright so don't ditch it


Hmm.
Wish there was a real way to tell other than "tastes OK", "smells OK".

Don't really want to put it into bottles just based on my nose and tongue.
How common is it for yeast to float up like that? It's my tenth brew, i don't recall seeing anything like it before.


----------



## panzerd18

I find it interesting when people discuss green beer.

Green beer that hasn't had the chance to bottle condition I believe can taste very different from beer that has been bottle conditioned.

I will always remember a CUB master brewer saying that green beer tastes a bit like fruit salad, and only after it has had time to condition, will it taste like the end product.

I'm a complete newbie, but these are just some observations.


----------



## marksy

Lochem said:


> Hmm.
> Wish there was a real way to tell other than "tastes OK", "smells OK".
> 
> Don't really want to put it into bottles just based on my nose and tongue.
> How common is it for yeast to float up like that? It's my tenth brew, i don't recall seeing anything like it before.



Its hard to tell from so far away, but generally speaking I wouldn't be opening your fermenter to take photos as if you'll introduce contaminates and really get an infection. 

What you want to do is let it ferment out, when checking your gravity, taste it. Taste it lots. If it taste OK, it should be OK. You'll know when its infected, as it'll taste horrible. See my post before. I tasted it mid fermentation, because it smelt infected ( I know from having them before) but I let it bubble away. After 10 days it still tasted like rotten fruit and vomit. I opened the lid and found what I posted.


----------



## Forever Wort

panzerd18 said:


> I find it interesting when people discuss green beer.
> 
> Green beer that hasn't had the chance to bottle condition I believe can taste very different from beer that has been bottle conditioned.
> 
> I will always remember a CUB master brewer saying that green beer tastes a bit like fruit salad, and only after it has had time to condition, will it taste like the end product.
> 
> I'm a complete newbie, but these are just some observations.


I hear a lot about this.

"Beer is best drunk fresh; fresher the better" - no! - "Beer is best drunk after about eight weeks in the bottle" - as if! - "Beer is best drunk between two and six weeks in the bottle" - OK!

Yadda yadda jadda.

Doubtless it comes down to style; huge alcoholic beers do need to sit for a while. 

But for anything ~6% or under, I have found that super fresh - say a beer that is four days in the bottle and already carbed - gives the best direct representation of the ingredients and method used. After that other factors come into play such as storage temperature, vessel used and handling. Your beer's flavour shakes and bakes and can completely change with time - which I find FRUSTRATING.


----------



## Not For Horses

marksy said:


> rotten fruit and vomit


Sounds like butyric acid. Pretty horid stuff if you have too much. Brettanomyces will turn it into ethyl butyrate though which is quite fruity and pleasant. Chuck some brett in there and let it do its thing.


----------



## marksy

Not For Horses said:


> Sounds like butyric acid. Pretty horid stuff if you have too much. Brettanomyces will turn it into ethyl butyrate though which is quite fruity and pleasant. Chuck some brett in there and let it do its thing.


I'll have to read up on that in case it happens again. I tossed it on the grass and it still smells foul. It was either the cube or the starter. The sister cube is doing fine, but used different yeast.


----------



## panzerd18

Forever Wort said:


> I hear a lot about this.
> 
> "Beer is best drunk fresh; fresher the better" - no! - "Beer is best drunk after about eight weeks in the bottle" - as if! - "Beer is best drunk between two and six weeks in the bottle" - OK!
> 
> Yadda yadda jadda.
> 
> Doubtless it comes down to style; huge alcoholic beers do need to sit for a while.
> 
> But for anything ~6% or under, I have found that super fresh - say a beer that is four days in the bottle and already carbed - gives the best direct representation of the ingredients and method used. After that other factors come into play such as storage temperature, vessel used and handling. Your beer's flavour shakes and bakes and can completely change with time - which I find FRUSTRATING.


As I am only experimenting with Kit and Kilo beers, I have found that its better to bottle age the beer as it masks any poor brewing practices on my part.


----------



## barls

im surprised no one has mentioned bottle shock.


----------



## chemfish

Just bottled my current brew then noticed this, normal or infection? looks awefully bacterial to me. Smelled ok, didn't bother tasting any though.


----------



## Camo6

Looks like yeast colonies to me. Or cockroach eggs. If the latter be more selective with your adjuncts...or kill them first.


----------



## chemfish

Camo6 said:


> Looks like yeast colonies to me. Or cockroach eggs. If the latter be more selective with your adjuncts...or kill them first.


I gave the roaches a good blast of mortein, thought it would do it....


----------



## Lochem

marksy said:


> Its hard to tell from so far away, but generally speaking I wouldn't be opening your fermenter to take photos as if you'll introduce contaminates and really get an infection.
> 
> What you want to do is let it ferment out, when checking your gravity, taste it. Taste it lots. If it taste OK, it should be OK. You'll know when its infected, as it'll taste horrible. See my post before. I tasted it mid fermentation, because it smelt infected ( I know from having them before) but I let it bubble away. After 10 days it still tasted like rotten fruit and vomit. I opened the lid and found what I posted.


I don't open my buckets for photo ops. I open them to dry hop and/or add gelatin.

I snapped the photo bec I found something odd.
In any case... Tasted pretty unpleasant so it got fed to the grass.


----------



## hwall95

So a few months ago, I helped a friend make a cider, however prior to bottling while we were cold crashing they knocked the temp probe outside the fridge and froze it.. 

So while waiting for the some more yeast it was left on the bench without an airlock and it seems something decided to move in and make itself at home.. 

Looks similar to pellicle made by Brett and lacto, anyone know if there's a way to check? Doesn't smell bad and the cider is around 9% so can't imagine it being anything bad.


----------



## matt s

Does this look infected? Its at day 6 of fermentation.


----------



## Camo6

Looks fine from my phone. Just a bit of yeast hanging around.


----------



## DJ_L3ThAL

matt s said:


> Does this look infected? Its at day 6 of fermentation.
> 
> 
> 
> in .jpg
> 
> 
> 
> in 2.jpg


No.

Looks like primary has finished mostly, did u take gravity? Make sure you give it 2 weeks on yeast to clean up any unwanted flavours which may have been produced. RDWHAHB


----------



## matt s

Excellent. I have never had the yeast clumping on top like that, but glad to know you two think it's looking normal. I always leave my beer in the primary for 3 weeks and then rack and cold crash. 
Cheers!


----------



## mrHappyPants

Hey guys, just came across this when I found ants in my airlock and wanted to see if they go inside (normally I would have taken a reading, tasted it and bottled without opening the lid :S )

I'm guessing this is written off, but it's the first time I've seen anything like it. It's like a film on top, smelled a bit fruity. The brew is my first attempt at a golden ale, if it makes a difference?

Thanks!


----------



## barls

welcome to the world of infections. taste and smell, if ok and your game drink bloody quick


----------



## davedoran

Just came back from overseas and found this in the fermentor 
Not 100% sure but think it was Lactobacillus . Its not hops (wasnt dry hopped) and fully fermented out.


----------



## Camo6

Are you referring to the large clumps? Looks like yeast to me but I'm looking at a small pic on my phone. How does it taste?

Out of interest, how large is your hydrometer sample tube?!


----------



## TheWiggman

Agreed, I've had this before with Wyeast 1028 London Ale. The next challenge is avoiding it getting into your bottles/keg.


----------



## davedoran

Sample tube is around 100ml id think. Clumps would have averaged to golf ball sizes (some bigger some smaller). Tasted very sour not in a good way. As soon as id tasted it i knew it was gone bad.
Tasted from sample before opening up.


----------



## barls

how does it taste


----------



## Camo6

dave doran said:


> Sample tube is around 100ml id think. Clumps would have averaged to golf ball sizes (some bigger some smaller). Tasted very sour not in a good way. As soon as id tasted it i knew it was gone bad.
> Tasted from sample before opening up.


Just having a dig at the level in your FV compared to the krausen line. It looks like one of my fermentors when my kegerator taps are dry. :icon_chickcheers:

Although it looks pretty normal from the pic ( I assume it hasn't been crash chilled), sourness doesn't sound good. If you don't think you can drink it, might as well tip it. Knowing what went wrong might be helpful though.


----------



## davedoran

Tasted very sour. No buttery tastes. Colour was fine but the smell was even sour. 
Wort tasted fine. Was being lasy and didn't make a starter. Yeast was past the use by date so probably didn't give it much of a chance.

Had been chilled for 2 weeks


----------



## tombsy

Here is another one. Black IPA. 2.5 weeks in fermenter.

https://twitter.com/tombsy19/status/529053866873323520


----------



## Ciderman

Put down an ipa yesterday. Pitched the yeast a little over 12 hours ago. Doesn't look good. Anyone seen this before?


----------



## Camo6

Looks like hops and yeast to me. Don't fret.

Did you just sprinkle dry yeast on top? (Not that there's anything wrong with that!) Also looks like you've dry hopped already or was it cube hopped?


----------



## Ciderman

Camo6 said:


> Looks like hops and yeast to me. Don't fret.
> 
> Did you just sprinkle dry yeast on top? (Not that there's anything wrong with that!) Also looks like you've dry hopped already or was it cube hopped?


Yes, just sprinkled over the top. As I was draining the boiled wort to the fermenter, some of the hop solids that were settled on the bottom crept in as I tried to rescue every clear drop of wort. That's certainly what that looks like, but the white bit concerned me. Usually I get a brownish krausen and I've never seen anything white before.

Will be heart wrenching if it's infected. 4th all grain beer and everything went perfect for the first time.


----------



## Camo6

All good. Just nice creamy yeast firing up. Just try and avoid having the lid off too often!


----------



## Ciderman

Phew! Well I'll keep the lid on and have a peak in the coming days to see what's going on.


----------



## lobedogg

Deffo infected. Tastes sour. Never had one this bad out of the fermenter before. Any ideas what I've got here? 13 days in primary....


----------



## barls

Doesn't look infected to me. Look normal


----------



## lobedogg

That's what I thought Barls but it's definitely infected- I'm sure from, the taste. Tastes rancid really. Brewed 30 + brews and am familiar with infected taste unfortunately. 

My question is then, it seems I have an infection without any visual signs of it . Is this unusual at all?


----------



## barls

What was the recipe.


----------



## lobedogg

Basically a twisted version of Neil's Centenarillo Ale with stuff I had floating around. Two light LME cans, 500g brewing sugar and about 130g of centennial, citra, Nelson and galaxy in a 5l boil with 1/3 of one of the cans.


----------



## barls

has it finished fermenting?
i have had another user contact me about tasting his version of this as he thought it was infected but just hadn't finished fermenting and the yeast hadn't dropped out.


----------



## lobedogg

Two weeks in so I'd presumed so. Not had one taste this bad at any stage of fermentation. 

Just took a reading and it's on 1.014. I'll leave it a few days and check and report back but still reckon it's cactus.


----------



## menoetes

Here's what I have on the top of my first Saison guys, lotsa small clumps of white dots about half the size of a grain of rice.






My google-fu isn't the strongest but I get the sense I might have a Brettanomyces infection or then again, maybe not - that's the interwebs for you...

It tastes OK out the the sample tube but here's the kicker - as it is my first Saison; I'm not entirely clear on how it should taste anyway. Isn't a Saison meant to be a bit funky and a bit sour? This uncertainty makes tasting an infection a little difficult.


----------



## carniebrew

Do deliberate infections count? This is my Berliner Weisse after 3 weeks in the fermenter, with a combination of White Labs 677 Lacto Delbrueckii and a handful or two of pilsner grain in the starter for good luck...smells great, but not tasting sour enough yet!


----------



## menoetes

My infection has progressed into something that looks very much like this. _Note: _This is not an actual photo of my beer but looks very nearly exactly the same. Am I looking at Brettanomyces here?

It's on a saison and only appeared at the end of the fermentation - should I be worried?


----------



## DJ_L3ThAL

Looks like a lacto infection I had a while back


----------



## dave81

Is this an infection or just yeast.the beer taste fine.this after being cc'd






Edit I didnt realise but as I was kegging it , it all dissappear (into my keg I imagine) but the mote I looked at it it could have been From the krausen (us05 yeast)


----------



## ticknerj

Dave, looks like yeast to me but the taste test is best. 

In my last brew, I had these white colonies that looked like paint chips. There was no unusual odour or taste. Anyone have any idea what it could be? Never seen it before...


----------



## menoetes

Looks like the start of the infection I just had which I am _guessing _(note that this is just a guess) is a Brett or Lacto bacterial infection. Both of which are common will sour your beer. If it's finished fermenting, you can try bottling it now and checking it in 2- 3 weeks.

This will teach us to be more vigilant in our sanitation, no?


----------



## ticknerj

Thanks for the reply. I bottled it last night and couldn't taste any sourness but I'll see how it turns. My first infection after about a year of brewing, must be getting sloppy


----------



## Dave2233

Hi guys. Just seeing how you think this looks? It's a Pilsner that I put on yesterday. I'm not familiar with how brewing looks although I know fermentation often looks quite strange. This brew is bubbling quite furiously in my coopers diy fermenter and smells very strong but not off.


----------



## wereprawn

Dave2233 said:


> Hi guys. Just seeing how you think this looks? It's a Pilsner that I put on yesterday. I'm not familiar with how brewing looks although I know fermentation often looks quite strange. This brew is bubbling quite furiously in my coopers diy fermenter and smells very strong but not off.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ImageUploadedByAussie Home Brewer1417401738.238922.jpg


Looks normal to me Dave.


----------



## Mr. No-Tip

ticknerj said:


> Thanks for the reply. I bottled it last night and couldn't taste any sourness but I'll see how it turns. My first infection after about a year of brewing, must be getting sloppy


Be very vigilant with carbonation. If it is infected, it will likely continue chewing through and bottle bomb your ass. If it tastes bad infected once carbed, ditch all bottles. If it tastes good infected once carbed, fridge all bottles, check regularly and ditch if carbonation starts to get OTT.


----------



## Dave2233

wereprawn said:


> Looks normal to me Dave.


Thanks for the reassurance mate. I know I'm a worry wart with this stuff but I spose it's better to be safe than sorry


----------



## ticknerj

Mr. No-Tip said:


> Be very vigilant with carbonation. If it is infected, it will likely continue chewing through and bottle bomb your ass. If it tastes bad infected once carbed, ditch all bottles. If it tastes good infected once carbed, fridge all bottles, check regularly and ditch if carbonation starts to get OTT.


Thanks man. Tasting tomorrow so will see how it's travelling


----------



## Camo6

Dave2233 said:


> Thanks for the reassurance mate. I know I'm a worry wart *wort *with this stuff but I spose it's better to be safe than sorry


FTFY. Don't worry, the terminology will ingrain itself with time and hopfully you'll be bitter off mashing words with their decoctions.

Looks fine as mentioned. What temp and yeast you using with that bad boy?


----------



## Dave2233

Camo6 said:


> FTFY. Don't worry, the terminology will ingrain itself with time and hopfully you'll be bitter off mashing words with their decoctions.
> 
> Looks fine as mentioned. What temp and yeast you using with that bad boy?


Haha can't wait!

I'm keeping it at 22c throughout the whole period, just by sitting the vat in an esky with some water and ice bottles. Even in 40 degree heat I can keep it at 22. 

And the yeast is just the stuff that came in the Morgan's Pilsner kit. I do want to try using better yeast eventually but while I'm still new to this I want to get a few brews down before I start doing my own thing. 

Thanks again for the reassurance.


----------



## Alex.Tas

Obviously an infection. Blue/grey greeen fluff on top. It was a cheap batch made for my mum, made from 1 tin of coopers ginger beer kit, about 100g of grated ginger, a kilo of ldme and 500g of raw sugar. All boiled up then topped up to around 21L with tap water. Fermented down to 1.006 and then chilled to 2 deg for a week and a bit. Went to bottle tonight and saw this through the glad wrap. Tastes fine, but im unsure as to how far the infection has spread throughout the batch. If its gonna make some bottle bombs i reckon i'll ditch it. I'll be leaving the batch up at our family shack and will be unattended for extended periods of time (keeping below 5 degrees constantly isn't an option). Any thoughts as to if i should keep it?


----------



## DJ_L3ThAL

When in doubt, don't.

Or use PET bottles.


----------



## jhsbaker

Not sure if this is an infection...

Just opened my fermenter to bottle and there are some chunks floating on top of it.

I thought that I was pretty vigilant with everything... boiled my starter in conical flask to sterilise everything, sanitised all of my gear with starsan.

Smells good, so it's making me think maybe it is just some floating gunk. Fermented with Wyeast West Yorkshire Ale.


----------



## menoetes

The brown floaters are normal, just your yeast at work but the white flecks look a bit suss....

Has it finished fermenting yet? You could try racking off to a secondary (leaving the top layer behind) or just bottle it now. If it tastes good then I wouldn't be throwing it...


----------



## jhsbaker

Finished fermenting and bottled... I'll leave it for a few weeks then give it a taste. I think that it is ok.


----------



## michaeld16

Ive never used west yorkshire yeast before so im talking out my ass realy but dosnt it leave a bit of crud on the top?


----------



## jhsbaker

I used it before and had residue but not these lumps. It didn't smell infected, so hopefully it will be ok.


----------



## mattyg8

Just got back from holidays to a brew I left going... It has been in for bout 11 days... It looks like my chest freezer has stopped working ans it has been sitting at bout 23 deg and looks like this with bit floating at the top... Could this be because of higher temps? Also I lifted the fermenter up and can't remember if the air lock was in or not :/


----------



## Camo6

Looks like yeast. Temps haven't gone out of control so I'd be confident it was fine. Taste it to be sure and check FG is steady over a couple of days.
I've drawn countless airlock water into FV's over the years and never had a problem.

Edit: not much of a krausen ring though. What yeast was it?


----------



## mattyg8

Hey it was us-05 just a basic pale ale kit...


----------



## dave81

Wtf is that.is it just krausen formed together and not sunk yet? Dennys 1450 yeast.i split the yeast starter into 2 different brews the other doesnt look like that ??? I tasted it yesterday from a sample b4 I knew it was fine but very green



Edit
I hope it just yeast I just dumped 75gms of dry hops Into and most of just sank


----------



## manticle

Looks yeasty.

Draw off a sample and smell/taste.


----------



## dave81

manticle said:


> Looks yeasty.
> 
> Draw off a sample and smell/taste.


Your a wild man manticle, taste really 
I had hoped someone would say it looked yeasty which has calmed me down .I will taste another sample b4 I cold crash it just to make sure it is going okay , it was just quite an unusual sight for me. 
Im not sure I want to risk an infection opening it back up also.i figure if it is bad it bad no matter what so ill leave and find out in a couple of weeks


----------



## phoenixdigital

dave81 said:


> Wtf is that.is it just krausen formed together and not sunk yet?


Very likely yeast. Has it been sitting for a while?

We just saw something very similar for a Pilsner I put in the fermenter late Nov at 13 degrees. I pulled off a keg's worth early Dec after the primary ferment had finished (it wasnt there then). Then left the remaining 50 litres to relax over Christmas.

Opened it up last Tues and saw a few big chunks like this. My guess is due to the long time in the fermenter most of the yeast fell to the bottom and while resting there formed a nice solid cake (thanks gravity). With maybe a little bit of residual fermentation some CO2 dislodged it up and a big solid chunk went to the top of the fermenter.

My fellow brewer freaked out when we saw it. On a taste test all was good. I recall seeing something similar once before for a long ferment.


----------



## dave81

phoenixdigital said:


> Very likely yeast. Has it been sitting for a while?
> 
> We just saw something very similar for a Pilsner I put in the fermenter late Nov at 13 degrees. I pulled off a keg's worth early Dec after the primary ferment had finished (it wasnt there then). Then left the remaining 50 litres to relax over Christmas.
> 
> Opened it up last Tues and saw a few big chunks like this. My guess is due to the long time in the fermenter most of the yeast fell to the bottom and while resting there formed a nice solid cake (thanks gravity). With maybe a little bit of residual fermentation some CO2 dislodged it up and a big solid chunk went to the top of the fermenter.
> 
> My fellow brewer freaked out when we saw it. On a taste test all was good. I recall seeing something similar once before for a long ferment.


It been there for 13 days it did bubble for quite a long time though (like 10 days) so maybe as your saying dislidged a chunk and sent it to the top


----------



## stux

Looks like the yeast cake has started floating. Probably very flocculent (ie sticks together) and ended up with co2 forcing it to float


----------



## Trent0

I am trying a dark ale for 1st time. After 48hrs room where fermenter is smells sour.
Beer looks ok but also smells sour
Leave it, or
Do i Chuck it ?
Thanks


----------



## TheWiggman

Look at thread title. Hit us up with a photo.


----------



## Mr B

Another sour question.

I under pitched 2 25l batches.

Batch 1: 10g rehydrated us05, pitch gravity 1.053, after 15 days or so is at 1.012.

Batch 2:!


----------



## Mr B

Farking phone fingers!

Batch 2 same yeast dry, pitched 1.062, after 12 days or so is at 1.011.

Both gravities steady (finished and expected fg)

Both look ok

Batch 1:



Batch 2:




Batch 1 is fairly sour, batch 2 not so much but is also. Not sure if my head is farking with my taste a bit, but they both taste a bit 'unexpected'.

Is this potential infection, or potential taste effect from the pitch?

What do you think?

Have just turned the fridge to crash them to maybe see it through. I've never had this taste but still a bit new


----------



## Camo6

Probably not the right thread but:

Recently, I had a 3l erlenmeyer of left over ESB wort in the fermenting fridge to use for a starter and forgot about it (or ignored it to be frank). A few weeks later it started to spontaneously ferment (whilst using WY1469 in the fermenting fridge) and figured I'd let it finish. It'd had the original foil cap and a layer of gladwrap with a laccy band holding it on but still fired up. Krausen was thick and top heavy like 1469. Ended up putting the flask in the fridge for a week and dared a taste tonight. I reckon it's cleaner than the original ESB ferment and full of toffee goodness! Yeast is a wonderful thing. That is all.


----------



## CoxR

As this is only brew 4 for me I have not seen anything floating on top after fermenting. I kegged it today and tastes fine. I just wanted some 'reassurance.


----------



## michaeld16

Looks fine mate


----------



## mckenry

Hey All,
This isnt really the right place to post my question as I dont have a photo. Besides, my beer doesnt look infected anyway.

Q. How early can you detect an infection?

Background: Brewed Friday, chilled, but didnt get to pitching temp until saturday. Sealed up fermenter, purged headspace with CO2. On saturday morning, wort was at 12°, so waited for it to warm up. I had to pitch at 14° as I was going out. I figured pitching cooler was better than hotter. Oxygenated as usual.
Sunday I tasted my wort when it had started fermenting. Visible blowoff action. It was back at 19°. I wanted to taste it as I had used homegrown hops in the whirlpool. It has a cider smell and taste. Ergh. Worried.

I have never bothered tasting fermenting wort that early. AND F-it - I forgot to taste and smell my yeast starter, for the first time ever - Bloody Murphy! So, if it is an infection, I dont know where it came from yet.

Still - is a cider(ish) taste possible early on in the ferment? Anyone taste test this early? Ferment was probably only 6-12 hours in. I'm hoping its normal this early. I havent had an infection for years, probably 15 years or more I reckon, so my sanitation is good from my point of view. The starter was a new vial of Cali V started as per my normal routine.

Thanks.


----------



## perko8

Is this an infection?
Only bottled the night before this pic taken. Just this one bottle with this mark on the side. Poured the beer and it tasted ok, got the bit of grey stuff out. Kinda dark grey slimy rubbery


----------



## luggy

Hard to see but yeah most probably, hopefully its just that bottle.


----------



## mckenry

mckenry said:


> Hey All,
> This isnt really the right place to post my question as I dont have a photo. Besides, my beer doesnt look infected anyway.
> 
> Q. How early can you detect an infection?
> 
> Background: Brewed Friday, chilled, but didnt get to pitching temp until saturday. Sealed up fermenter, purged headspace with CO2. On saturday morning, wort was at 12°, so waited for it to warm up. I had to pitch at 14° as I was going out. I figured pitching cooler was better than hotter. Oxygenated as usual.
> Sunday I tasted my wort when it had started fermenting. Visible blowoff action. It was back at 19°. I wanted to taste it as I had used homegrown hops in the whirlpool. It has a cider smell and taste. Ergh. Worried.
> 
> I have never bothered tasting fermenting wort that early. AND F-it - I forgot to taste and smell my yeast starter, for the first time ever - Bloody Murphy! So, if it is an infection, I dont know where it came from yet.
> 
> Still - is a cider(ish) taste possible early on in the ferment? Anyone taste test this early? Ferment was probably only 6-12 hours in. I'm hoping its normal this early. I havent had an infection for years, probably 15 years or more I reckon, so my sanitation is good from my point of view. The starter was a new vial of Cali V started as per my normal routine.
> 
> Thanks.


An update for future reference for anyone. The beer is definitely infected. Seems you can pick up the smell/taste on day one of fermentation.


----------



## Ciderman

So I couldn't get ahold of the yeast I wanted and waited 48 hours. I read of people cubing beer so thought I could just put it in the fermenter and wait. Went to pitch the yeast and found a fair bit of krausen. Gravity had dropped 10 points. Looked normal, smells slightly vegetive, like a faint celery aroma. Sounds like DMS?

I pitched the yeast anyway, figured what have I got to loose? I'm thinking its spoiled, thoughts?

All grain, rye mild beer. Hit all targets and temperatures. Cooled to 35 degrees with chiller and put in fridge at 18 degrees for 48 hours.


----------



## stevemc32

Generally people cubing wort will do it at ~90 degrees and try to remove as much air as possible from the cube to reduce the chances of that shown in your photo.

Definitely worth fermenting out though and giving it a taste. Could be your new house strain!


----------



## Mardoo

Ciderman said:


> So I couldn't get ahold of the yeast I wanted and waited 48 hours. I read of people cubing beer so thought I could just put it in the fermenter and wait. Went to pitch the yeast and found a fair bit of krausen. Gravity had dropped 10 points. Looked normal, smells slightly vegetive, like a faint celery aroma. Sounds like DMS?


So was that just krausen from wild yeast? Dayum! Ferment it out. I'd love to hear what it's like.


----------



## Ciderman

Mardoo said:


> So was that just krausen from wild yeast? Dayum! Ferment it out. I'd love to hear what it's like.


It would appear so. I'm clinical in cleaning so I'm a little shocked to see something amiss. I'll just leave it and see what happens, though as optimistic as you are, I'm not so sure I have something drinkable yet!


----------



## stevemc32

It's pretty hard to clean the air.


----------



## phoenixdigital

stevemc32 said:


> It's pretty hard to clean the air.


FIRE!!!!!


----------



## Mardoo

Ciderman said:


> though as optimistic as you are, I'm not so sure I have something drinkable yet!


I think it's probably closer to morbid curiosity.


----------



## hwall95

My saison yeast cake that I left glad wrapped in a dark for two weeks. Not exactly sure how it got infected as the beer isn't and my sanitisation was as per normal (clean with oxy soap, boil, sanitise then pour yeast cake out) but it does have a decent pellicle! I'm starting to think my new house has a pretty strong wild yeast floating about (one infected starter and one infected washed yeast every since I moved in), will have to keep my starters in my cleaned fermenting fridge on my stir plate from now one incase


----------



## menoetes

Urgh, I know your pain Harry.

I've just checked on my Spiced Saison that's been fermenting at ambient under the house and it has formed a firm white pellicle over the top of the wort. No photo sorry lads but I'm guessing it's another lacto infection - just like I had last time I tried to brew a Saison at ambient temps.

I've siphoned the beer out from under pellicle into a 2ndary vessel but I don't have high hopes for this brew, if it forms again - I'm ditching the whole brew.

Why God, why won't you let me brew Saisons?!


----------



## hwall95

Argh man that's a shame, weird how a less complicated brew like a saison is more troubling! Any similarities between the previous batch and this? 

I'm yet to try your previous batch, will give it a taste on the weekend with my older brother, who knows it may of turned out alright


----------



## Liam_snorkel

Yum, sour saison!


----------



## technobabble66

Thundering mutha truckas!!!!
I think I have my first infection. 
I discovered this as I was dropping a bag of hops flowers into the FV:


Nooooooooooo!!!!!!
I saw it after I'd started to put the bag in, so I had already "dipped" some of it into the beer - otherwise I might've considered draining the FV in the hope the infection was just at the top.

Sodding sod!!!!

Any ideas?


----------



## DJ_L3ThAL

Did you dry snake skin hop that beer?


----------



## technobabble66

Hehe. It does look a bit odd, doesn't it - just the hop sock I can assure you. No snakes go near the production of my beer. 

On another odd note, I had a glass or 2 or it last night straight from the FV - what the hell, I'll probably have to toss the lot soon - and the funny thing is it tastes perfectly fine. (Obviously I wouldn't have touched it if it tasted bad!). 
What's with that? What sort of infection pillages the top of the FV and leaves the rest? Or is it simply a matter of time before the rest it trashed?


----------



## DJ_L3ThAL

An aerobic infection does...

Keg the bottom half or so stat!!!


----------



## technobabble66

Quick update:
It continued to taste fine out of the FV, so i helped myself to a few litres out of the FV over a couple of days as it was actually tasting pretty damn good (hence the extreme disappointment that it'd become infected!)*
I then bottled it on the 22nd (3 days after dropping the columbus flowers in). I intended to just do the bottom 1/2 or 2/3rds, but it continued to taste fine all the way to the last 2-3L so i ended up only leaving maybe 2L in the FV. The rest went into (mainly plastic) bottles, which are now left outside in case they become bombs. I'll see how it goes and report later during the tasting (or exploding!).
FWIW, the FV smelt a bit vinegary after i'd drained it, so i'm guessing it was an Aceto- infection.

Also fwiw, the flowers (that i'd cut in halves to improve extraction) still had almost all of their lupulin glands intact, so i don't think i got much extraction from my flowers. However, i didn't want to leave it for much longer - i would've normally left them for ~2 weeks. I must crush the flowers a bit next time to see if that improves extraction rate.






*ok, so it was several litres h34r:


----------



## froidy




----------



## froidy

Hi guys, need desperate help! About to bottle and saw this? Could this be my first infection? I've done about thirty brews, never had a problem but just lately I have had fruit flies hanging around  Should I bottle or throw it? Smells kinda strong/vinegary ^^^^^^^

Been in the fermenter 3 weeks, between 18-24 max


----------



## DJ_L3ThAL

Look at technobabbles recent experience above, id follow a similar path. But yes looks infected in your photo to me if the lighting/colour is accurate.


----------



## technobabble66

Yep, looks v similar to my infection above (post 633). Mine seemed to be an Aceto infection
Try a few taste tests. I assume you're at FG, so if it tastes fine, then maybe bottle the bottom half or so.
And treat it as though it could turn out to be bottle bombs - just to be on the safe side.

Aceto infections are aerobic (as DJ_Lethal pointed out above), so it should basically just be sitting on the surface and hopefully hasn't corrupted the bulk of the beer, hence you should be able to get away with bottling some of it.
At your own risk though.
Otherwise turf it!


----------



## menoetes

This batch is already tipped but for academic purposes - can anyone pick this infection?







It's the second time I've had it in a Saison being fermented at room temp. It's kinda pretty in a way but not pretty enough to be escused for destroying 22lts of Spiced Saison. :angry:


----------



## technobabble66

Mine looked a bit like a lesser version of that.
I believe mine was an Aceto infection. Had a vinegary smell to it.
So if you wanted to stick with it, you could go for a sour saison. Maybe.
FWIW, acetobacter is meant to not cause any major gut problems/illness, so you could try bottling the bottom half. Maybe.

Otherwise, commiserations on losing a brew to the mouldy side.


----------



## Weizguy

How many contaminants in this batch? Smelled like you can imagine. Had to leave it a while to get this rich a microflora collection.
I could try and describe the aroma, but someone could be eating/ Know what I mean?
Needless to say, I think the fermentor is stuffed.


----------



## technobabble66

Burn it ! 
Burn it all !!


----------



## Mr. No-Tip

Fark Les. I was eating breakfast...


----------



## Liam_snorkel

I'm surprised there aren't maggots! Or are there? :/
It looks like a drip tray / water bath I had left in my kettle barbecue for a few weeks.. gag


----------



## yum beer

kill it with fire.


----------



## Weizguy

no guys, it's what was left in the fermentor after I emptied the fermented beer into a keg, and then it went back in the fridge with the lid on, at ambient, over Summer (door closed).

I may or may not have other fermentors with similar states of decayed wort in them, only one of which has a pellicle (or it did 3 years ago when I looked, but it was a really old fermentor).

Do you think I could fix my possum problem with it. Looks like oysters at the bottom of the picture. So, no takers on the identification game?

I know it started with acetobacter, and some neoruspora crassa (common green bread mould), and no doubt some wild yeast...


----------



## phoenixdigital

Les the Weizguy said:


> I may or may not have other fermentors with similar states of decayed wort in them


You really should clean them out or you are going to summon/breed a Golgothan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEdOqYEwcT8


----------



## Weizguy

Noted. Tomorrow is 'Purge' day. Photos to follow.


----------



## Weizguy

Just purged an infected Helles into the septic tank. It spontaneously fermented at 10°C after 2 days. No excuses, just a picture. Tastes lagery and a little medicinal. YES, I tasted it. I have tasted worse in brew comps...


----------



## manticle

Suddenly prison hooch looks like a mid-range kind of idea.


----------



## Edak

Les the Weizguy said:


> Just purged an infected Helles into the septic tank. It spontaneously fermented at 10°C after 2 days. No excuses, just a picture. Tastes lagery and a little medicinal. YES, I tasted it. I have tasted worse in brew comps...
> 
> Helles yeah.jpg


I hope you tasted it before putting into the septic tank...


----------



## mrsupraboy

What do you guys think. Its a 2 can. Mix been tooheys and a draught. Tastes very caramelly and syrupy. Reading is at 1030. Im gonna give it a giant stir to reactivate it. And take it out of the fridge. Its been a month. Do u think its a doosy. Was pitched with pilsiner lagar yeast


----------



## jhsbaker

From the info that you have given it seems more like a stuck fermentation than an infection. What temp did you ferment at? Did you use dry or liquid yeast? If dry did you rehydrate before adding it? If liquid, how old was the yeast and did you do a starter? How much yeast did you pitch? Did you aerate the wort before adding yeast? 

I assume you have a thermostat on your fridge (had to ask) - if not normal fridge temp ~1-3c will be too low for Lager fermentation. If you stir be careful not to add any contamination and not to oxidise (stir gently). I would slowly increase temp to ~17c at 1-2c / day.


----------



## mrsupraboy

I know i got a stuck fermentation but look at the top of the wort. It looks like detergent. (Dont use any)


----------



## michaeld16

Yeah cant realy say from the photo if ya got an infection problem but as james has said you definitely have a fermentation problem. Was the the temp steady? A few degree swing lower and the yeast could of gone to sleep


----------



## Beer Ninja

ekul said:


> Thanks raven. I have often thought that a thread where people can put up pics of infections would be great. I might have one of my own very soon. A coopers clone didn't fire up for a few days. I din't bother checking it because the coopers yeast has never failed on me. I had forgotten that i had frozen my yeast samples.
> There's something on the top growing, it may be yeast, or it may be infection. Smells like coopers though so we will see.


Once, years ago I had a pancake of mold floating on top of the fermenter. I rank the kit manufacturer, Coopers up and they said if it smelt and tasted OK then just leave it and let it complete fermentation. They added that 'sometimes strange things can happen during fermentation' It did smell and taste OK and I ended up bottling it and drinking it. Only ever happened the once. Too weird....


----------



## mrsupraboy

This is a better look. I stired the yeast up straight away. Temp control was 10 degrees. I do find it can drop to 9 as my heat strip i had in the fridge destroyed itself


----------



## michaeld16

Yeah that white film looks pretty suss


----------



## Camo6

You stirred it in, you say?


----------



## mrsupraboy

I stirred up the yeast trying not to touch the film.


----------



## TheWiggman

Arrrrggggghhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A post well worthy of this thread. If that's not a doozy I don't know what is.


----------



## bingggo

Hi folks,


Have fermented quite a few cider brews simply by adding SafCider yeast to 100% apple juice that has been recently pressed at an orchard (no pasteurisation, heat treatment, sulfiting etc).


However, my latest has these grey thready spots on it, that from the first page of this thread looks like acetobacteria?


I haven't smelled it yet, but guess I should expect a vinegary smell.


Anyone have similar on their ciders? What did you do 


B


----------



## Wrayza

Does anyone else's brain read "infected potato thread" when they glance at this topic? No? Just me? Okay...


----------



## Camo6

Sorry, had to be done.


----------



## TheWiggman

bingggo said:


> Anyone have similar on their ciders? What did you do


Yes, had that once. Son decided to feed a watering fitting from the lawn through the airlock hole. The webbiness disappeared after 2 days so I thought all was well. Tasted it after 3 weeks and without hesitation tipped it on the lawn.


----------



## Lowlyf

petesbrew said:


> Made me think of a youtube clip I saw the other day. Lost Youtube at work sadly, so enter "Hilarious British Animal Voiceovers".
> "Nighttime, Daytime! Nighttime, Daytime!"


Hahaha I love that video. Allen! Allen! Wait that's not Allen... Steve! Steve!


----------



## Lowlyf

Yob said:


> thoughts ladies and gents?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 1.JPG Im OK with the green bits.. just pellet dust..
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 2.JPG Its the brown bits that have me concerned.. aint never seen them B4 :unsure:
> 
> Been @ 2'c for 5 days.
> 
> As always
> 
> :icon_cheers:


Excuse my ignorance, but I like the cling wrap idea, however how does the co2 escape?


----------



## Yob

Just pushes it's way out.. Kinda like farts..


----------



## Camo6

And sometimes a bit of krausen sneaks out. Again, kinda like farts...


----------



## sponge

Lowlyf said:


> Excuse my ignorance, but I like the cling wrap idea, however how does the co2 escape?


Link for clingwrap thread


----------



## Nullnvoid

Normally I'm not the worrying kind (might not be true) but this is my case swap beer and have never seen this before. This is after 7 days. Does it look normal?


----------



## Dan Pratt

^^looks like a whole bunch of hops and yeast.

What did you make?


----------



## Nullnvoid

Pratty1 said:


> ^^looks like a whole bunch of hops and yeast.
> 
> What did you make?


Shit it's meant to be straight water!

It's just a pale ale, just never seen the top like that before and all the hops were strained out.


----------



## Dan Pratt

Looks like you missed some.


----------



## Nullnvoid

Yeah I guess I did


----------



## Mr. No-Tip

Nullnvoid said:


> Shit it's meant to be straight water!
> 
> It's just a pale ale, just never seen the top like that before and all the hops were strained out.


I was reading the braukaiser article on pH earlier today and noted that the appearance of hops in the krausen can be the result of the pH lowering during fermentation. Due to the way hop solubility changes relative to pH, the hop compounds are coming out of solution.

He even cites some literature that suggests skimming these compounds would make for a less harsh bitterness, but I'm not sure I'd go that far!


----------



## Tex N Oz

Does this look infected?

I had a few pints and now my mangoes are a bit tingly.


----------



## Mardoo

Posting pictures of creme brulee is off topic.


----------



## loco88

2 separate brews, 2 separate processes, same effing result.


----------



## benno1973

loco88 said:


> 2 separate brews, 2 separate processes, same effing result.


What's that big black cord leading into your fermenter?!!


----------



## loco88

Kaiser Soze said:


> What's that big black cord leading into your fermenter?!!


Immersion heater. May use it to choke myself if the next batch goes too.


----------



## benno1973

Did you use that for both brews? That's a possible source of infection, rather large in the grand scheme of things.

Don't use the immersion heater in the fermenter next time, find another way. If you're using a fridge, put the immersion heater in a bucket of water an heat the water, which will in turn heat the fridge temps and your fermenter temps.


----------



## loco88

Got a thermowell in the mail (AusPost takes forever these days...) and blowoff tubing so I can use it in the fridge with my brewpi. I changed it up and used this FV & heater because 1) I'd successfully used them a couple of times before; and 2) I just had to toss a FV due to infection issues. I thought I'd solved the problem, and voila. I've created new problems. 

When sterilizing (not sanitizing) does water temp matter? How much contact time is a solid bet? I feel like I'm probably doing something basic and stupid and losing dozens of litres because of it.


----------



## shane_mj

I brewed a sour wort batch normal brew day, up until boil didnt boil kept the wort at 46c for 3 days with 425g of unmiled two row in the wort. dont have any pics, because its not so much of an infection but just no fermentation, any tips? Pre boil sg 1040. after boil sg 1070 no pH test as I dont have pH tests. Pitched us 05 after boil at 21c, been 3 weeks since I pitched the yeast.
Thanks


----------



## barls

how does it taste?


----------



## shane_mj

barls said:


> how does it taste?


Taste is still very nice as nice as unfermented sour wort should be, still very very cloudy gravity is still the same.


----------



## Yob

loco88 said:


> Got a thermowell in the mail (AusPost takes forever these days...) and blowoff tubing so I can use it in the fridge with my brewpi. I changed it up and used this FV & heater because 1) I'd successfully used them a couple of times before; and 2) I just had to toss a FV due to infection issues. I thought I'd solved the problem, and voila. I've created new problems.
> 
> When sterilizing (not sanitizing) does water temp matter? How much contact time is a solid bet? I feel like I'm probably doing something basic and stupid and losing dozens of litres because of it.


What's your current process for sanitising? Can't really sterilise at home.. What do you use?

The hole in the lid doesn't fill me with much joy, nor the immersion heater. Better off with a reptile heater or heat pad.. Even a light and terracotta pot.. Anything but that immersion heater..


----------



## loco88

Yob said:


> What's your current process for sanitising? Can't really sterilise at home.. What do you use?
> 
> The hole in the lid doesn't fill me with much joy, nor the immersion heater. Better off with a reptile heater or heat pad.. Even a light and terracotta pot.. Anything but that immersion heater..


Maybe I'm mixing up my terminology, if that's the case then complete this sentence: "StarSan is a sanitizer, PBW/SodPerc is a _____" I've been calling it a sterilizer, but I'm no bright spark.

My current process with fermenters:

On brew day/eve, appropriate scoop of PBW/SodPerc into the fermenter and fill from the hose
Let it sit for 30-60 minutes
Drain from the tap, swirling/shaking/wiping gunk off with a Chux (being sure to wet are again with cleaning solution)
Rinse
Rinse again
Squirt of StarSan, fill again from the hose
Drain as wort is cooling, lid is on at this point and filled to the point that solution is coming out the airlock hole
Take fermenter to kettle, open lid and open ball valve. The lid sits on top of the valve so to minimize shit falling in there.
Once full, add airlock, waddle full fermenter inside to the fridge if it's on the BrewPi, or table if it's using the immersion heater
Pitch yeast next morning
Stare at it at every opportunity
Anyway I can't explain the FV infection above, but the bottle infection was from a separate batch, and one (eventual) look into my bottling wand and I found the source... Gross. Picked up a mostly clear one for my next attempt.

On the immersion heater, I have since cracked it with plastic altogether and managed to pick up 2 glass carboys for reasonable prices and am now using them. One less place for nasties to be hiding in the cracks. But since only one can fit in the fridge at a time, I'm going to place carboy 2 in a big flexi-bucket thing, fill with water, and the heater can go in the water and heat from there. Too expensive to toss, to risky to use in beer. 

And so my process changes again... This hobby will be the death of me.


----------



## Mardoo

PBW etc are cleaners. Cleaners remove contaminant materials. Sanitisers kill or incapacitate up to a certain percentage of living contaminants. You need to use both a cleaner and a sanitiser. They cannot do each other's job. Not sure about caustic in that regard though. Anyone know whether you need to sanitise after cleaning with caustic?


----------



## brewermp

Hi all need some advice. Have been brewing this and have had it in the fermenter for around 3 weeks. I think it stopped fermenting last week as it reached its fg but I didn't have time to bottle it . What does everyone think? Used us05 at 18.5c

Forgot to mention. It smells like beer. Haven't tasted yet.


----------



## kalbarluke

Brewermp: Taste it. A sip won't kill you, even if it's infected. If it tastes remotely like beer, bottle it. 

By the way, it looks fine. Sitting for a week once it reaches FG is fine. If you left in at FG for two months, that might pose a problem.


----------



## michaeld16

It looks like beer, smells like beer, if it tastes like beer, well you made beer


----------



## Mr B

brewermp said:


> Hi all need some advice. Have been brewing this and have had it in the fermenter for around 3 weeks. I think it stopped fermenting last week as it reached its fg but I didn't have time to bottle it . What does everyone think? Used us05 at 18.5c
> 
> Forgot to mention. It smells like beer. Haven't tasted yet.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ImageUploadedByAussie Home Brewer1437181634.410916.jpg
> 
> 
> 
> ImageUploadedByAussie Home Brewer1437181653.661714.jpg


Looks ok


----------



## Lowlyf

Is this anything to worry about?
It smells highly of alcohol, almost burns the nose


----------



## kalbarluke

Lowlyf said:


> Is this anything to worry about?
> It smells highly of alcohol, almost burns the nose


What does it taste like?


----------



## Lowlyf

kalbarluke said:


> What does it taste like?


The other day I tasted and it was pretty good, bitter as ****, but good


----------



## michaeld16

It looks ok to me maybe the burn of the nose was co2


----------



## technobabble66

Lowlyf said:


> Is this anything to worry about?
> It smells highly of alcohol, almost burns the nose


May be fine. The nose burn could be co2 & alcohol
However the film on the bubbles look a little like the bubbles in a aceto infection (I had one a few months ago). 
Does it have a sour or vinegary smell? If so it may be aceto. 
If it is, read up on acetobacter. Not harmful to people, aerobic. If you wanted u may be able to bottle half/most of it - if it still tastes ok. 

However, as stated, it may be totally fine - the surface can sometimes look a little odd once the krausen drops.


----------



## kalbarluke

Lowlyf said:


> The other day I tasted and it was pretty good, bitter as ****, but good


I would still bottle it. Bitterness may subdue over time.


----------



## nic0

Been brewing since 2002 and i have only ever had to tip one brew out and that was when i first started kegging and i didn't rinse the keg out properly after i sanitized it with clorox oxi magic. The below is a coopers real ale that i left in the primary for 3 weeks which is what i normally do during the cooler months as i don't have a fermentation fridge. The FG was normal, it didn't have any weird flavors or smell when i took a sample so i kegged it. The yeast cake looked normal, is this my first Aceto infection?


----------



## razz

If it smells okay then that's good, but how does it taste after kegging?


----------



## nic0

razz said:


> If it smells okay then that's good, but how does it taste after kegging?


I havent tapped the keg yet but when i tasted a sample after i checked the FG it was all good. I only discovered the stuff on top after i started filling the keg. The stuff clung and stuck to the side of the fementer so none of it ended up in the keg.


----------



## Grott

Probably will be ok. Let us know how it turns out for interest sake.
Cheers


----------



## Danscraftbeer

My first Infection. I almost feel proud because its beer I've just kegged and smells and tastes good.
it was an experimental Australian Saison Thang inspired by somebody on this forum, I cant remember who off hand....

Saison range Aussie Ale with cultured Coopers Yeast. Brewed at the top end of temperatures (mine got to 23-24c in full ferment). It smelled good like fruit salad with bananas. Left for 24 days. Sitting temp is 18c. Gravity test, I smelled, I taste tested, its all good and I'm exited with this actually. Just dry hopped 2 kegs and saved two 750ml bottles of the yeast cake.

Any tips on what this is other than a wild yeast I picked up somehow. I do brew outside but with very cautious measures of containment of the wort in cooling and decanting etc. Never had this before!!!!

I'm going with this whatever it is. The beer tastes good and I have two bottles of the yeast for some mutated home culture Aussie Saison or some freak thing haha.

What is it????? :unsure: White patches on the walls. Some floaties. Its very white.


----------



## Danscraftbeer

Added to the above I shelter my ferments in darkness. Never open the lid from pitching to look at it etc. and didn't see this until after decanting.


----------



## Danscraftbeer

nic0 said:


> I havent tapped the keg yet but when i tasted a sample after i checked the FG it was all good. I only discovered the stuff on top after i started filling the keg. The stuff clung and stuck to the side of the fementer so none of it ended up in the keg.


So I guess your drinking this stuff and its all good yeah? Give us the deets. B)


----------



## Tex N Oz

Hell I'd drink that!!
I've had a few brews I've had to wrestle down, they were so alive..


----------



## technobabble66

nic0 said:


> Been brewing since 2002 and i have only ever had to tip one brew out and that was when i first started kegging and i didn't rinse the keg out properly after i sanitized it with clorox oxi magic. The below is a coopers real ale that i left in the primary for 3 weeks which is what i normally do during the cooler months as i don't have a fermentation fridge. The FG was normal, it didn't have any weird flavors or smell when i took a sample so i kegged it. The yeast cake looked normal, is this my first Aceto infection?


Looks like aceto, but I couldn't be sure. 
If it still tastes ok it's probably an aerobic infection that's just sitting on and affecting the top. Aceto is aerobic so it fits the bill.


----------



## DJ_L3ThAL

Not an infection in finished beer but some recently stored leftover wort has grown something interesting. These were filled just how I no chill into the cubes but had two passata bottle lids not seal quite right as when they cooled the lid didnt suck in. Obviously demonstrates the importance of a good cube seal and limiting oxygen intake during storage at room temp! The jars which lids sealed and sucked in don't appear to have any of this kind of growth.


----------



## Tex N Oz

My ex used to grow some nasty shit that looked like that called kambucha. It smelled and tasted like a cross between dirty socks and ass.


----------



## DJ_L3ThAL

I'm not game its already on its way to the WWTP.


----------



## welly2

Bollocks. I think I have an infection. Dry hopped this morning, the krausen was looking thick and dark and now I've got what looks like mould growing on top.

Edit. I'm going to leave it, as it could just be the krausen breaking up as I moved the fermenter a bit. Will check again tomorrow.


----------



## Mardoo

FWIW it looks like krausen breaking up, from this blurry side of the tracks.


----------



## welly2

Mardoo said:


> FWIW it looks like krausen breaking up, from this blurry side of the tracks.


Here's hoping because the beer tasted amazing when I checked the gravity, before adding the hops (50g motueka). I had/have high hopes for this one.


----------



## nic0

grott said:


> Probably will be ok. Let us know how it turns out for interest sake.
> Cheers


Finished the keg and the beer was fine. Did another brew and that stuff started forming again. I am going to use a different sanitizer and see if that fixes it.


----------



## cwusson

I think I might have some infected bottles. Image here: https://i.imgur.com/sbLOvXo.jpg

Extract IPA, included dry hopping. 1 week into conditioning some but not all of the bottles appear as above.
Brew tasted fine out of fermenter.
Sanitisation involved soaking bottles in oxy clean, then a wash with pink stain and letting dry on a rack overnight before bottling.
Assuming this is an infection am I best to take extra precautions for the risk of bottle bombs?
Should I taste one now to see if I can taste anything funky?


----------



## osprey brewday

May just be fermentation of the bottle prime.


----------



## cwusson

osprey brewday said:


> May just be fermentation of the bottle prime.


Hopefully! My concerns are around the thick looking foam, and the strands clinging together as they filter down.


----------



## osprey brewday

I haven't paid to much attention to the bottles during that stage.just been put somewhere dark and cool and back a month or two later


----------



## sp0rk

FAAAAAARK
I brewed a North English Brown about 6 months ago and it's been sitting in a cube ever since, I haven't had the chance to chuck it on to ferment since we moved in July
I've been living away for work but came down this week for a job interview and noticed the cube was swollen up, which it wasn't last time I looked
I'd guess possibly the lids were bumped during the move (or by swmbo recently...) and it's sucked some air in
It doesn't smell funky, but there is a little clinger on of greenish mould in the top of the cube and some slimy bits hanging off the top
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DUPWDld8KeSRL8aDapavC10JrKZqE4pTIw/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MTuPIvVDpc-SSZMW9oKu_bIVRCQ3iltaWg/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/15yBIoEG1sV60_mOQp07YbsyLYek2Rg8fSg/view?usp=sharing

I'm half tempted to siphon it off and ferment it to see how it goes
The only dry yeast on hand is some W34/70
I've got a 12 month old slurry of Wyeast 1272 that I can quickly make a starter for and pitch, but is it really worth the risk?
Thoughts?

**edit**
Narrr stuff it, I'll tip it out on the garden while crying


----------



## Danscraftbeer

> My first Infection. I almost feel proud because its beer I've just kegged and smells and tastes good.
> it was an experimental Australian Saison Thang inspired by somebody on this forum, I cant remember who off hand....
> 
> Saison range Aussie Ale with cultured Coopers Yeast. Brewed at the top end of temperatures (mine got to 23-24c in full ferment). It smelled good like fruit salad with bananas. Left for 24 days. Sitting temp is 18c. Gravity test, I smelled, I taste tested, its all good and I'm exited with this actually. Just dry hopped 2 kegs and saved two 750ml bottles of the yeast cake.
> 
> Any tips on what this is other than a wild yeast I picked up somehow. I do brew outside but with very cautious measures of containment of the wort in cooling and decanting etc. Never had this before!!!!
> 
> I'm going with this whatever it is. The beer tastes good and I have two bottles of the yeast for some mutated home culture Aussie Saison or some freak thing haha.
> 
> What is it????? :unsure: White patches on the walls. Some floaties. Its very white.


Just to recap on this above. This was a very nice drinking beer, and its all gone. Was also approved by others. I'm still confused as to what those white patches grown on the walls are. I've never had it before. Coopers cultured yeast allowed to brew up to 23c in full ferment is the only thing I did different.
Any insight welcome.


----------



## Yob

beer Voodoo man.. Beer Voodoo


----------



## Danscraftbeer

sp0rk said:


> FAAAAAARK
> I brewed a North English Brown about 6 months ago and it's been sitting in a cube ever since, I haven't had the chance to chuck it on to ferment since we moved in July
> I've been living away for work but came down this week for a job interview and noticed the cube was swollen up, which it wasn't last time I looked
> It doesn't smell funky, but there is a little clinger on of greenish mould in the top of the cube and some slimy bits hanging off the top
> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DUPWDld8KeSRL8aDapavC10JrKZqE4pTIw/view?usp=sharing
> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MTuPIvVDpc-SSZMW9oKu_bIVRCQ3iltaWg/view?usp=sharing
> 
> When in doubt chuck it out with consumables is my motto. Botulism is a risk not worth taking that's for sure. Or you could boil it again but that may change the flavour some what.
> https://drive.google.com/file/d/15yBIoEG1sV60_mOQp07YbsyLYek2Rg8fSg/view?usp=sharing
> 
> I'm half tempted to siphon it off and ferment it to see how it goes
> The only dry yeast on hand is some W34/70
> I've got a 12 month old slurry of Wyeast 1272 that I can quickly make a starter for and pitch, but is it really worth the risk?
> Thoughts?
> 
> **edit**
> Narrr stuff it, I'll tip it out on the garden while crying


What happened to my comment????????? :huh:
I said something like: When in doubt chuck it out with food and beverage is my motto. Botulism is not worth the risk that's for sure. Or you could boil it again but probably change the whole flavour thing.
Ah yeah those image links don't work for me...


----------



## TheWiggman

CALLING ALL DARRENS!


----------



## shacked

I've been away for the last 3 weeks and i put a 'session pale ale' fresh wort for a mates birthday on before I left. Starting gravity: 1.042 and I'm getting 1.006 from my calibrated hydrometer. I used US05 - rehydrated. 

I opened it up to dry hop and saw this (ignore dry hops):





Usually I wouldn't be too concerned but the finishing gravity seems a bit low. The beer tastes bone dry and not overly flavorful but does seem to taste 'off'. Any thoughts on this one?


----------



## Kingy

Looks healthy to me


----------



## Camo6

Looks good from here too. Might be a waste of dry hops if it's for a mate's party. Bet it gets chugged down so quick it never touches the palate!


----------



## shacked

Camo6 said:


> Looks good from here too. Might be a waste of dry hops if it's for a mate's party. Bet it gets chugged down so quick it never touches the palate!


Cheers mate. 

Agree with you, made this one with the least effort possible: fresh wort kit + dry yeast + leftover hops + PET bottles (party is on a boat) + carb drops. 

Had made a completely different brew but ended up keeping the cube of AG golden ale for myself!!!


----------



## motch02

Thoughts on this?

Cheers,


----------



## Mardoo

Infected. But does it taste good?


----------



## motch02

Shall need to give it a try when I get home, had a quick look this morning

It's a 10% Braggot, shall be an interesting mix now


----------



## TimT

I bottled a light brown ale on the weekend; it was one of my beers intended for this year's case swap. Was peering into the bottles today for signs of carbonation and instead saw - bam! - a white film in almost all of them. Very much like the first photo in this thread: possibly aceto. Some that didn't have a white film still had white platelets; really annoying! 

I guess the infection either happened during bottling, or a day or so before bottling - I let the brew sit for a while to try to infuse it with some vanilla flavour. 

In my experience these sort of infections don't seem to carb (I don't think I've ever had a bottle bomb of that sort). Not sure what others think. I'm assuming the yeast is entirely helpless now and the bacteria is ripping through the brew chewing up available nutrients. I've given all of the bottles a shake to try to break up their protective pellicle and give the yeast a chance; we'll see whether carbing has happened in a few weeks I guess. But all in all, disappointing. 

But I still have my intended case swap brew  This infected one was intended as an 'insurance' in case the case swap brew got infected! So I suppose that it almost worked out pretty much as I intended. 

I'll give this one a few weeks to try to carb up. If not, into the slug traps it goes!


----------



## yurgy

motch02 said:


> Thoughts on this?
> 
> Cheers,


looks like a brett pellicle could be tasty bottle when gravity steady for a month flavour will change over time or stick some wyeast roselare blend in it and age in secondary how many ibu.s is it?


----------



## motch02

yurgy said:


> looks like a brett pellicle could be tasty bottle when gravity steady for a month flavour will change over time or stick some wyeast roselare blend in it and age in secondary how many ibu.s is it?


It's 40ibus, I bottled him up yesterday. Had no choice as I'm moving house.. I'm hoping that at 10.5-11% they aren't going to get very far considering I never pitched Brett..

I've been pretty lazy lately mixing my Brett gear and my normal gear together, time to pay more attention


----------



## Barge

What do you think of this one?

It's a definite infection. My first one. Finished at 1.006 despite a 67C mash temp. Tastes strange. Can't put my finger on it. Kinda sour. Not sure if I like it or not. I'm thinking of kegging it and seeing how it goes.


----------



## Barge

Carbed it up and tasted today. After a pot I think it's actually a faint band-aid taste coming through mid palate. Lingering flavour is hot alcohol.

Not really nice after all.

Anyone reckon they know what bug it would be?


----------



## Mardoo

Some strains of brett often present as band-aid flavour.


----------



## Barge

There were sone fruit flies around which I think could be associated with Brett as well. Never tasted a Brett/Lacto beer, let alone brewed one, so I've got no idea really.

Oh well, will take the hit and move on.


----------



## Jack of all biers

Given your lower than expect FG I'd say it may well be Brett or Dekkera yeast.

Edit - Beat me to the punch.


----------



## Barge

Wort was really cloudy before I hit it with gelatin. The yeast cake looked fine though, there was just a couple of slimy looking floaties on top.


----------



## Jack of all biers

How Band-aidy was it? I have had a Weizen that had a bit of glutinous white stuff similar to what your photo shows (I'm guessing happened on sparge out) that made it to the final product, but it didn't effect the flavour at all though. Band aid flavours are associated with Chlorophenol / ethyl phenols which can be produced by chlorine in the liquor or by some Bretts as Mardoo pointed out.


----------



## Barge

Not very band-aidy I guess. But still unpleasant. I could drink the whole glass but once was enough.


----------



## Jack of all biers

Barge said:


> Not very band-aidy I guess. But still unpleasant. I could drink the whole glass but once was enough.


As Pauline Hanson once said "Please explain?" 

Seriously though it could be anything. Golden rule is give it 3 months. If it still can't be drunk after 3 months, then use it as snail bait in the garden. Yes that's right, tip in into small containers (half and inch deep) and the little blighters will go in for the taste and never come out. h34r:


----------



## Barge

Thanks. I'm finding it difficult to identify the flavours. I tried it again and would have to say that it's probably more solvent than band-aid. Certainly a hot alcohol on the palate. 

I'm not inclined to keep it, only because it's tying up valuable fridge space leading into summer. I use tapking bottles and I'm worried about bottle bombs if I leave it at ambient. I might keep one bottle just to see what happens.


----------



## Nullnvoid

Came home from the Victorian case swap to this, infection or normal?


----------



## Dan Pratt

Nullnvoid said:


> Came home from the Victorian case swap to this, infection or normal?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ImageUploadedByAussie Home Brewer1449441636.738835.jpg


looks like heaps of yeast, how does it smell and taste ??


----------



## Mardoo

Agreed


----------



## sponge

Looks similar to another post, which I'm assuming turned out fine?

As above, looks fine to me.


----------



## Nullnvoid

Pratty1 said:


> looks like heaps of yeast, how does it smell and taste ??


Smells comparable to everything else I have brewed.

Just waiting for the bubbles to die down to take the reading and will taste.




sponge said:


> Looks similar to another post, which I'm assuming turned out fine?
> 
> As above, looks fine to me.


I thought that too and so went back to that photo to compare. Whereas that one looked like hoppyness (which I could see when it was pointed out), this one looked different.

Thanks all for your quick responses.


----------



## Coodgee

Forgot about this lager that's been sitting in a hot cupboard for 5 months. Looks like some free drying enzyme has been at work! I'm yet to open it.


----------



## Tex N Oz

Coodgee said:


> Forgot about this lager that's been sitting in a hot cupboard for 5 months. Looks like some free drying enzyme has been at work! I'm yet to open it.


Lemon and anchovy garnish for that 5 month old lager? Hhhmmmm.....


----------



## danestead

Coodgee said:


> Forgot about this lager that's been sitting in a hot cupboard for 5 months. Looks like some free drying enzyme has been at work! I'm yet to open it.


Open it in the kitchen, I dare you


----------



## Dan Pratt

Cold crashed my summer lager....oh dear


----------



## Coodgee

Looks fine to me. Just chunks of coagulated protein and/or yeast?


----------



## Mardoo

Or did you use Brewbrite?


----------



## Dan Pratt

Thanks Coodgee. 

Mardo - just whirlfloc in the kettle and cold crashed for 3 days @ 4c


I had 2 other batches get infected from my new garage ( this was made between those )....I used Liquid Yeast WLP802 and had planned to keep it for a IPL but when I seen that I ditched it...the yeast that is!

I kept the beer and its carbonating. I tasted it after 2 days on 90kpa and I couldn't tell cos its not like the highly aromatic full flavoured ipa and ales I make and my mind is telling me its infected...... see the other 2 batches were ales in my plastic FV that after 6hr cold crashing from transfer temp 30c to pitching temp 18c the plastic cling wrap was not concaved, it was domed like it had started fermenting.....But this Lager was in the Brewbucket So I couldnt tell before pitching @ 7c.


----------



## Coodgee

Seems to be a lot of anxiety about infection.I can't help feel that a lot of perfectly good brews get tipped down the drain.if it doesn't taste bad it's fine.


----------



## kunfaced

Even if you have an infection, you should drink the whole batch so you can learn your lesson.


----------



## Dan Pratt

I've had my fair share of infected beers that I've tried many times before ditching them, except for a couple that were rancid. I don't need to keep drinking it to know what went wrong.


----------



## TheWiggman

Life's too short to drink shitty beer


----------



## kunfaced

try telling that to a lambic drinker


----------



## Coodgee

Hahaha


----------



## barls

kunfaced said:


> try telling that to a lambic drinker


nothing wrong with lambic, just your taste buds


----------



## Coodgee

Must admit i haven't developed a taste for yeast driven beers yet.


----------



## kunfaced

Coodgee said:


> Must admit i haven't developed a taste for yeast driven beers yet.


Do you force carb your wort?


----------



## kunfaced

barls said:


> nothing wrong with lambic, just your taste buds


You can polish a turd, but it's still a turd


----------



## sponge

Kopi luwak is practically a polished turd, and bloody delicious (and expensive).

Lambics have their place.. you'll learn to love.


----------



## Mardoo

Kopi Luwak Lambic anyone?


----------



## Kingy

I feel blessed to say I've never tossed a beer from an infection. I feel sad for some of you guys that repeatably toss beers out. I must be super anal about cleanliness or I just like the taste of an infected beer lol.


----------



## Barge

Careful. I went 15 years until I had my first infection. Always very stringent and consistent with my sanitation as well. Not 100% sure of the source but I think it might've been fruit flies.


----------



## Kingy

My old man gave up brewing because he couldn't get rid of a bug way before I started brewing. He always reminds me of it. I've taken some shortcuts here and there and been lucky in my 9years of fermenting goodness except for a side project where I fermented on the grains for to long but that's a topic I can't go into.


----------



## DJ_L3ThAL

DJ_L3ThAL said:


> Not an infection in finished beer but some recently stored leftover wort has grown something interesting. These were filled just how I no chill into the cubes but had two passata bottle lids not seal quite right as when they cooled the lid didnt suck in. Obviously demonstrates the importance of a good cube seal and limiting oxygen intake during storage at room temp! The jars which lids sealed and sucked in don't appear to have any of this kind of growth.


Looks like this batch had some mould spores carry over through the boil. Has been 2 months since the batch was cubed and I'm kinda glad I waited this long to ferment to expose the issue. Almost looks like there is white-ish plastic sheets all through the wort. Active bubbles coming up from the bottom also. For perspective I always squeeze as much headspace out of my cubes so there is only a couple of bubbles worth if that, not even the volume of the handle. The photos of the two there have not been opened yet and the seal on the lid was still good.

On brew day when transferring from the mash into the kettle, one of my pumps had grown some mould from water sitting in the pump head from the previous brew day, we scooped out the mould we could physically get at and made the decision to push on because it was pre-boil.

This proves that mould spores can and will survive a boil, therefore it is prudent to take care of your equipment even pre-boil.


----------



## Coodgee

Coodgee said:


> Forgot about this lager that's been sitting in a hot cupboard for 5 months. Looks like some free drying enzyme has been at work! I'm yet to open it.


Turned out to be fine. I opened it outside expecting an explosion but it was just a small hiss. Tasted quite nice. Super carbonated though.


----------



## danestead

Coodgee said:


> Must admit i haven't developed a taste for yeast driven beers yet.


Until a year ago when I went to europe I didnt like yeast driven beers either. I then decided to be a bit more open minded and absolutely llve a good belgian or german wheat.


----------



## Mardoo

DJ_L3ThAL said:


> Looks like this batch had some mould spores carry over through the boil. Has been 2 months since the batch was cubed and I'm kinda glad I waited this long to ferment to expose the issue. Almost looks like there is white-ish plastic sheets all through the wort. Active bubbles coming up from the bottom also. For perspective I always squeeze as much headspace out of my cubes so there is only a couple of bubbles worth if that, not even the volume of the handle. The photos of the two there have not been opened yet and the seal on the lid was still good.
> 
> On brew day when transferring from the mash into the kettle, one of my pumps had grown some mould from water sitting in the pump head from the previous brew day, we scooped out the mould we could physically get at and made the decision to push on because it was pre-boil.
> 
> This proves that mould spores can and will survive a boil, therefore it is prudent to take care of your equipment even pre-boil.


It sounds like what they call ropey bacteria, or rather ropiness from bacteria. But yes, some molds can survive the boil.


----------



## Yob

>tyndallisation<

of course not really possible with homebrew but does show the risks..

A simple, effective, sterilizing method used today is to heat the substance being sterilized to 121 °C for 15 minutes in a pressured system. If sterilisation under pressure is not possible because of lack of equipment, or the need to sterilise something that will not withstand the higher temperature, unpressurized heating at a temperature of up to 100 °C, the boiling point of water, may be used.* The heat will kill the bacterial cells, but bacterial spores capable of later germinating into bacterial cells may survive.*

Tyndallization can be used to destroy the spores.

Tyndallization essentially consists of heating the substance to boiling point (or just a little below boiling point) and holding it there for 15 minutes, *three days in succession*.* After each heating, the resting period will allow spores that have survived to germinate into bacterial cells; these cells will be killed by the next day's heating.* During the resting periods the substance being sterilized is kept in a moist environment at a warm room temperature, conducive to germination of the spores. When the environment is favourable for bacteria, it is conducive to the germination of cells from spores, and spores do not form from cells in this environment (see bacterial spores).
The Tyndallization process is usually effective in practice. But it is not considered totally reliable—some spores may survive and later germinate and multiply

If I'm not pitching the next day, I will always leave cubes for months for this very reason.


----------



## DJ_L3ThAL

Thanks fellas, I can most definitely fill my cubes with boiling water and seal, should sit at at least above 95C for the 15 minutes in this summer weather. Might through PBW in day #1, Tricleanium in day #2 and PBW again on day #3. Fingers crossed can bring them back as they are dangerous goods cubes, nice and thick and excellent lid seal! Might also start removing the cube lid o-ring and giving the o-ring and lid a good soak as that's one thing I've accepted the risk on with my cubes :S


----------



## TheWiggman

Won't sit above 95°C for 15 mins unfortunately DJ.


----------



## Spookism

Went to add my yeast and found this?

What is it? Am I only seeing it because it is a really low coloured brew?


----------



## Tex N Oz

Spookism said:


> jkl.jpg
> 
> Went to add my yeast and found this?
> 
> What is it? Am I only seeing it because it is a really low coloured brew?


looks like cold break to me.


----------



## Spookism

Tex N Oz said:


> looks like cold break to me.


So an issue, but not the worst thing.


----------



## Coodgee

No it's perfectly normal. Nice clean wort!


----------



## Mardoo

Cold break is usually said to be good nutrition for the yeast, so no issue.


----------



## Spookism

Awesome, thanks.

The yeast is bubbling away quiet nice, so winning!


----------



## citizensnips

Any opinions on this? Kind of unsure...can't taste it as it's a friends batch...not at my place.

Thoughts?


----------



## Mardoo

Looks like yeast to me. Taste OK?


----------



## citizensnips

Yeah guess so, they said it tasted like 'beer'. Guess they'll find out soon enough anyway.


----------



## Ciderman

Kolsch fermented with yeast starter made from 2565 WYeast. Made on the 30th January and Krausen refuses to drop. I know it can take a while with this yeast after and the Gravity has been stable at 1.009 for a week I figure lets cold crash it and get on with things.

Problem after cracking the lid it looks like a few nasties have popped up? Anything to worry about? I have two concerns. I plan on bottling this instead of legging. Second is I fermented with a Flanders Red in the same fridge. 

Thoughts?


----------



## Ciderman

I decided to scoop it out. Tastes fine. Will do a few test Stubbies and see how it goes


----------



## TheWiggman

Let taste be your guide. I've had a few brews where the krausen hasn't dropped but after a cold crash it disappears.


----------



## Ciderman

I probably scooped out the nasties just in time before they could replicate any further as I have a very tasty beer. Lesson learnt, don't leave a beer fermenting for 3 weeks and constantly open the lid to check it out! That's the great thing about beer is the learning (often from your mistakes) from brew to brew.

On a side note I brewed 100L of Lambic last night and not being used to cooling such quantity I gave up and put into fermenters. Split it into 4 fermenters and put in the fridge at zero degrees. So wake up this morning to pitch the yeast and one of the fermenters has already started fermenting. This has happened once before because I left it 2 days before pitching (lesson learnt) and I tipped due to a large amount of DMS. 

I fear I may have to do that again but considering that's how they actually make lambic in Belgium, this may have hope?


----------



## doctr-dan

I went t dry hop this fresh wort kit IPA on day 4 in the fermenter and noticed this. Infection?
Tastes okay


----------



## doctr-dan

Whoops picture helps


----------



## Liam_snorkel

looks ok


----------



## Grott

yum


----------



## doctr-dan

What's the brown stuff floating on the top?


----------



## Mardoo

Yeast. That's krausen.


----------



## Nazareh

Hi guys, im not sure if its all right. One picture is few days after I pitched the yeast and other is from today, 12days after. 

im not sure about the smell, since is my second batch only. But I would say a bit "sour" !!? I used Chinnok and Cascade, almost one ounce each and SAFALE-US05 yeast.


----------



## Curly79

Looks alright to me mate


----------



## niftinev

Curly79 said:


> Looks alright to me mate


+1 looks fine from here too


----------



## sponge

Looks like a healthy krausen on the left and a bunch of yeast farts on the right.

Winning.


----------



## Kumamoto_Ken

Pitched yeast (4th gen WY1272 slurry) into a black IPA on 22 March with an OG of 1.062: 12 hours later there was an obvious krausen through the side on my jerrycan.
I went to dry hop it a few days ago and it looked like no other beer I've ever brewed...a crumbly kind of coating right across the top. Smelled delicious though. 
Took a sample 1.008 and had a taste. It tasted very green but no obvious off flavours. I did notice some small flies in the ferm fridge which has/had me very concerned.

SWMBO took a couple of photos today and the crumble has gone, possibly from me lugging it into and out of the ferm fridge. Still smells amazing, just like Galaxy and Citra.

Anywho, after all that, I'd really appreciate some advice on whether or not this is an infection?


----------



## dannymars

looks like a pellicle. could be any number of microbes causing it. If it tastes good, Id say cold crash and drink asap as it may create off flavours if you leave it at room temp for much longer. Most harmful microbes cannot thrive in the acidic and alcoholic environment of beer, so not too much concern there. But if left to go unchecked, could end up tasting pretty bad.


----------



## Mardoo

Looks a hell of a lot like a pellicle, and the description of the surface of it as crumbly certainly reminds me of infections I've seen/had. I'm not the most experienced infectionista, but I've had two. With the crumbly one the beer tasted fine at first but the flavour almost completely disappeared over about six weeks, and the bottles were total gushers.

Edit: Like he said about 15 seconds before me


----------



## Kumamoto_Ken

Thanks for the feedback guys, I appreciate it.

I won't bother dry hopping and am crashing it now.

Unfortunately for me it's the first beer I brewed with a mate who I had some Karma Citra with on Xmas Day. First infection in over 180 brews.
I can hear him already, "Never had an infection he said....."

The only positive is that I'll bottle it in champers bottles so they shouldn't explode. I'll probably undercarb as well and will warn him to drink his half quickly. Speaking of that, he hasn't chipped in for the ingredients yet...maybe I won't warn him.

In terms of cleaning equipment I'll probably just chuck the jerry can and get a new one. $25 or so for (relative) peace of mind.


----------



## Ferg

Hi All,

Keen on some opinions on this India Saison. 2 weeks since I brewed it, cold crashed two days ago and currently sitting at 1 degrees. I'm a bit dubious on the white clumps that have formed.


----------



## jyo

Looks like clumps of yeast to me. How does it taste, mate?


----------



## kwinchee

Ferg did you use a flocculant (whirlfolc etc)


----------



## Ferg

Thanks for your replies.



jyo said:


> Looks like clumps of yeast to me. How does it taste, mate?


Tastes & smells fine - nothing untoward I don't think.



kwinchee said:


> Ferg did you use a flocculant (whirlfolc etc)


No I didnt use anything on this - I kind of like cloudy saisons.

Upon further research it would seem french saison yeast can cause the krausen to curdle. (http://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=141505)


----------



## Yob

Was lucky we I pulled the Bummock Wee Heavy from this barrel.

This was the one that was let, unintentionally, to dry out a little too long and developed a slow tar like leak which then got a bit of mould on it.

Ive got 100L of stout in it currently with this developing on top.

dunno which way it'll go... probably south


----------



## Curly79

Ouch. That's pretty devastating all the same mate


----------



## welly2

It's pretty though!


----------



## Yob

...it's still good... It's still good...

I've got a few growlers of the base beer so will be able to compare... I'm in no hurry though


----------



## Grott

Have you tasted a sample from near the top? I reckon it's going to be ok, surface crap, that's all.


----------



## Yob

Nope, not tasted anything yet, it needs a few months in the barrel regardless 

I have time..


----------



## Grott

You've been into barrels early before, some how this may not be an exception? B)


----------



## Zark

Evening all,

This will be my first post and not really in the topic I wanted to debut in. I've been home brewing for a few months now and I've recently jumped head first into BIAB. I found the fatter yak recipe on here and went crazy for it so I made it my first BIAB batch. I've put a brew down and it's been in the fermenter for a week now (the first 24 hours the air lock woke me up it was going nuts) so I decided to have a quick peak and low and behold I found this and I'm not sure if it's the start of infection. There's no bad smell to speak of I'm just too new to the game to know. Any info is greatly appreciated guys!


----------



## Grott

Fermenting well I'd say. Congrats. on BIAB brewing.
Cheers


----------



## Zark

Cheers mate you've put my mind at rest!


----------



## Killer Brew

I racked my saison onto raspberries and pomegranate a week ago. Didn't pasteurise them. This is as it looks today with a white skin covering the fruit sitting on top of the beer. Any hope or am I tipping it?


----------



## Yob

well... theres always hope, rack some out from under it and have a taste.. if it's good, rack it all (except for the last 5L) and drink it like it's your last day on earth


----------



## Mardoo

Now THAT is a pellicle. Bottle that last 5 litres in cast iron containers and see how it comes out!


----------



## Killer Brew

Perhaps I should rack from beneath leaving the 5 litres on top and let sit in the new fermenter a few more days to see if the pellicle reforms? I bottle only so am worried about bombs!


----------



## Mardoo

Yep. That's a serious worry. Once bitten, twice shy.


----------



## Black Devil Dog

Dump it. You can always make more beer, you can't make more eyes.


----------



## Mr. No-Tip

Killer Brew said:


> I racked my saison onto raspberries and pomegranate a week ago. Didn't pasteurise them. This is as it looks today with a white skin covering the fruit sitting on top of the beer. Any hope or am I tipping it?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> image.jpeg


Don't dump it unless you have a reason to. 

Does it taste or smell bad? Is it not completely attenuated and you have glass bottles as your only option? 

If so, maybe dump it. Otherwise you're fine.

This hideous thing became a fantastic Cumquat lambic:


----------



## TheWiggman

Just had a glass of my stout. Tastes like metal mixed with plastic and almost no roast. Smells like bottle tops. Tasted ok a month ago, so here's a photo of my latest infection.


----------



## Killer Brew

Mr. No-Tip said:


> Don't dump it unless you have a reason to.
> Does it taste or smell bad? Is it not completely attenuated and you have glass bottles as your only option?
> If so, maybe dump it. Otherwise you're fine.
> This hideous thing became a fantastic Cumquat lambic:
> 
> 
> 
> ImageUploadedByAussie Home Brewer1462413274.229396.jpg


Racked it and watching for any regrowth. Smells ok. I do have a couple of kegs, just no way to dispense them as yet. If it stays ok I may put it into keg and just leave it until my keezer is done.


----------



## droid

just for the education of others

white wine barrel
dried out
re-wetted
filled with star-san and water
put tube in to rack liquid out - thought I'd be clever and use the white wine water for the brew
pulled the tube to see this



note to self - next time buying a barrel, have the brew fermenting don't leave it for so long


----------



## technobabble66

Hey droid, your yeast looks funny! [emoji15]

[emoji30]


----------



## Mardoo

Holy F**K! That's about the scariest stuff I've seen since that pork chop in the back of the work fridge.


----------



## Killer Brew

droid said:


> just for the education of others
> 
> white wine barrel
> dried out
> re-wetted
> filled with star-san and water
> put tube in to rack liquid out - thought I'd be clever and use the white wine water for the brew
> pulled the tube to see this
> 
> 
> 
> note to self - next time buying a barrel, have the brew fermenting don't leave it for so long


Its, its.....beautiful


----------



## mofox1

Here I was thinking my sinus infection produced impressive results. Hats off to you sir.

Importantly, what the fk can you do about your barrel of death?


----------



## Grott

mofox1 said:


> Importantly, what the fk can you do about your barrel of death?


Send it to Mulder and Skully
(xfiles)


----------



## droid

@mofox
I don't know right now, I'm numb....not sure that I could pull much white wine flavour from it

could run something through to kill it then soak then put some high alcohol through it - is it worth it? dunno but worthy of some discussion around a fire come July eh and then there's the IPA that I brewed from the barre, it's nearly at FG - maybe I'll bring that to the case swap :blink:

@grott - you called it mate "X-Files IPA"


----------



## barls

mofox1 said:


> Importantly, what the fk can you do about your barrel of death?


----------



## idzy

mofox1 said:


> Here I was thinking my sinus infection produced impressive results. Hats off to you sir.
> 
> Importantly, what the fk can you do about your barrel of death?





droid said:


> @mofox
> I don't know right now, I'm numb....not sure that I could pull much white wine flavour from it
> 
> could run something through to kill it then soak then put some high alcohol through it - is it worth it? dunno but worthy of some discussion around a fire come July eh and then there's the IPA that I brewed from the barre, it's nearly at FG - maybe I'll bring that to the case swap :blink:
> 
> @grott - you called it mate "X-Files IPA"


Listening to some episodes of the Sour Hour with Jay from Rare Barrel, he has had guests say they clean with steam/boiling water, rinse and then put a brew in. Not sure I would be that game.

Having said that they put a mix of citric acid and star-sany equiv into their barrels to clean/keep them.

Just a thought.


----------



## Liam_snorkel

it's a sour barrel now


----------



## droid

idzy said:


> Listening to some episodes of the Sour Hour with Jay from Rare Barrel, he has had guests say they clean with steam/boiling water, rinse and then put a brew in. Not sure I would be that game.
> 
> Having said that they put a mix of citric acid and star-sany equiv into their barrels to clean/keep them.
> 
> Just a thought.


good thought


----------



## peteru

I'd take to the barrel with an axe, split it then dry it out. Scrape off any obvious nasties, then use pieces of that wood for BBQ smoking.

Get yourself something less filthy for beer.


----------



## mofox1

Half wine barrels make great vege boxes (also perfect size for growing hops!). No slugs or snails... could be that they're up on castors, but still. Alternate option to cremation.

Nah, who am I kidding. BURN IT!


----------



## droid

i aint burning nothin


----------



## Ducatiboy stu

droid said:


> i aint burning nothin


What if i come around with some Port, Stones Mac and some firelighters....


----------



## droid

^i like to think i'm open minded and the promise of fire, well, we all like fire - just not when it's my ******* barrel that's on fire Stu

I did a brew with the clean looking white winey liquid I pulled from it (100ltrs of 225ltrs was pulled)
it was boiled and the cooled for the mash and then boiled for 90 in the kettle
cooled and pitched a huge amount of yeast slurry (the abv is 8% or so)

will I get botulism?


----------



## Ducatiboy stu

droid said:


> will I get botulism?


Yes


I will be around tomorrow evening with the port & Stones Mac


----------



## peteru

droid said:


> will I get botulism?


If you do, I have a cunning plan. Botulism is in demand by vain people and they pay good $ for it by the mL. Now, Yob should be able to hook you up with a source for good syringes, the rest is just a matter of marketing and distribution. Profit!


----------



## hazoluke

I


----------



## hazoluke

Never had this happen before. Have I got my first infection?

Noticed it just before I CC.


----------



## barls

your fine that looks normal


----------



## Ducatiboy stu

Bit early to CC by the look of that

She still got krausen


----------



## hazoluke

I always leave for 14 days days and check gravity is stable before CC.

Ive never had this happen before, I bought a second hand FV so I thought that may have been the issue. 

Cheers for the response guys.


----------



## Frothy1

This thread always reminds me of the cop in


----------



## Yob

hazoluke said:


> Never had this happen before. Have I got my first infection?
> 
> Noticed it just before I CC.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> IMG_2048.JPG


Looks like a bunch of true and Hops with yeast poking through.. Leave it


----------



## sluggerdog

Howdy,

Not sure what this white ring is. It tasted fine out of the fermenter so I have kegged the beer. Everything else seemed normal.

Any idea what it could be?

Thanks


----------



## tugger

This one got a dose of something nasty. 
I tipped it, smelled like poop.


----------



## Zorco

Edit: Thanks Admin!

Looking to diagnose.


----------



## Liam_snorkel

looks like someone has torn up a loaf of bread into the 2nd one


----------



## Zorco

That is the one with a really foul smell. The infection on the RIS doesn't have much aroma.. Wort smells ok.


----------



## Killer Brew

Did you drop popcorn in the first one??


----------



## wereprawn

zorsoc_cosdog said:


> That is the one with a really foul smell. The infection on the RIS doesn't have much aroma.. Wort smells ok.


I get those fluffy lumps often when using notto. Never had a bad smelling brew when they happen though and the beer has always tasted fine. Maybe have a taste before you dump it.


----------



## Zorco

Killer Brew said:


> Did you drop popcorn in the first one??


haha, nope. I think that developed on the side and came loose when I move the bucket. It is a soft goo texture. Wort tasted fine, but tipped it. Heaps of trub, almost yeast cake like at the bottom.

Absolutely nothing on the bottom of the bucket with the bread infection. My first ever brew no-chill to those buckets. Failure. Once cleaned they'll be promoted to grain.

I've bought a few more cubes now.


----------



## JFergz

Hi guys need some experience eye to give me some advice about a a current beer I have on the go, 




Just getting curious of the stuff on the outskirts is it just yeast or krausen that hasn't yet flocculated or is it the start of an infection? Haven't had an infection yet but haven't brewed in over a year and this on is my first getting back into it. I hope I haven't been to careless up until this stage because I want to cold crash and keg it for this weekend lol.

Gravity has been stable over 3 days, was fermented at a fairly stable 20 degrees and taste and smell is just how I remember each time I have brewed this particular beer in the past, any thoughts? Thanks guys.


----------



## luggy

Its all good


----------



## TheWiggman

sluggerdog said:


> Howdy,
> 
> Not sure what this white ring is. It tasted fine out of the fermenter so I have kegged the beer. Everything else seemed normal.
> 
> Any idea what it could be?
> 
> Thanks


I had this once before in a starter. Stocks were low and wort was ready, caution was thrown into the wind and beer was brewed. _Very_ slight ring around the fermenter but I kegged and bottled it anyway. No noticeable issues, decent beer by my standards. I'm guessing it was a bit of white mould.


----------



## Mat B

Could it have been residual salts from the water?


----------



## Mat B

@JFergz - Looks fine to me.


----------



## JFergz

Cheers boys gonna keg it asap


----------



## Curly79

Think I'm being a bit paranoid about this one? It's an IPA with 2 packets of US05. Just a bit more of the brown stuff on top than Im used to?


----------



## Camo6

Curly79 said:


> Think I'm being a bit paranoid about this one? It's an IPA with 2 packets of US05. Just a bit more of the brown stuff on top than Im used to? ImageUploadedByAussie Home Brewer1470302275.883867.jpg


Have you made any enemies?


----------



## Curly79

None that would crap in my fermenter if that's what you mean[emoji3]. I've seen us05 krausen with little bits of brown but this seems a bit crazy?


----------



## Camo6

It does look darker than normal but I wouldn't be stressed.


----------



## luggy

Cant remember where I read it but the dark brown stuff on top of the krausen is hop matter, which makes sense if this is an ipa, ive had similar many times it'll be fine


----------



## Curly79

Looking a bit nicer this morning [emoji106]


----------



## Liam_snorkel

Looks fine mate


----------



## Ben1

After nearly 3 years brewing, my first infection [emoji20][emoji20][emoji20] tastes ok so I'll see if I can drink quickly


----------



## Hostage_85

Bit of a query here. Not sure if it belongs in this thread or not.

I've put down a Coopers Bootmaker Pale Ale (First time with this kit)
It was a recipe I got from another forum, 
Coopers Bootmaker Kit
Coopers Wheat Malt
500g DME
50g Galaxy 

While fermenting the Krausan didnt look like normal. It was Darker and Very Thick and Creamy. Some quick google searching said it was fine.
However, I'm on day 10, I've checked the gravity 3 times and it hasn't changed.
I had a swig from the Hyrometer like normal (Can't let it go to waste ;p) but theres always been a slight sour note to the end of it.
Would this be indictation of Infection?
To be fair, its the first time i've used Star San, I usually just use Coopers Sanitser on teh FV and Equipment and leave to soak for 24 hours, then rinse with boiling water.

I tried to take some photos of the Krausan after removing the collar but I couldn't get a decent picture and I wasn't keen to remove the lid.

Should I just stick it out? Its currently Cold Crashing.

Edit: I've never had an infection before so I'm new to this.


----------



## Judanero

What yeast? Just kit yeast? (New kit yeast may be slightly different ferment)

Stick it out, more than likely you'll be fine.

Have another taste in a couple of days and see how it has developed.


----------



## Hostage_85

Cheers, Yeast is BRY-97

Yeh, I'm going to stick it out. 
Hopefully keg it over the weekend.

I'll see how it goes after carbonation I guess.

Thanks.


----------



## Curly79

Don't cold crash it or keg it if the gravity hasn't changed yet mate


----------



## Hostage_85

Sorry, I should have explained that better. The Gravity has dropped from 1.055 to 1.013 and hasn't changed from that in 3 days.


----------



## Garfield

Ben1 said:


> After nearly 3 years brewing, my first infection [emoji20][emoji20][emoji20] tastes ok so I'll see if I can drink quickly
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ImageUploadedByAussie Home Brewer1471085896.913448.jpg


Looks much like my first infected lagers found last month. Had two batches lagering at the same time and found this growth on top a few months later. Cold crashed it and it cleared up nice so I bottled it anyway. Should be ready to try in a week so fingers crossed. Any thoughts as to what went wrong?


----------



## Garfield

Here's the photo


----------



## Ben1

Garfield said:


> Looks much like my first infected lagers found last month. Had two batches lagering at the same time and found this growth on top a few months later. Cold crashed it and it cleared up nice so I bottled it anyway. Should be ready to try in a week so fingers crossed. Any thoughts as to what went wrong?


Really not sure. I'm usually pretty good with sanitation but must have let it slip. My fermenter has a few scratches in it so I'm going to replace it and all other cold side items. Hopefully it'll get better!


----------



## beet

Tonight I opened up my fermenter to add gelatin, and found this. Is this an infection? Krausen remains? Yeast raft? 

I started dropping the temperature on this batch this morning. Last time I looked at it was on Monday, when I last checked the gravity. It looked like a standard post krausen batch, then, just a little hop oil on top. Alcohol is currently at 4.99%. Smells a little appley, but otherwise fine. I didn't taste it today.

For this batch, I pitched WLP090 slurry from the previous batch (which had probably been sitting in the fridge too long), then Wyeast 1272 after 24h when the WLP090 hadn't started. So maybe the different yeast/combination has something to do with it.

In maybe 20 batches, this is the first one I've had that has looked like this. It seems like it might be yeast rafts caused by the recent temperature drop, but I'd love a second opinion.


----------



## Frothy1

Pictures not all that clear but it looks fine to me


----------



## barls

looks fine


----------



## beet

Cheers


----------



## Danscraftbeer

Haha


----------



## hazoluke

WTF is this ??

Is it as bad as I assume ??

14 days @ 18' us05

Wasnt like this 3 days ago when I took gravity reading...


----------



## Lodan

looks funky, I'm sure another guru could identify the type of infection
what does it taste like?

How did you go about taking the gravity reading? what's the fermenting environment like?


----------



## hazoluke

I ferment in a fridge, 2 FVs in a fridge and the other FV is fine. 

Tastes good. Taste the same as the other FV. 

Took reading the same way as always.


----------



## Mardoo

I agree. Looks funky. The green looks like hop matter. What yeast did you use? Is the white stuff like pieces of a fragile membrane?

Similar stuff I saw on my beers stripped all the flavour and left the bottles as hardcore gushers.


----------



## hazoluke

No hops went into the fermenter. 

I used US05

The white shit just looks bad.... 

Guess its my first garden brew.....


----------



## peteru

I would not tip that shit into the garden or compost. If it is some kind of mould, you are just contaminating your site with the spores.


----------



## Mardoo

Well then…tip away, I 'd guess.


----------



## Yob

peteru said:


> I would not tip that shit into the garden or compost. If it is some kind of mould, you are just contaminating your site with the spores.


agree, anything suspicious I find gets carried to the street


----------



## hazoluke

Cheers boys... 

First infection in 4 years..

It really hurts, oh well chalk it up to experience.

Its now the Gutter Ale


----------



## Zorco

I had 4 infections in the first year.... .... ....

Sad I was..


----------



## peekaboo_jones

This tasted somewhat slightly tangy.
Bottled it anyway...
Belgian ale with T58 yeast.


----------



## Dan Pratt

^ that looks fine to me.


----------



## peekaboo_jones

Pratty1 said:


> ^ that looks fine to me.


Thanks Pratty, maybe it just tasted different after cold crashing. 
It's my first proper partial mash with 2kg grains too. Hope it works out!


----------



## kaiserben

I just discovered that the past 2 batches that I bottled are both infected. 

I suppose the prime candidate for the infection source is my bottling bucket. 

But aside from tracking down the source of infection, can I ask for some advice about this: While I was emptying bottles from 2 full batches of infected beer into my kitchen sink I occasionally got it wrong and managed to have some gush all over my kitchen and some spray up on the walls, windows and ceiling. The kitchen is where I brew and bottle. 

I wiped everything down as best I could be bothered, parts with sponge & water, other parts with paper towel, and some easier to reach areas with disinfecting wipes. But should I be more vigorous than that? Should I get at every surface with some sort of disinfectant or is that worrying too much? (if so, any tips on what to use that won't damage paint, glass, tiles, lino, stainless steel etc?)

EDIT: And apologies for the lack of photos of beer on my kitchen ceiling, but I was in no mood for happy snaps ...


----------



## peteru

If it was mould, I'd be semi-worried. If it was bacterial, just air the place well on a hot day to make sure that everything is as dry as possible. As long as you don't have lumps of this stuff peeling off the ceiling and dropping down into your work area, you should be OK.

You will always have some air-borne contaminants. Do what you can to minimise exposure.


----------



## Digga

Vinegar or bleach would be a good start!
I brew in the shed and it's always at various stages of filth. Haven't had an infection touch wood!
Always hit everything that touches with the beer with a good amount of cleaner /sanitizer. Seems to do the trick so far.


----------



## Rattlehead989

Hey guys, long time lurker first time poster, I'm thinking I may have an infection. Spent 2 and a half weeks in the fermenter. FG is about 1.012 hasnt changed since I tested it about a week and half ago. Hyrdo sample tastes and smells alright. What do you guys think?

*Edit- added photo


----------



## Dan Pratt

looks like normal. cold crash it and get it packaged.


----------



## Zorco

I can't see too much wrong with that either mate. Sometimes I've noticed little groupings of bubbles like that and other times the whole yeast cake has gone to sleep and the surface is cleaner. The yellow looks like healthy yeast from the krausen. Colour of your beer looks nice and clear as well. 

I've tended to rouse up the yeast by swishing around the liquid and bringing everything into suspension, and this also cleans up the inside of the fermenter too. Your FG is good, and I'd cold crash it as well.


----------



## good4whatAlesU

This does not appear normal... Uh oh...


----------



## luggy

Looks fine to me


----------



## good4whatAlesU

Thanks I hope so. What's up with that orange stuff on top of the krausen?


----------



## Curly79

Looks good to me too.


----------



## luggy

good4whatAlesU said:


> Thanks I hope so. What's up with that orange stuff on top of the krausen


Looks brown to me but it's normal, nothing to worry about


----------



## good4whatAlesU

Rippa. Will let it run.

Thanks.


----------



## Weizguy

good4whatAlesU said:


> Thanks I hope so. What's up with that orange stuff on top of the krausen?


It's the "hop drive" with hop resins and other trub, being lifted to the top of your wort (now beer). Very normal.

Get used to it if you're going to keep opening the ferment vessel and exposing the beer to airborne bugs.


----------



## good4whatAlesU

Good to know, thanks.

The photo is through the glass top of my cheap ass Kmart pot fermenter (19 bucks). I try not to open the fermenter until the shows over... Maybe to throw a few dry hops in towards the end.


----------



## Dan Pratt

^ is that sealed up with tape?


----------



## good4whatAlesU

The finest duct tape money can buy.


----------



## Jamesco

So I have never had an infection in any of my brews yet, been getting more slack with my process thinking I was overthinking it. New fementor and have never seen anything like this before, is it ruined?


----------



## Matplat

I think this thread should be re-named "this is what totally normal fermentation looks like"


----------



## peteru

It looks like it was underpitched and a slow ferment, but otherwise OK. Alternatively, a yeast strain that does not produce a big krausen.


----------



## Jamesco

Well I feel like an idiot then haha, its wlp029, i made up a large starter but it was old'ish yeast. I just have never seen so much brown muck on top of any of my other beers.


----------



## damoninja

Matplat said:


> I think this thread should be re-named "this is what totally normal fermentation looks like"


Followed by the "is it infected?" thread with a bot that auto replies "No."


----------



## good4whatAlesU

There is no such thing as a "dumb question"

If you ask a question it may make you look stupid for 5 minutes. But if you don't ask, you may stay stupid for 50 years.

Always ask questions.


----------



## Zorco

Jamesco said:


> Well I feel like an idiot then haha, its wlp029, i made up a large starter but it was old'ish yeast. I just have never seen so much brown muck on top of any of my other beers.


Don't,

I had a good look at your pic and I haven't seen a ferment like that before.

I'm glad you asked.


----------



## Digga

My first fermentation with Nottingham yeast left some shit on top like that and even after a 4 day dry hop and 4 day CC didn't drop.
No where near as much as that but still had me thinking.
Beer is awesome so not worried.


----------



## TheWiggman

Back on topic with a Berliner weisse. Brett and lacto working some magic.


----------



## paulyman

TheWiggman said:


> ImageUploadedByAussie Home Brewer1479204087.199678.jpg
> Back on topic with a Berliner weisse. Brett and lacto working some magic.


Wrong thread, I think you want the "this is what totally normal fermentation looks like" thread.


----------



## peteru

I'd consider any lacto after the boil stage an infection.


----------



## Garfield

Multiple lacto infections over the last few months... I'm about to tip out an entire ESB!

What is the normal procedure for eliminating this or finding its source?

Anyone else had this struggle?

Garf


----------



## Funk then Funk1

I bought a new FV!


----------



## Grott

Without knowing your cleaning, sanitising and personal hygiene when preparing for a brew your question is like asking "how long is a piece of string". You state over the last couple of months so I assume brews were ok before that. If so what has change, are you doing anything different that could be causing the problem.


----------



## peteru

grott said:


> personal hygiene when preparing for a brew


This one is actually a good one. I bet most brewers don't even think about it, but there's a lot of bacteria constantly departing your body.

I've got some beard snoods from my visit to the ice cream factory, perhaps I should start wearing them when brewing. Maybe now I also understand why some people mix up 40+ litres of starsan - they take a bath in the stuff before brewing.


----------



## Garfield

Guys I'm sorry i wasn't thinking straight today. Its actually an aceto infection not lacto (heck I'd be stoked if i had attracted some wild lacto).

It first showed up around August when i was lagering three beers at once. Two of them were salvageable but one was vinegar.

So other than the lager yeast, not much has changed


----------



## damoninja

Garfield said:


> Multiple lacto infections over the last few months... I'm about to tip out an entire ESB!
> 
> What is the normal procedure for eliminating this or finding its source?
> 
> Anyone else had this struggle?
> 
> Garf


If you wanted to try salvage the FV sodium perc for a week, rinse thoroughly, leave in the sun for a few days, store with fresh star san (and just throw the tap out) 

It's not happened hot side, so don't worry so much about anything there. 


For what they're worth I'd bin the fermenter or gift it to someone you sincerely hate.


----------



## peteru

Leaving plastic fermenters in the sun for extended periods of time is not a great idea. While the UV may or may not kill bacteria, it will certainly degrade the plastic.


----------



## Brewnicorn

I'm 8 days into a ferment for a pale ale - coopers kit, just a handy back up for New Years - was going to dry hop today then cold crash the fv. Thinking of doing a vessel transfer cos of some funky mould I've just spotted on my new tap. Pic of the tap and the wort. 
Looks fine and smells fine - but has me concerned. Should I transfer? Don't want that mould making its way inside. 

Keen on some feedback so I can act asap if I need to.


----------



## Brewnicorn

OG 1040 and current G 1012, not too far off.


----------



## peteru

Nasty looking tap, but beer looks fine.

Syphon it away to another vessel ASAP.


----------



## Lethaldog

Your taps got a slight leak I reckon and seems as it's only on the outside, just make sure you clean it well before you transfer and should be fine!


----------



## Brewnicorn

Just siphoned into a secondary and dry hopped at the same time. Hoping for the best. FG is close enough so will drop it in the fridge for a few days. Cross fingers.


----------



## damoninja

Brewnicorn said:


> Just siphoned into a secondary and dry hopped at the same time. Hoping for the best. FG is close enough so will drop it in the fridge for a few days. Cross fingers.


Good idea bypass the tap all together

I'd bin that tap all together and nuke that fermenter!


----------



## damoninja

*Edit: *Duplicate post doip h34r: h34r:


----------



## 2much2spend

What do we think? I used the yeast bay funktown pitched correct amount, fermented hot ( I couldn't help it) 25c 

Should I dump it or just keg it.
Seems to be a pellicle rather than mold .


----------



## barls

looks normal for funk town to me
how does it taste


----------



## 2much2spend

Just wondering if I should leave it to drop out


----------



## Curly79

Jeezus! I hope it tastes better than it looks.


----------



## Mardoo

I swear one of us will grow an alien one day.


----------



## malt junkie

That or a bio weapon.


----------



## TonyF

First time dry hopping in the primary fermenter (and using temperature control and CC'ing) so this may be perfectly normal but thought I might see if anyone notices anything odd about the attached images?

Was pitched on 15/01 with an OG of 1.047, fermented at about 17C using US-05. Had to give it a bit of a shake as 1.5 days later it didn't appear to have really kicked off, though I suspect my fermenter is leaking around the airlock.

Around 10 days later it had settled at 1.010 which is when it was dry hopped (20g of Simcoe and 20g of Citra). At the same time I dropped the temp on the temp controller to 0 to CC (possibly too early??). Went to keg it last night and it had a very strong fruity aroma.

There's a bit of an oil slick look on the top (is this due to hop oils and CCing?), along with white spots with bits of green around it's edges, and a couple of bits of darker spots (hop matter? bits of krausen gunk from the side of the fermenter?).

I've gone and kegged it and it doesn't taste or smell foul (though I worry about my sense of smell and taste sometimes hahaha). Has a slightly odd taste I can't really peg and is rather bitter (was 62 IBU's) though not sour or funky as far as my lame senses can tell.


----------



## Coodgee

^^ that is a beautiful looking normal every day ferment. Nothing wrong. I and many others prefer to dry hop at around ferment temp as it tends to give the best fruity/floral aroma.


----------



## TonyF

Coodgee said:


> ^^ that is a beautiful looking normal every day ferment. Nothing wrong. I and many others prefer to dry hop at around ferment temp as it tends to give the best fruity/floral aroma.


Thanks Coodgee! I think it was the green bits that threw me the most 
I've dry hopped once in the keg and that blocked it up towards the end so thought I'd try the fermenter method. Will keep in mind about letting it sit at ferment temp next time!


----------



## BKBrews

TonyF said:


> Thanks Coodgee! I think it was the green bits that threw me the most
> I've dry hopped once in the keg and that blocked it up towards the end so thought I'd try the fermenter method. Will keep in mind about letting it sit at ferment temp next time!


You're fine to cold crash and then dry hop once the yeast has fallen out of suspension, but I think cold crashing and dry hopping won't work too well. The yeast in suspension will cling to the hops/oils and pull them to the bottom as it falls out. I just dry hopped one of my beers and experimented a bit. I crashed it to 14 degrees to drop the yeast out, then added the hops to the fermenter. In 3 days I will crash to 0 and then keg after 2 days.


----------



## Garfield

Tony, your fermenter looks like any batch with dry hopping. The chunks are propably hop flakes floated by residual co2 from the cold crash.

I'm with Coodgee and BK - 3 day dry hop at ferment temp before cold crash. I've been know to time this with last few days of active ferment to max hop utilisation with the co2 "stirring" the hops through the beer for a few days. Cold crash for 24hr after and bottle her up.

BK, any reason for the two temp cold crash?

Cheers
Garf


----------



## BKBrews

Garfield said:


> Tony, your fermenter looks like any batch with dry hopping. The chunks are propably hop flakes floated by residual co2 from the cold crash.
> 
> I'm with Coodgee and BK - 3 day dry hop at ferment temp before cold crash. I've been know to time this with last few days of active ferment to max hop utilisation with the co2 "stirring" the hops through the beer for a few days. Cold crash for 24hr after and bottle her up.
> 
> BK, any reason for the two temp cold crash?
> 
> Cheers
> Garf


Just trialling it mate. Theory is that more of the yeast will drop out before I dry hop, so the hops can do their thing without clinging to the yeast and being pulled to the bottom when crashed to 1 degree.


----------



## TonyF

Thanks BK and Garfield! Sounds like the consensus is to dry hop at fermentation temps. Not sure if I'll dry hop in the fermenter again or just dry hop in the keg like the previous batch. Hmmm.. maybe I should make one batch, using my racking cane to siphon some off to a keg with a keg dry hop and do the remainder in the fermenter. See if it makes much difference.


----------



## stm

You use an airlock?


----------



## Mr B

Has been very wet here lately. 

Went to crash two batches that have been in primary for a month or so (too long I know, it went quick!)







Mould and/or pellicle. Both taste fine at the moment, finished a couple of points high. They are on the bench tonight but I reckon I will tip them.

Unfortunately the ferment fudge has a bit of mould. Gave a bit of a clean up, was only a little. Concerning are a couple of buts on the outside of the good fermentor - hopefully only the outside!




After a good wipe and starsan I put a yeast starter in there, hope it will be ok.

This part of brewing sucks.....


----------



## BKBrews

Mr B said:


> Has been very wet here lately.
> 
> Went to crash two batches that have been in primary for a month or so (too long I know, it went quick!)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ImageUploadedByAussie Home Brewer1492427639.702222.jpg
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ImageUploadedByAussie Home Brewer1492427664.179966.jpg
> 
> Mould and/or pellicle. Both taste fine at the moment, finished a couple of points high. They are on the bench tonight but I reckon I will tip them.
> 
> Unfortunately the ferment fudge has a bit of mould. Gave a bit of a clean up, was only a little. Concerning are a couple of buts on the outside of the good fermentor - hopefully only the outside!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ImageUploadedByAussie Home Brewer1492427853.080087.jpg
> 
> After a good wipe and starsan I put a yeast starter in there, hope it will be ok.
> 
> This part of brewing sucks.....


I feel your pain mate. Went to keg a beer yesterday and my only spare corny was full of mould. Took it apart and soaked it in 75 degree sodium perc for a few hours, rinsed, then filled with starsan before I transferred. Got it all out but it sure makes you question whether brewing is a fun hobby!


----------



## Lionman

Mr B said:


> Has been very wet here lately.
> 
> Went to crash two batches that have been in primary for a month or so (too long I know, it went quick!)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ImageUploadedByAussie Home Brewer1492427639.702222.jpg
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ImageUploadedByAussie Home Brewer1492427664.179966.jpg
> 
> Mould and/or pellicle. Both taste fine at the moment, finished a couple of points high. They are on the bench tonight but I reckon I will tip them.
> 
> Unfortunately the ferment fudge has a bit of mould. Gave a bit of a clean up, was only a little. Concerning are a couple of buts on the outside of the good fermentor - hopefully only the outside!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ImageUploadedByAussie Home Brewer1492427853.080087.jpg
> 
> After a good wipe and starsan I put a yeast starter in there, hope it will be ok.
> 
> This part of brewing sucks.....



I kegged one that had some stringing white mould on it in January. It was a Belgian IPA fermented with Danstar Abbaye.

It was a bit funky but I didn't mind it actually. It got better with age in the keg and was slightly sour.

This was the last extract brew I did before moving to all grain.


----------



## Mr_Brewer

hi i have just keg a pilsner was clean tasted ok but after i filled the keg i looked in fermenter and this is what i found a weird looking yeast is this a infection or what as i said tasted ok will carb it up tomorrow thanks for any help


----------



## barls

looks normal to me.


----------



## Garfield

barls said:


> looks normal to me.



Yeh i don't see anything worrying there mate. Tastes fine in any case you say


----------



## eldertaco

That yeast looks tops. Brew another batch and dump that in it.


----------



## Mardoo

Yep, dump some high-gravity wort on that cake. That'll work a treat. Even better, save half the cake in a sterilised bottle and ferment with the other half.


----------



## Tropico

Hi folks.

Been away from brewing for about 18 months, and decided to start again. As a quick start due to limited time, bought a Fresh Wort Kit - Saison, WLP 566 Belgian Saison 2 yeast, old Coopers fermenter that had been in storage for the since I haven't been brewing. I believed that I had sanitised the fermenter with Sodium Percarbonate for a couple of days. Fermented @ 22C for 8 days. the ferment went as per normal. Ramped temp to 24C for 2 days while I was going away for the weekend. Everything looked normal until I returned home, and did a sg reading. Initial sg 1053, current sg 1008.

And then I noticed that there seemed to be a white film on the inside of the fermenter. Not really anything on the top, just on the fermenter sides. Pictures tell the story, nothing seen untl the last 3 days when I was away:


----------



## Grott

Seems ok to me, have you had a taste? The smell?


----------



## Tropico

Smells great, didn't taste


----------



## Alex.Tas

Are we lookin at acetobacteria here? 
It's a cider made from home grown and pressed apples. It is around 4ish months old, i haven't racked it or anything, just being lazy and left it in a dark spot in the cellar for a few months. I fermented with 1968.
I haven't tasted or had a smell yet, and I'm currently away so can't do so for around a week.
From what I understand, I shouldn't have left as much head space.


----------



## homebrewnewb

hmm looks pretty similar to what i threw out yesterday.
you seem to have a bit more than i did.

i am going off visual here, but i don't think it is, i tasted mine and couldnt detect any tart/vinegar notes. it was a bit more farmhousey/funky so maybe brett or lacto, but i didnt worry about it too much and turffed it.

i just had a google for images and it looks like it might be.
if you taste it, see if you get a tart vinegar hit that aceto is pretty synonymous with.

you need to get o2 present and the infection for aceto to spread, thinking back i popped the corny with my cider in it to faff around with a post so, it doest take much.

looks like you will have to chuck it OR, enjoy your cider vinegar, for salads, etc.


----------



## Mardoo

Well, let it go to vinegar and you'll have some great cider vinegar.


----------



## Mat B

Anyone got any thoughts on this WLP840 American Lager yeast starter? It's the second step (it was an older vial). I suspect it's OK, but the krausen is very thick and aggressive. Maybe just the kind of yeast??


----------



## Danscraftbeer

The yeast looks awesome. I'd clamp the foil tighter but that's just me.


----------



## earle

Pictures below are of a kettle sour that I finished brewing today. Haven't taken too much notice of the top on previous kettle sours but today noticed that there seems to be more than one biota growing. I mashed, then boiled, chilled then pitched Ethical Nutrients IBS Support which is a pure strain of Lacto. Did the second boil after these photos so they should all be dead now but wondering whats going on. Anybody care to take a punt at what bacteria these are? Just lacto or other?


----------



## peteru

I wonder if that pinky stuff is the same bacteria you get on washed rind cheese and it contributes to the "intense aroma".


----------



## Mardoo

Hmmmm, I haven’t noticed that growth pattern before. It looks a bit different than other lacto infections I’ve seen. How’s it smell and taste?


----------



## earle

Smelled fine as it was going into the fermenter. Will give it a taste test when its time for a hydro reading.


----------



## goatchop41

Alex.Tas said:


> Are we lookin at acetobacteria here?





homebrewnewb said:


> i am going off visual here, but i don't think it is, i tasted mine and couldnt detect any tart/vinegar notes. it was a bit more farmhousey/funky so maybe brett or lacto, but i didnt worry about it too much and turffed it.
> 
> i just had a google for images and it looks like it might be.



Just an FYI for you two - you can't tell which contaminating bacteria/organism it is by the type of pellicle


----------



## Grott

Bloody hell, just took the lid off my latest brew and found this! What the shit is it.
(Aussie bitter, 2 kilo of plain sugar, unbranded yeast from the bakers and fermented at 36 degrees for 8 days)


----------



## Grott

2000th post done, hooray, goodies please.


----------



## barls

Grott said:


> View attachment 109214
> Bloody hell, just took the lid off my latest brew and found this! What the shit is it.
> (Aussie bitter, 2 kilo of plain sugar, unbranded yeast from the bakers and fermented at 36 degrees for 8 days)


looks ugly, burn it with fire


----------



## malt junkie

Napalm and C4, obviously if your can scrounge a a few hell fire missiles go with that. But scorched earth required 1km radius minimum.


----------



## Mardoo

I think I saw that on Stranger Things...


----------



## Grott

I’ve not had an infection of any notability but this does puzzle me. It is a standard kit brew, Thomas Coopers Preacher Hefe Wheat with light dry malt extract (Swiss spray). Fermenter 16 days, max temp 22, mainly 19 to 20.

1) when preparing to keg into a 12l and a 9.5l keg there was *no* smell coming off the fermenter or any indications something may be wrong from the brew surface.
2) in filling each keg, *no* smell and no indication of a problem.
3) when purging each keg *no* off smells or indication of a problem.

But the inside of the fermenter showed this and the slurry smelt like nail polish remover.


----------



## Grott

No ideas people?


----------



## wide eyed and legless

What did it taste like and how's your sense of smell?


----------



## wereprawn

Grott said:


> No ideas people?


Chlorophenols sound like the problem Grott. Did you treat, boil or filter your water?


----------



## Grott

Filtered the water as done with all my brews.
Is the problem a major one or will it settle out by leaving kegs for a while?


----------



## manticle

Nail polish/acetone is a sign of infection. The beer may turn.

Neck it, quick


----------



## Grott

Ha ha, there has been a recent reported problem about chlorine in the water, was on SA news by memory in the last few weeks.
I haven’t tasted yet, but is it recoverable? Why didn’t it smell in the fermenter and whilst kegging and purging?


----------



## Coodgee

well does the beer taste or smell bad out of the keg?


----------



## Grott

Coodgee said:


> well does the beer taste or smell bad out of the keg?


At this stage it doesn’t smell but have not tasted yet. Will do. manticle says to ditch before it changes, I think he might be right. Will await am tomorrow as had a few now and would probably like it.


----------



## manticle

Manticle said drink before it changes. Definitely ditch after.

And clean with nuclear precision and vigour.


----------



## Grott

Good man


----------



## Garfield

From memory, acetate is a fairly common ester produced relative to ferment temp. Since 22 degrees is not unusual it could be a wild yeast that's produced some fussel funk. I've had success aging bottles to drinkable but I may just have got lucky.

Hard to tell from photo but is the stuff stuck to walls just protein or break matter?

Garf


----------



## Grott

Not sure, but the being stuck to the walls really got me. Is there any danger in just leaving it in the kegs say fit 2 weeks and re-evaluating?

Remember I’m Grott, don’t like wastage - eat/drink it!


----------



## Grott

manticle said:


> Manticle said drink before it changes. Definitely ditch after.
> 
> And clean with nuclear precision and vigour.



Do I have a few days or should I chill now? If it is acetate will it hold off for a while.


----------



## Grott

manticle said:


> Manticle said drink before it changes. Definitely ditch after.
> 
> And clean with nuclear precision and vigour.



Mmm.... “drink before it changes” ok but “Definitely ditch after” is that a negative negative? Forget the term but does it mean **** it off now!


----------



## Grott

Garfield said:


> From memory, acetate is a fairly common ester produced relative to ferment temp. Since 22 degrees is not unusual it could be a wild yeast that's produced some fussel funk. I've had success aging bottles to drinkable but I may just have got lucky.
> 
> Hard to tell from photo but is the stuff stuck to walls just protein or break matter?
> 
> Garf


 
Don’t know? I don’t know a lot about infections etc. This was a kit brew so a lot of the all grain issues can be eliminated. As it Xmas if I don’t have to chuck it would be great as I could use others and leave this for a month or so. Am I grabbing at straws? Ditch? Keep?


----------



## manticle

Taste


----------



## Danscraftbeer

Only you can really be the judge of that Grott. Chill it, carbonate it. Some things go away some things dont. I had an apple cider with M27 when fermenting gave of fumes like what you describe but then that fume smell seemed to release/dissipated through the ferment and didn't carry through to the finished product. Then I have some bottled beer under the house with that fume flavour that is permanent. Has not dissipated after years of ageing.


----------



## Grott

manticle said:


> Nail polish/acetone is a sign of infection. The beer may turn.
> 
> Neck it, quick



So a taste now could be ok but? 
Unless someone has had this same problem and suggest keeping, I’ll ditch after a taste tomorrow.
I’ll cry, I’ll be shitty, I’ll blame everyone else (look in mirror) and think how the **** this happened after so many successful brews.
I was a Santa, is an elf fucked off with me


----------



## Black Devil Dog

Are you sure you didn't just snort pure co2? That can be pretty intense.

Just by looking at the gunk on the side of the fermenter is a bit hard to tell really.

I'd be inclined to give it crack and if it turns out ok, great.

If it is infected, I'd retire the fermenter and get a new one.


----------



## manticle

Grott said:


> So a taste now could be ok but?
> Unless someone has had this same problem and suggest keeping, I’ll ditch after a taste tomorrow.
> I’ll cry, I’ll be shitty, I’ll blame everyone else (look in mirror) and think how the **** this happened after so many successful brews.
> I was a Santa, is an elf fucked off with me


Tip it if it turns. It may not.

BDD is on the money


----------



## labels

Grott said:


> So a taste now could be ok but?
> Unless someone has had this same problem and suggest keeping, I’ll ditch after a taste tomorrow.
> I’ll cry, I’ll be shitty, I’ll blame everyone else (look in mirror) and think how the **** this happened after so many successful brews.
> I was a Santa, is an elf fucked off with me


In your first post, yoiu said it was a wheat beer. I am assuming you would have used a wheat beer yeast or were supplied a wheat if it was a kit beer. Funny yeast is wheat yeast and to me there is no infection, wheat yeast is a super top-cropper and having used it a lot, it can produce the sort of floaties you show in the pics. Being a super top-cropper that usually produces a lot of foam it can drag solids to the top and, especially if you're using kits where hot and cold break are not removed and produce these large protein solids in the beer. As you empty the fermenter they will disperse onto the sides of the fermenter.

Nothing to worry about


----------



## Grott

Thank you labels, that disperse to the side of the fermenter is spot on.
So leave in the kegs for a while?


----------



## labels

Grott said:


> Thank you labels, that disperse to the side of the fermenter is spot on.
> So leave in the kegs for a while?


Wheat beers should be drunk fresh. Carbonate and drink them up!


----------



## Garfield

labels said:


> In your first post, yoiu said it was a wheat beer. I am assuming you would have used a wheat beer yeast or were supplied a wheat if it was a kit beer. Funny yeast is wheat yeast and to me there is no infection, wheat yeast is a super top-cropper and having used it a lot, it can produce the sort of floaties you show in the pics. Being a super top-cropper that usually produces a lot of foam it can drag solids to the top and, especially if you're using kits where hot and cold break are not removed and produce these large protein solids in the beer. As you empty the fermenter they will disperse onto the sides of the fermenter.
> 
> Nothing to worry about



I agree. It sure looks like proteins. I've had similar experiences on Saisons. Carb on young padawan!


----------



## Coodgee

yeah man, no need to be worried about it. chill it up, carb it up. If you can handle drink it then it's all good, if not tip it. it's not going to kill you.


----------



## Grott

Sadly after chilling and carbonating it tasted medicinal and even mixing in the glass with an English Bitter I just couldn’t persist. So first (and hope last) brew down the sink. If 18 again it would be consumed but I’m passed drinking crap.
Thanks for help/advice.


----------



## Garfield

Grott said:


> Sadly after chilling and carbonating it tasted medicinal and even mixing in the glass with an English Bitter I just couldn’t persist. So first (and hope last) brew down the sink. If 18 again it would be consumed but I’m passed drinking crap.
> Thanks for help/advice.


I'm sorry to hear that, Grott. I made a nice vinegar from a spoilt batch once. Actually that's not entirely true... It turned itself into vinegar but made 50L of decent dressing.

When life hands you lemonades...


----------



## mtb

I have a brewer friend who will force himself to drink an infected batch. I just don't have that sort of steeled resolve, **** drinking bad beer. I learn my lessons without punishing my taste buds


----------



## mtb

.. it's usually the wallet that takes a pounding instead


----------



## manticle

Bad luck. At least you know, rather than guess/wonder. Your palate doesn't often let you down.


----------



## Grott

So true and when you can’t enjoy it why bother. I love beer, but decent beer. My days or drinking crap are well and truely over.


----------



## Danscraftbeer

So what about this? Not my beer by the way. Its Belgian ish. I noticed those lines before pouring any beer out. Its like growth on the walls and bottom of the bottle. Not sediment because its like its grown up the wall and all on the bottom but is stuck hard, wont swill off etc. The beer didn't taste bad although I'm no real big fan of Belgians so fairly ordinary. Can yeast just do this? When eating up a carb drop bottle fermenting maybe?


----------



## Garfield

Perhaps the plastic bottle has reached the end of its life


----------



## manticle

Strong beer? Could be legs


----------



## Grott

It’s possible that the infection has got into scratching made by the up and down movement of a bottle brush.


----------



## Danscraftbeer

Grott said:


> It’s possible that the infection has got into scratching made by the up and down movement of a bottle brush.


Good call. Like the bristled tip probably came off leaving the bare wire end while they were ferociously scrubbing it probably trying to prevent infections. 
Amateurs  I gave them two of my best.


----------



## Tony121

Anyone have any thoughts on this? WLP007 on day 5 after krausen has dropped. Started off with little white spots that I noticed yesterday, now joined as per picture. I haven’t tasted it yet though will do later, all smells pretty normal. And there is glad wrap over the lid which I haven’t taken off.


----------



## Mardoo

It certainly looks a bit suspicious. It’s that kind of creamy look that gets me wondering. I don’t have anything definitive to offer though. If it were me I’d rack most of the beer off and leave the last few litres behind.


----------



## Grott

Tony121 said:


> View attachment 111113
> View attachment 111112
> I haven’t tasted it yet though will do later, all smells pretty normal. And there is glad wrap over the lid which I haven’t taken off.



Three things,
I’d gently spoon the stuff of the top
you need to put a lid on or glad wrap again to reduce oxygen contact
You must taste it. Drain some off to clear what’s sitting in the tap and then taste some.

Back a bit I had a bummer, no smell at all but the taste was well it went down the sink in the end.


----------



## Tony121

Mardoo said:


> It certainly looks a bit suspicious. It’s that kind of creamy look that gets me wondering. I don’t have anything definitive to offer though. If it were me I’d rack most of the beer off and leave the last few litres behind.





Grott said:


> Three things,
> I’d gently spoon the stuff of the top
> you need to put a lid on or glad wrap again to reduce oxygen contact
> You must taste it. Drain some off to clear what’s sitting in the tap and then taste some.
> 
> Back a bit I had a bummer, no smell at all but the taste was well it went down the sink in the end.



Thanks guys. I’m not overly confident about it, though never had an infection before and first time using this yeast so wasn’t sure what I was looking at. Maybe I should’ve used that second layer of glad wrap...

I’m away for work now till tomorrow night so will check and taste it then, hopefully hasn’t gone too feral and I can spoon it off then see what happens from there.


----------



## Zorco

how did you go?


----------



## Tony121

Zorco said:


> how did you go?



Just came back tonight and checked it, all now looks almost normal but I tasted it and does not seem right. I’ll have another taste tomorrow and go from there, I may be now thinking I’m tasting something but I’m pretty sure it’s fucked. 45L about to go on the lawn I think, at least the worms will enjoy it.


----------



## Zorco

i know that feeling


----------



## Garfield

Any particular taste that you describe to us?


----------



## Zorco

acid, like buritic but with the texture of custard skin laying on the tongue....

and an after taste that reminds me never to drink rum again


----------



## Tony121

Garfield said:


> Any particular taste that you describe to us?





Zorco said:


> acid, like buritic but with the texture of custard skin laying on the tongue....
> 
> and an after taste that reminds me never to drink rum again



Mate, you have hit it on the head, exactly what it is like. Extremely disappointing, now to try to figure out the cause. Edit - I understand it is the Brewer...


----------



## DazGore

Any idea as to what caused this infection?


----------



## Coodgee

is it only on one side of the bottle? might have been stored on it's side and that's just sediment?


----------



## Nickedoff

I've just finished fermenting a bavarian wheat beer in the fermenter king. OG 1.045 FG 1.007 (seems a bit low)








Fermentation should have finished, but there's still krausen (hopefully) on top. Is this ok, or possibly an infection?


----------



## Reg Holt

Looks OK to me.


----------



## kadmium

Sometimes Krausen just won't drop, and I've found with some belgian wit strains randomly the krausen just won't drop. 

If it's bacteria, it's unlikely it's taken hold so fast. Looks normal to me, and as long as it's not mould you're ok!


----------



## Nickedoff

Ok, thanks @kadmium and @Reg Holt.


----------



## Garfield

Nickedoff said:


> I've just finished fermenting a bavarian wheat beer in the fermenter king. OG 1.045 FG 1.007 (seems a bit low)
> View attachment 119155
> View attachment 119156
> 
> 
> Fermentation should have finished, but there's still krausen (hopefully) on top. Is this ok, or possibly an infection?
> 
> View attachment 119154


You're sweet mate. That's exactly how healthy yeast looks late into ferment. Let it sit another week at your preferred temperature and that will clear up. I tend to leave an extra day after ferment for resting things long diacytal and vdk. If all your beers look like this then you're going great for a ?new? Brewer


----------



## Garfield

@Nickedoff here is a good example of a common bacterial infection:



Google Image Result for https://i.stack.imgur.com/FTt0B.jpg


----------



## Nickedoff

Thanks all. I chilled it down a bit today and transferred to a keg. Most of the krausen dropped. Tastes ok, a tad more bitter/astringent than I thought but lots of banana.


----------



## Garfield

Nickedoff said:


> Thanks all. I chilled it down a bit today and transferred to a keg. Most of the krausen dropped. Tastes ok, a tad more bitter/astringent than I thought but lots of banana.


Is it at terminal gravity?


----------



## Nickedoff

Garfield said:


> Is it at terminal gravity?



Yep, settled at 1.007


----------



## Garfield

No worries. Yeast can still be working away even when it seems terminal. Hence the Krausen. If you bottle condition it will finish it's business there. If you force carb kegs then you'll keep it chilled and dormant anyway. As I mentioned before, no harm in leaving another few days after terminal to rest out a few flavours. Depends on style too


----------



## Nickedoff

Garfield said:


> No worries. Yeast can still be working away even when it seems terminal. Hence the Krausen. If you bottle condition it will finish it's business there. If you force carb kegs then you'll keep it chilled and dormant anyway. As I mentioned before, no harm in leaving another few days after terminal to rest out a few flavours. Depends on style too



Thanks mate. It's kegged at 18psi. Stuff bottling! It's mellowed a little since yesterday. I'm guessing you're right, the yeast might have cleaned up a bit. Anyway, time for the next one - oatmeal stout.


----------

