# What is this strange looking thing?



## Bomber Watson (7/9/15)

Gday guys, Hope I picked the right section for this.

Have some stupid questions, but first a bit of a story. 

As my first AG brew after picking up GF1 I decided to do a stone smoked porter clone. 

All went reasonably well bar missing the gravity, but thats irrelevant. 

After it was fermented out I decided It would be nice to rack a few litres into a demijohn that I had been oaking some bourbon in, ontop of the oak after just transferring the bourbon. For discussions sake lets just say I brought some commercial bourbon @65% and decided it needed more oaking, ok?

I didnt bother cleaning or sanitizing the demi, as it was full to the neck with 65% spirits, so figured it would be sanitary as I needed. 

About a week later I decided to have a **** around with it, so I cracked the stopper, and it had gassed up somewhat. The brew that was put in there had definitely hit terminal gravity, So I found this a touch strange but ignored it, had a sniff, and put it back away. 

Week after that, same thing. But It had developed some interesting looking things on the surface. Decided because I didnt want an exploded demi and 4lt of SSP clone spread all thorugh my aging/Mead fermenting cupboard I would put some glad wrap over the top of the demi and just sit the stopper on there so it can breath a bit. 

Fast foward another three weeks or so, to present day, decided to check it again. 

Had an interesting growth ontop. 







Had a taste, it tasted quiet fine, rather good actually. Not as bourbony or oaky as I would like, but still definitely not bad. 

So, after the long winded explanation, my questions. 

1/ Is this what they call a "pellicle" forming/formed? Its not continuous so I wouldnt say formed. I may have disturbed it a bit moving the demi somewhere I could take the pick. 

2/ WTF could it be if it is? Im currently not aware of any buggs that can live in 65% alcohol....Brett perhaps? I think its doubtfull. 

3/ Say I was to bottle it now, would that be stupidly dangerous? If I was to would I put a carb drop in the tally's, or just bottle it and cap them then forget about them for 50 years?

4/ Should I just forget about the demi for 50 years, and bottle when it seems to be done?

5/ Should I burn the entire property to the ground?

CHeers.


----------



## manticle (7/9/15)

It doesn't look much like a pellicle. I'd wait. Not sure 65% is enough to kill all bacteria but most organisms prone to unhabiting beer won't cope.

Did you take a gravity reading before putting in the demi? What is it now?


----------



## Bomber Watson (7/9/15)

Gravity readings before and after are for people who plan for things to go wrong, are thorough, and are ready to go places in brewing. I'm none of the above.

Could have a look at the stuff in the keg and compare it to the stuff in the Demi i suppose.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (7/9/15)

Looks like the foam you get when the fermetation has finished. Cant really tell from the pic.


If the demijpn was sealed then thats why the gas build up.

Fermentation doesnt really stop, it just slows right down after all the bulk of the sugar has been used. Stout is notorious for fermentation still going on after a few weeks.

If it looks like a duck, smells like a duck and tastes like a duck then it is probably a duck. Its not hard to pick infection. It will taste like just the arse end of the duck

Other than that...NFI


----------



## Bomber Watson (7/9/15)

Cheers guys.


----------



## crowmanz (7/9/15)

Option 5 is probably your safest bet


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (7/9/15)

crowmanz said:


> Option 5 is probably your safest bet


I was going to suggest that after he tastes it


----------



## crowmanz (7/9/15)

after I safely remove his 2 grainfathers to my house


----------



## Camo6 (7/9/15)

The yeast wasn't Pac-Man was it? Seriously, am I the only one seeing this?


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (7/9/15)

Is it stringy ?


----------



## Danscraftbeer (7/9/15)

Sounds loose and experimental like the old days. Although Life spans were shorter then.
I'm pretty shore it would make good vinegar. I've worked that out. You don't need to burn the entire property to the ground.
It may even be drinkable! :chug:


----------



## hirschb (8/9/15)

It's pretty much impossible to tell whats going on based on the photo. It very well could be a pellicle: http://www.milkthefunk.com/wiki/Pellicle
Also, really cool photos in this thread: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=174033
You really shouldn't have gotten a brett infection after soaking the oak in bourbon for more than a few days. You might have gotten an infection earlier, or who knows, maybe there was some brett hanging out near the neck of the demi-john. If you have an infection, it'd be better to keg the beer than bottle it. If you do bottle, you really should check your gravity and wait until it stabilizes before bottling. If this were me, I'd take a gravity reading ASAP. When you take a sample, that is going to let 02 into your demi-john, which should increase pellicle formation (if that is what it is). If this happens, you know you got an infection. If not, I'd still wait a couple of weeks (or a couple of months), take another gravity sample, and then bottle when it stabilizes. If you do have a brett infection, I'd encourage you to "Embrace the Funk," let it ride, bottle when gravity stabilizes, and enjoy whatever happed (and hope that the brett strain adds good flavor/aroma to the beer).


----------



## Bomber Watson (8/9/15)

Tbh I was kinda hoping it was Brett.

Shall have a look at the gravity tonight.


----------



## hirschb (8/9/15)

Accidental brett infections can run the gamit from amazing to god-awful. I had an accidental brett infection in a bourbon barrel aged brown ale that was delicious. In contrast, the original version of that beer was dumped due to a particularly nasty brett infection (that created band-aid off flavors). The good infection was probably due to a commercial brett culture that jumped from one of the many brett beers fermenting/aging nearby the barrel, while the bad infection resembled a wild brett strain that commonly infects beers in Northern Florida. If the beer smells/tastes horrible, you'll have to decide whether to ride it out and hope it improves over time or dump the batch.


----------

