I'm Assuming, Yes, But Is This An Infection?

[stakka82]

Props to her giving it a shot anyway I reckon.

My better half knows enough to brew herself, from watching and helping me out, I would be stoked if I went away one weekend and found that she had actually done a whole batch herself!

My 2c is if the beer looks like that, but tasted/smelled fine, it'll probably be fine. Ive had one of those 'surface' type infections, thought the batch would be done for sure, but turned out one of my best.

 

[manticle]

Most of that photo looks fine to me mate - like yeast finishing fermentation and dropping out. Keep an eye on it and keep tasting it but that picture with the lid off doesn't look too scary. There are some pieces of white that look slightly odd but not overly worrisome.

No, it's not dangerous to drink an infected beer.

 

[kelbygreen]

looks fine to me. The bubbles have hop material in them that indicates to me that some hops came out of the sock and made bubbles. If it taste and smells fine it will be. DONT take the lid off bottle or keg it and stop dropping the tampons in there

Tell her she done well and that you are panicking over nothing. If you keg do it NOW!! if you bottle cover them in a towel just incase. I cant see a problem at all. I have had a brew get a bit of acto I kegged it straight away drunk it in a week and I am still alive lol

 

[Thefatdoghead]

That is awesome mate. Away on a fishing trip while the misses brew's. So what's the secret? how do you get them brewing? Best my wife will do is have a sniff of my beer and tell me what she thinks she can smell, won't even try it!! One day I tell ya one bloody day!!

 

[kelbygreen]

Mine tried it once!! she said hmm taste like beer you buy at the shop!!! I dunno how she knows that as far as I know that was the first try of beer she had lol. I might make a fruit wheat one day and see if she will try it. It would be good to have a wife that drinks beer but in saying that I would have to brew more often. I am lucky she doesnt drink much lol bought her a carton of cruisers for her birthday a month ago and there is still over half in the carton I prob been threw 6+ kegs since then

 

[raven19]

As per other posts above, chill down, keg and enjoy asap.

Tis definately an infection with those pics taken later on. Initial photo looks perfectly fine though.

Keep the lid on and spray everything with sanitiser prior to opening the fermentor lid, and when you are putting the lid back on spray again.

You can also post your pic here for others to see.
Infection pic thread

 

[white.grant]

I actually don't use a tap. Maybe it's time I started. I tried using fermenter taps when I started brewing, but those plastics ones can be faulty. I was told that dropping a clean and well sterilized hydrometer into the beer was no less safe than sticking a siphon or turkey baster in it to get the sample. We generally only take readings when we have another reason to gain access to the beer (dry hopping, racking, etc.). I'm in the process of migrating to glass carboys, how do you take a reading then?

Everyone's mileage varies, but I've not yet had a problem with a plastic fermenter tap. I try not to introduce any external air to the fermented beer at all. if I dry hop it's into to a keg and flushed with co2 after I muck around. The natural atmosphere is your enemy, keep it as far away from your beer as you can.

I don't use glass carboys so perhaps someone else can help you work that out.

 

[kelbygreen]

I take 20ml out and put 3 drops onto my refractometer. I drink the rest . My tap spouts are what some would consider not ideal lol . I see mould on them but I spray them with a bleach solution if I feel like it. Never giving me to much trouble but I could go the extra bit if I wanted. Not to say its ideal but I keg and carb straight away and drink it fast I have not noticed anything out of the ordinary, apart from the little acto I got or it was wild yeast not sure. Kegged fast and drank fast and it was fine. still better then the kit beers I made lol

 

[jyo]

As Raven said, it's infected. You can see the white mould-type growth in the krausen on the side of the fermenter. I have had a similar looking beast twice. It would show up after reaching FG. The only similarity with both brews was the room they were fermented in sitting next to my wife's tropical fish cleaning gear...

Both times I kegged it as soon as I discovered and drank quickly. There was a slight tart/sourness to the beers but still very drinkable.

Pic- HERE

Cheers.

 

[pk.sax]

I get it now. Yes, my girlfriend and I live together and brew beer together, hence the "we".

This was actually the first beer she has brewed completely by herself. She did it while I was away on a fishing trip. I was completely effing gutted to see the crap on the top today. She was still at work. It was like having to tell her that her dog died .

lol... I've successfully managed to teach a girl to brew a cider over the phone, so I reckon it can be done too That is freakin awesome though. Although, she might've bn a curious cat while you were away and taken a whiff too many!! Keg it and call it the suspicious HWMO

 

[JestersDarts]

You know it's bad when it starts growing tentacles!

 

[brettprevans]

those last pics look like the type of infection I mentioned, where I tated it and it was fine. so i kegged most of it and left tha last few litres behind.

taste yours and decide whether you think it tastes ok. it could just be the start of an infection and youve caught it in time before it goes nuts.

 

[Gar]

Two practices I'd change for future brews:

Don't drop your hydrometer directly into the brew, fit a tap and use a hydrometer tube (try to remember to loosen the lid before opening the tap too)...

Don't bother with the hopsock, if you dump your hops straight in after primary and then cold crash a few days before bottling/kegging they're fine...

 

[MaltyHops]

... My tap spouts are what some would consider not ideal lol . I see mould on them
but I spray them with a bleach solution if I feel like it. Never giving me to much trouble
but I could go the extra bit if I wanted. ...

A really handy bit of kit are lab squeeze bottles with hooked spout from lab supply places
(like AIM Scientific in SA).



Need to trim the straw going into the bottle though as the straw goes right to the bottom
of the bottle originally and for what I need it for, I need the straw to poke just inside the
bottle lid.

I've also trimmed the curved part of the straw so the tip doesn't point around too far
- best to trim bit by bit until you get it just right.

I have two bottles - one for diluted phos acid based sanitiser and one for plain water for
rinsing. Actually I've had three but I kept one with the lid over-tightened and over time,
the lid cracked.

 

[pk.sax]

That little drip catcher is a work of ghetto art!

 

[stux]

That little drip catcher is a work of ghetto art!

I just keep a 500ml spraybottle of starsan on hand at all times. Whenever I make up some starsan I refresh the bottle once I'm done.

I just hold the nozzle up against the tap spout and spray a few times... give a spray around the fermenter... around the fridge... on the door... clean the window etc...

give the keg taps a spray up their nozzles at the end of the night, perlick's, so that's all they need to stay clean, give the faucet covers a spray... etc.

Any drips on the floor... will help to keep the wild yeast population down

 

[Dazza88]

+1 starsan bottle and alfoil wrapped around the fermenter tap.

 

[Mikedub]

clean nozzle = more sozzled
I spray before and after taking a reading, might also give it a bit of a wipe with a tissue too
(who knows, possibly a side effect of being breast fed until I was 14)

 

[BreathingHeat]

Hey guys,

We just tapped the beer and it tastes fantastic! 100% nelson sauvin American brown ale.

I really appreciate everyone's support. This place is awesome.

Thanks again.

 

[kelbygreen]

thats good to hear. Yeah if you can get it kegged or chilled you can catch them before they take off. I have been lucky the one brew I thought was getting acto I kegged and drank quick it was a little different tasting to what it was when FG was hit but not enough to notice it after a few