Infection Alert - Should I Chuck It?

[Screwtop]

Wonderfull blue beer to go with a little blue cheese :lol: seriously it's just mould (fungi, like mushrooms), they need organic material and moisture to grow. They can be green, grey, brown or black, and produce a musty smell. What does the beer taste like.

Can't believe you posted that pic, farking funny :lol:

 

[petesbrew]

Oh Screwy, one look at it and I knew I HAD to post it!
I mean look at it! It's frikkin' awesome!

Actually it does look like my coffee cup when i leave dregs of tea in it over an RDO weekend.
I reckon I could coat it in perspex or something and sell it as jewellry.

But the strange thing is, I'm still considering throwing a kit yeast on it just because I can!

 

[pdilley]

Rack the wort off below the mould line to a new fermenter and keep on truckin'.

A few Moulds can be toxic (mostly from the inhalation of their resulting spores) and they all generally will pop up spore producing mycelial structures as quick as possible, so transfer sooner than later before it becomes a cloud bed of little inhalation aggravation devices.

Most spores can survive heat santisation, and not all but most are killed off in pressure cooker/autoclave sterilisation. You get them most likely from spores stuck to the hulls of grains naturally in the wild.

Maybe you lucked out and got the few bushels with some mould on it harvested processed and bagged and delivered straight to your door

That or your kitchen cleaning duty needs an inspection or is that introspection of the process? Or did you leave some blue cheese on the mouse trap behind the fridge last year and forgot about it?


Cheers,
Brewer Pete

 

[Renegade]

I would be worried about airborne spores with such a vigourous growth. Maybe you should chuck some straight bleach into the cube to stop any nasties infecting your brew space.

Come to think of it, maybe I should do the same with my wort before I tip it down the drain.

EDIT: someone already mentioned spores. But Brewer Pete, youre not seriously suggesting Petes Brew (confusing) consider salvaging this mere 10 litres ?! :icon_vomit:

 

[pdilley]

I would be worried about airborne spores with such a vigourous growth. Maybe you should chuck some straight bleach into the cube to stop any nasties infecting your brew space.

nah, so long as he doesn't take a big snogging sniff of it and sneezes, a gentle drain to a new fermenter won't disturb the spore clumps and send them airborne. Love the picture though

darker beers usually have a greater chance of moulds, more yummy goodness to munch on in them as well.


Cheers,
Brewer Pete

EDIT: Yeah I am. Most everyone in this country pitches out perfectly good beer!

I get mould all over my sauerkraut too at times. its a natural process and I'm not a mycophobic person with issues. I like mouldy cheeses and allsorts

Black mould I would be worried about and pink mould but nothing gets me anxious from that picture. Unless it is Fusarium mould I'm not too worried but thats pink

Cheers,
Brewer Pete

 

[petesbrew]

CBA racking that to a new fermenter. I've already got a full batch of it brewed and "drinkable" (still pending judging notes from the Schwartz comp), so I'll tip it down the drain on the weekend.
Tastewise, I'd give it a go if the cube had a tap, but I just stuck the plug in it this time, and um, I'm a bit wary of a sample from the top!
ah just call me chicken...

 

[Renegade]

Chicken !

 

[pdilley]

I'm not one to say put down the fermenter and step away from beer!

But maybe your next book for your brewing library could be one on Mycotoxins and Food Safety. Then you can alleviate all your fears (issues ) and conquer them with science!

Cheers,
Brewer Pete

 

[Darren]

Never, ever chuck a beer. Some of my best beers have turned bad over time and some of the worst beers have also improved with time.

cheers

Darren

 

[Renegade]

Hi Darren,

With all respect, is that a serious coment? Back up to the pics in post #1, would you bottle (not keg) that one ? If people are still using wort that's top-surface infected, maybe I should ! Although I might go and buy PET's just in case.

 

[kabooby]

You mentioned in your opening post that you mixed the gelatine with 80C water. When I put gelatine in I always use boiling water and make sure the jug and spoon have been sanitized. You may have picked something up in that process.

Kabooby :icon_cheers:

 

[jbirbeck]

I agree with darren to an extent. Don't chuck a beer. I've had the infection shown in post one a number of times. I rack to another fermenter to leave the top layer behind and then bottle straight away the beer is great. I'va had other 'infections' that smelt like and tasted like they were taking over. quick clean up of the bottles, into the bottles they go (normally a combo of glass and PET to 'test' carbonation) and the beers have turned out fine.

That being said - I have chcuked two batches - one was a pils which was for others to drink so I wasn't taking the risk there, and the other was a mistake all thr way through so not worth keeping (and the infection had gone further than I thought was savlvagable). no :icon_vomit:

:icon_chickcheers:

 

[marlow_coates]

If it's just wort, then could you attempt to scrape the ***** of the top, and reboil it?

Add your kit at the end, top up and pitch onto a solid yeast cake so that nothing else has a chance to live.
Also you could make it quite strong, like to 10%, so that the alcohol will be combating any nasties as well.

I see this as your war against infection Petesbrew, don't roll over and and give it all up like a prom queen after a couple champagnes. Get in there and make that f*#!ing beer work man!

:icon_cheers:

 

[petesbrew]

I have bottled the odd infected batch. Most just haven't got better, and get tipped anyway.
Also thrown a couple down the drain straight from the fermenter... if you can't stomach the hydrometer sample will you be able to drink a longneck??? :icon_vomit:


I'm prepared to chuck this one. I've already got a batch worth out of it... this was just the extra's. Plus I've already got other brews planned.

 

[T.D.]

If people are still using wort that's top-surface infected, maybe I should ! Although I might go and buy PET's just in case.

I don't understand this line of thinking. Ross made a similar statement that you can rack the beer from under the scum on top and successfully avoid the infection. This is totally wrong - you are seeing evidence of the infection on top because that's where the oxygen is - its just an indicator - the bacteria will be mixed thoroughly through the entire volume of beer, no question about it. Racking will do nothing, the scum will just come back.

That said, I agree with Darren, don't chuck it, acetobacter is not a REALLY bad infection. Over a few months you will start getting some sharper flavours appearing in the beer, but for many people the batch would be polished off within a few months anyway. In initial stages (presumably unless you have a really bad case of it) this infection actually doesn't have a lot of effect on the flavour.

 

[Ross]

I don't understand this line of thinking. Ross made a similar statement that you can rack the beer from under the scum on top and successfully avoid the infection. This is totally wrong - you are seeing evidence of the infection on top because that's where the oxygen is - its just an indicator - the bacteria will be mixed thoroughly through the entire volume of beer, no question about it. Racking will do nothing, the scum will just come back.

That said, I agree with Darren, don't chuck it, acetobacter is not a REALLY bad infection. Over a few months you will start getting some sharper flavours appearing in the beer, but for many people the batch would be polished off within a few months anyway. In initial stages (presumably unless you have a really bad case of it) this infection actually doesn't have a lot of effect on the flavour.

Please don't misquote T.D.

Ross - Yes it is infected with acetobacter - some brewers have succesfully siphoned off the brew below the film without any apparent problems

As above, i quoted it is infected, but maybe worth trying to rescue. You then after dismissing my advice go on to say you agree with Darren & not to chuck it B)

cheers Ross

 

[muckey]

I'm in the save camp too.

I cant bear the thought of chucking out a fermenter full of beer without at least trying to save it.
rrack it off if you can (leave a good portion at the top behind) and see if you can at least get a beer to drink in the short term and use it up before the infection takes over again. even if you only save some of it you're better off than dumping the whole fermenter

cheers from an absolute tight ar*e :icon_cheers:

 

[Renegade]

Righto, Ill price a case of PET's on the weekend and if they are reasonably priced and give bottling a go. F&ked if Im putting this into glass though.

 

[discoloop]

Interesting idea. I once had a beer that I found - after bottling - had a teenie bit of oily-looking stuff on the surface. Tasted okay so thought it had less to do with infection and more to do with food residue (brewpot gets used for food, too). But maybe it was a mild case of this? Makes me wonder...

RE saving beers: in my experience, good flavours fade over time, but any off flavours stick out like a sore thumb no matter what...go figure!

 

[Steve]

I'm in the save camp too.

Me to. Ive had it a couple of times years ago. Made sure none got in the bulk priming vessel and they were fine. Also had small signs of it in a couple of bottles. Still fine.
Cheers
Steve