Sad Day. 4th Ever Batch, First Infection

[Eggs]

Hi all, just thought id share for no particular reason. A few weeks ago I made the brew below, Thanks to argon for the recipe.

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...mp;#entry696753

All went well with the brew, untill i realised that i couldnt find an airlock for the fermenter. I have two and one is in use. So recalling previous threads i used gladwrap and the seal off the fremeter lid. I used coopers sanitiser, boiling water and starsan to sanitise the gear before i started. OG was 1.071, a bit short of the predicted. fermentation was vigerous in the first few days. But then it slowed so I took a sample. I use a refractometer and took a small sample from the tap. It was very cloudy and thick, tasted great but very sweet. The reading was 1.041. I left it for a few more days but with no sign of activity i took another reading. 1.041. I gave it a swirl. a few more days, 1.041. I though t that perhaps the yeast may corrupt the reading, so I started opening the frementer to take a sample from the top. It was much clearer but read the same. 1.041. So i decided to leave it a little longer. Checking it today it has a fine web structure over the surface with fuzzy clusters at the junctions.

I did use mostly new gear on this brew including a second hand urn, and a new counterflow chiller with associated plumbing. I believed i had cleaned it all well. I have no temperature controll at this stage, just a cellar like environment. i suspect that opening the top ( twice to three times) has corruped my brew. I post this not for any question in particular, just to highlight that being slack will cost me a brew.

Cheers.

 

[raven19]

i suspect that opening the top ( twice to three times) has corruped my brew. I post this not for any question in particular, just to highlight that being slack will cost me a brew.

Bugger Eggs. I hate losing a brew too. The above was my issue on a previous batch too! Pics of death?

 

[unrealeous]

OG was 1.071, a bit short of the predicted. fermentation was vigerous in the first few days. ... The reading was 1.041. I left it for a few more days but with no sign of activity i took another reading. 1.041. I gave it a swirl. a few more days, 1.041.

So your Fermentation has stopped mid way - this is a bit strange. My guess would be that you are not getting enough oxygen into your wort at the start - and thus you don't get the required yeast growth in the lag phase. Bigger beers also do better with bigger starters.

Once fermentation stops and there is still a lot of sugars present (1.041) - infection is only a matter of time.

Try try try again.

 

[mwd]

Sounds like you got aceobacter infection. It needs Oxygen to convert your brew to malt vinegar. I got the same thing when I racked a brew to secondary and used clingfilm must have got a few spores in got the white spots and spider web type threads. Saved mine by bottling pronto but it was down to 1.020. Not sure if you could rack yours into another vessel scrape the crap off the surface and try to get it going again. Bit of a bugger as the more Oxygen in there the worse it gets.

 

[Ross]

Hi Eggs,

I trust you know that you can't read the gravity of a fermenting wort direct off your refractometer? You'll need to use a correction calculator (available online & in Beersmith if you own it).

Unfortunately it sounds like aceobacter is starting to take hold, one reason you should not keep opening your fermenter.

Good luck on future brews.

cheers Ross

 

[Josh]

This calculator is the one I use. Seems to do alright for me.

 

[Eggs]

raven: ill see if i can get a pic for you

unrealous: i did make a starter, but it was only about a pint. true i didnt do much to aerate the wort before pitching.

Tropical brews: acetobacter...hmmmm so i could make this into vinegar?

Ross: Damm! i did know that but stupidly forgot until you reminded me. Even still im confident it didn't ferment fully, as it was so sweet.

SO if it is an acetobacter infection, and i give it more oxygen. What are the chances of it becoming a usable malt vinegar? Are wild infections palatable or should i tip it? If I can make it into vinegar i can still use it.

 

[raven19]

Are wild infections palatable or should i tip it? If I can make it into vinegar i can still use it.

If you catch it early, you can pitch dregs or funky yeast starters into the brew, then let it ferment for 6+ months.

If there is bugger all sugars left then adding lambic dregs will do little to benefit the brew.

Not sure on the vinegar side of things personally.

 

[Ross]

With the figures you've given the beer finished at 0.985 which I find highly unlikely. So i think one or both of your readings are a little askew.

Just had a look & not sure about the recipe either - i know it's a belgian strong, but only 31 IBU in an 8% beer made from extract (that doesn't attenuate that well at the best of times), no wonder it was sweet.

cheers Ross

Tip It :icon_vomit:

 

[Eggs]

i think your right ross. having read a bit, i don't think trying to make vinegar from it would be any good. Im certainly not keen to be trying my hand at sour beers, I can barely make a normal one. I took the recipe in good faith, I've no doubt it was my methods and ignorance that killed it. May be it needed better handling, more aeration, bigger starter better temp control. certainly didnt need its lid off to let the bugs in!

dodgy readings? I dont know. I checked that the refractometer was zeroed with water. then took a sample at 24 degrees for the first measurement that came out at 1.071. Im happy that that was a real number. I did it twice. The second reading could well be iffy. but id did come out the same several times, taken from the bottom and the top of the fermenter. I did check the refractometer again with water, and did clean it properly. Perhaps the dropper i use had starsan or water inside it to pollute the reading.