Thin Ring Of Stuff Around Bottle

[ekul]

I was just in the shed and i noticed one of batch that i bottled recently has a ring of stuff around the top of the beer wheer it meets the air. Whenever i would pick them up though the ring would disperse and then fall to the bottom. Sort of looked like there was bits of hops floatinf around but i can't be sure.
THen i notticed that another batch looked the same.
The only thing that i have done differently with these two batches is use raw sugar to prime rather than carb drops.

The beer tastes fine (besides being a little young) so hopefully its alright.

Anyone had this?
I did a search but the only bottle infection i could find was one that looked really bad, mine doesn't look like that. I am super clean with everything that i do. I spray the air with sanitiser!!

 

[DUANNE]

i cant really help you with the bottles ,but i thought i was the only bloke round spraying the air with sanitiser. any time i open the fermenter for any reason ill set my spray bottle of iodophor to the finest seting and spray the air with it making sure the door and window are closed first.

 

[unrealeous]

Linky

 

[ekul]

THanks unrealous, that was the thread that i found about it. Mine doesn't look anywhere near as bad as that though. Mine kind of looks like yeast but when it gets disturbed it looks like hop particles.

Beerhog- my mates think that one day i'll end up in a hepa filtered room, spraying bleach and mumbling about germs!

 

[Nick JD]

It's probably just yeast.

 

[Scruffy]

Could be Acetobacter. Might not be - do you have a photo...?

Yes Nick it could be yeast.

Or very small dolphins.

 

[Nick JD]

Or very small dolphins.

Oh no! Dolphin infection. Charactistics of a dolphin infection are persistent "GikGIKiGIKGikGIKiGIKGikGIKiGIK!" noises and an overwhelming urge to be sliced thinly and layed on a plate with wasabe.

 

[Acasta]

i think i know what your talking about. I had the same issue but drunk the brew with no probs.

 

[Hatchy]

i cant really help you with the bottles ,but i thought i was the only bloke round spraying the air with sanitiser. any time i open the fermenter for any reason ill set my spray bottle of iodophor to the finest seting and spray the air with it making sure the door and window are closed first.

I spray my laptop with starsan before I log onto AHB so I can't be accused of infesting someone else's beer via the interwebs.

I hope it's not a dolphin infection, wasabe is great but not in beer.

 

[King Brown]

i cant really help you with the bottles ,but i thought i was the only bloke round spraying the air with sanitiser. any time i open the fermenter for any reason ill set my spray bottle of iodophor to the finest seting and spray the air with it making sure the door and window are closed first.

OT but I and at least one other brewer that I know of does this as well...

 

[manticle]

Slightly OT but why do brewers think they are immune to infections because they do silly things with sanitisers?

I scrub my hands like mad whenever I'm in the bathroom - does that mean I can never get a cold?

 

[Hatchy]

Good point, there's better things I could be doing instead of spraying air for no reason which would have a better effect. ie some. Spraying starsan everywhere makes me feel like I'm doing something positive though. False sense of security......

 

[unrealeous]

I scrub my hands like mad whenever I'm in the bathroom - does that mean I can never get a cold?

The reason you get colds is because you are always sticking your nose into other peoples.... ok ok - I'll get back in my box.

But slightly back on topic - what he said about spraying the air isn't totally crazy although I must admit I never do it. I recall reading a mushroom growing guide (probably written by another amateur) and that was one of the recommended procedures for the home grower - all about taking dust about of the air, which can harbor bacteria. Whether it works or not have no idea.

 

[bum]

what he said about spraying the air isn't totally crazy

I agree it isn't a mental health issue but don't all sanitisers require contact time?

 

[manticle]

What I'm getting at is not people spraying the air - spray, don't spray whatever.

It's the idea that somehow if you do these things you will have NO chance of getting infection and that scummy white ugly smelly stuff growing on top of your beer couldn't possibly be one.

Yes it could. No matter how clean and sanitary you are, all you are doing when you sanitise is reducing the risk of another microbe taking over before the yeast can do its job (or after it has done so). Unless you are a commercial brewery you are really only taking steps to reduce, not eliminate risk (and possibly the same for many commercials). if you could totally eliminate the chance of microbes growing then your yeast wouldn't work.

People seem to equate infections with being a 'bad' brewer. Ask Tony if he's a bad brewer. Ask him if he's ever had an infected beer. Ask Screwtop. Ask Chappo. Ask the people who've drunk their non-infected beers whether they are bad brewers.

Infected beer happens, regardless of spraying the cat before you heat the HLT. Not saying it's necessarily the case here - just don't discount it. Thinking you are immune might make a bad brewer because a bad brewer is one who doesn't think about the processes and learn from their mistakes.

 

[felten]

There are microbes floating around in the air and on dust particles and stuff, but I don't think that spraying a fine mist of sanitiser around your head is going to stop them from falling into your containers or w/e. The best bet (imo) is to sanitise everything that will come into contact with your wort properly, and keep containers covered all times, or as much as is practical, and do your work in a draft free area.

or you could live in a clean room

 

[Hatchy]

Are we agreed that OP's beer should be OK?

I'm trying to fight the obsession. I didn't spray starsan on the keyboard before posting this.

 

[Scruffy]

You gotta laugh...

the beer in the old days must've been crap... honestly, Yorkshire four squares an all...

not a mist of starsan anywhere...

what to do?

Brewhausen by proxy...

 

[Scruffy]

watch out for the very small dolphins....

 

[felten]

You gotta laugh...

the beer in the old days must've been crap... honestly, Yorkshire four squares an all...

not a mist of starsan anywhere...

what to do?

Brewhausen by proxy...

Even if it was off, it probably tasted better than the local water