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Vlad the Pale Aler

Cereal Killer
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A scum has appeared on the top of an experimental oatmeal ale that has been in secondary for about a week at 20c. I used 1272 on its 3rd life, all the grains used have been tried before and I like to think sanitation is up to scratch.
The scum looks like the fat that settles on a casserole that has gone cold. It doesnt smell off but there is a slight sour taste.
Any ideas?

yeast_scum.JPG
 
Jesus! I've never seen that and I'm fair tipping that something is growing in your beer that's not supposed to be there :eek:

That's just bazaar. Ewwww.

And you drank a sample of it? :unsure: :wacko: :blink: Your a bold man, I don't know if I would have.

Kind of makes me think of the first blokes to drink beer, now they were brave lads. This frothy brown stinking mess that would have been far removed from the quality product we make today. No bubbles, no hops, luckily no clear glasses, no racking canes, no iodophor, no clean packet of yeast to pitch. To persevier(sp.) through these early days and keep going back to try and improve the product was a damn good effort. How the hell did these guys drink enough of that first product to know you could get pissed on it. Personally I would have been scared that I would die.

Looks like you may have gone back to the early days of brewing- a medieval ale. ;)

I'm keen to see if anyone else has seen this before.

Cheers and good lcuk with it. Justin
 
Vlad

I have had the exact same white scum that you have. Unfortunately I can't really help as I don't know what caused it. I assumed an infection. I have only had it once (my 1st year of brewing) and have not had it since.
When I racked the beer (which cleared extremely well) I left a good 10-20mm to make sure I didn't collect any of the waxy looking crap. I drunk all the beer and it wasn't crash hot.....but back then none of my beer was.
Can't remember what yeast it was - either from the can or Safale.

Hoops
 
No idea on what it is.
Hopefully it is something from the Oats.
Try santistising a spoon and skimming it off.
Leave it a week and see if you get anymore or if the taste gets worse.

Beers,
Doc
 
its weird that its all up the sides of the container.
 
I have had that and it is most certainly a infection, soon that beer will taste like vinegar. Sorry mate but you either drink it now as quick as you can or just tip it out.
The name of the bacteria there has slipped my mind, i'll check and get back to you but it is something growing. It is one of the types of bacteria that leaves a very sour tart taste if left long enough ie it is producing acids of some kind.
Sometimes it stays like a big cake on top and is hard to see then when moved it breaks apart leaving it looking like what you have their.

Sorry to say its ruining your beer.
Jayse
 
out with the bleach and hot water and scub, scub scub. i had it, cleaned everything twice with bleach and bye bye nasty :)
 
Vlad,

Sorry to say, but that is definately an infection, I would agree with Jayse, and tell you that eventually it will taste like vinegar.

I sometimes do a small sour mash, to add to a summer ale and that looks like the sour mash when it has been left too long before boiling.

Barley malt has a natural bacteria present that can cause this, but the mashing and boiling procedure kill the bacteria before it can do any harm.

were all your grains boiled or did you steep some and miss the boil? if so this could be the course of your problems.
 
What about milling your grain in the same area as your brewing area? If you mill where you brew you can possibily get an infection through the grain dust in the air. Best to mill outside or somewhere else if you do.

Bugger.

Cheers and tears, Justin
 
Thanks for the input chaps, the offending slime has been dispatched to the drain ( should have sold it to Swan), and the big scrub begins tommorrow.
 
I bet your drains are all clear now. There's a thought, you might be able to market that stuff as a drain cleaner. The funny thing is you probably could not reproduce that slime even if you tried.
 
warrenlw63 said:
Pediococcus :( :(

Warren -

It is not. Not even close.

None of the visual clues or tasting even hints at pediococcus.

That picture is of an acetobacter infection.

Warren, please do not use words you do not understand.
<_<
 

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