White Stuff! See Photo, Is It An Infection?

[Adrianpc]

Hi fellow brewers,

See attached photo, I'm wondering if this an infection?

The brew is a Brewers Selection (St Peter's Brewery) Summer Ale Fresh Wort from these guys http://www.ndbrewing.com.au/index.php?page=brewers-selection-kits

Apart from the fresh wort I added 200g of Dextrose to bring up the ABV a little and also 7Litre of water (2Litres more than instructions).



Photo was taken after a 16day rack and 12 day brew. The lid on the fermenter was opened for the first time just before I was about to bottle. I saw the white stuff and thought Id ask some advise from experts (you) prior to considering bottling.


All parts were sterilized with Iodophor after the last brew (for storage) and then again prior to brewing. Cool boiled water was used in a sterilized air lock.


I'm by no means a brewing expert but this is my 15th brew over a year or so, and every brew I routinely clean/sterilize all components not to mention all surfaces in my work environment (taps, sink, bench top etc).

Ive never seen this white stuff before .

Oh temperature of brew over brewing and racking has been very constant 20-21Deg C apart from Tue 3^rd where temps were approx 26DegC (hot Sydney day).

Will this brew be ok to bottle?

 

[Muggus]

Have you had a good smell and taste?
They're the best indication of how it's going to be.
Has it finished fermenting? Because that looks wierd!

 

[raven19]

I would also recommend a tasting.

Less likely after a good fermentation to have an infection from my experience.

If it tastes good bottle it, tastes bad could be a drain pipe brew... :icon_vomit:

 

[Adrianpc]

Have you had a good smell and taste?
They're the best indication of how it's going to be.
Has it finished fermenting? Because that looks wierd!

Good Points!

Just sampled some from the top of the fermenter with sterilized S-Steel cup.

Smell's like beer. It tastes a bit "green" but generally like flat beer probably should. From memory the last time I brewed this beer it tasted crap at bottling then took 3 months to turn into a fantastic tasting beer.

Another point I didn't mention in original post is that I used Gelatine (purchased from Wollies) as the Finings. But I've use this for the past 12 or more brews without any issue.

Also the white stuff in the photo is a little exagerated due to the use of a flash at close proximity. IE photo looks worse than real life.

Noticed you're from Hornsby. I grew up on the other side of the George.. Galston

 

[Brewer_010]

Did you boil the dextrose in some water? Not boiling DME or dextrose could introduce another potential source of infection.

Agree with tasting first, and don't let the white stuff get into a bottle.

 

[Guest Lurker]

Looks more like gelatine clumped around yeast than an infection to me, I would bottle it.

 

[Muggus]

Good Points!

Just sampled some from the top of the fermenter with sterilized S-Steel cup.

Smell's like beer. It tastes a bit "green" but generally like flat beer probably should. From memory the last time I brewed this beer it tasted crap at bottling then took 3 months to turn into a fantastic tasting beer.

Another point I didn't mention in original post is that I used Gelatine (purchased from Wollies) as the Finings. But I've use this for the past 12 or more brews without any issue.

Also the white stuff in the photo is a little exagerated due to the use of a flash at close proximity. IE photo looks worse than real life.

Noticed you're from Hornsby. I grew up on the other side of the George.. Galston

If there's no obvious taste issues, you might be in the clear by the sounds.

Bottle/keg it and see how it is after a bit of conditioning. Chances are if it's gonna taste crap, it'll taste crap early on and get worse rather than better. And if that's the case, well you may have to dump it, bad flavours don't get better with age!


Nice, good to see another (Hornsby) Shireboy around these parts!

 

[Batz]

I've seen this many years ago when I did kits, I bet some of it stuck to the side of the cup you used to take the sample.
If you touch it it sticks to anything, I kegged the brew with no ill affects. So I don't know what it is but bottle away, as others said don't bottle the white stuff of course.

Batz

 

[Scruffy]

Generally, and this is generally, worry about black mold; - white stuff/blue stuff? - hey, if your sanitation is good... and it tastes OK... nudge it out the way and syphon off... a petrol coloured slick should also be treated with due care, if it smells off... it's off.

Disclaimer - i guess... I've been brewing beer for coming up to 10 months now...








in Australia. - 25 years if you count brewing in Blighty...

 

[Dazza_devil]

If it where gonorreah it would probably have a yellowish tinge to it, so I'd say it's safe to go a head with that 1. But give it a little sip first.
At the worst it's nothing a dose of antibiotics wont fix.

 

[Scruffy]

Next time you're near some milk, that you happen to have kept at say 87 deg C, throw in some cider vinegar, let it rest for 15 minutes, pour into a swiss voille bag and drain, then form into rounds using your newly found (white) inoculum... if it takes, you'll have blue cheese...
If not, a Christmas present for the mother in law...

 

[Thirsty Boy]

could be a little bit of wild yeast - some of those guys only like it aerobic, so the bit of extra oxygen right at the surface allows them to grow in a minimal sort of way. Right where they can get a little oxygen and also a little nutrient. In your bottled brew, with little to no oxygen and alcohol, that stuff will have no way to grow and shouldn't affect your beer, or at least will take a very long time to do it in any noticeable way.

OR - it might be nothing - or it might be a horrible infection in progress. Hard to tell from a photo. But I say bottle it. Keep an eye on it, taste it regularly to make sure it stays on track, and if it starts to drift - be careful that you don't get bottle bombs from any infection agent chewing through extra sugars and overgassing the beer.

 

[monkeybusiness]

Did you boil the dextrose in some water? Not boiling DME or dextrose could introduce another potential source of infection.

Wanted to just quickly correct this bit (in my understanding, please some scientist correct me if I'm wrong). Dextrose and Honey are hygroscopic and effectively kill bacterial by drying them out. DME and LME have the same properties. I don't believe there is a need to boil these.


+1 to bottle. I've had a couple that looked destined for the drain out of paranoia but that were bottled anyway and pretty much every one has turned out fine. Does look a bit like an infection but just bottle soon.

 

[Thirsty Boy]

Wanted to just quickly correct this bit (in my understanding, please some scientist correct me if I'm wrong). Dextrose and Honey are hygroscopic and effectively kill bacterial by drying them out. DME and LME have the same properties. I don't believe there is a need to boil these.


+1 to bottle. I've had a couple that looked destined for the drain out of paranoia but that were bottled anyway and pretty much every one has turned out fine. Does look a bit like an infection but just bottle soon.

Honey is (I belive) as you say - dextrose is dry and a lousy place for bacteria to try and grow - but they might well just be sitting on the surface as they would on dust or dirt. LME.... dont know. But I know that there has to be a high enough proportion of sugar for a syrup to display the properties you speak of. I know that the sugar and glucose syrups we use at work are not concentrated enough for this and they are 70 odd% sugar. LME is about 80% - it might be enough, it probably is - but I wouldn't risk it.

 

[monkeybusiness]

Honey is (I belive) as you say - dextrose is dry and a lousy place for bacteria to try and grow - but they might well just be sitting on the surface as they would on dust or dirt. LME.... dont know. But I know that there has to be a high enough proportion of sugar for a syrup to display the properties you speak of. I know that the sugar and glucose syrups we use at work are not concentrated enough for this and they are 70 odd% sugar. LME is about 80% - it might be enough, it probably is - but I wouldn't risk it.

Fair point about the possibility of dust on top. As far as LME goes, yeah not 100% sure on that one. As a completely unconvincing anecdotal example, I've had an open tin of malt extract sitting in my fridge for well over 6 months (albeit with cling wrap over) and so far nothing's grown on it h34r: .

I agree it is better to be safe than sorry but for me I see more risk in the extra bits that need to be sanitised to do a small boil and then in also that time while the boiled wort is cooling down.

 

[Cortez The Killer]

From the pic I don't think it's an infection

Cheers

 

[Adrianpc]

Hi all,

Thanks alot for all the info.

No I did not "boil" the dextrose but I did add 200g of dex to approx 1cup of boiling water. I make note of the comment about infection in LDME and Dex...

Normally I buy Dex from wollies or the brew shop, this particular dex was purchased from a food wholesaler in 30kg bulk. My Father in Law split the 30kg and gave me 1/2 in a food grade sealed bucket.

Perhaps there is some chance of impurities or infection in the dex? But to be honest I think it's slim. For starters it's dry, sealed and at 21Deg. Secondly I added it to boiling water which may have reduced teh chance for infection to live.

Perhaps it's gelatine sticking to yeast as suggested, although I throughly disolved the gelatine into a cup of boiling water before adding.

White stuff done not appear to be growing (looking through the clear fermenter lid), if anything it looks to be dissapating

 

[starkesbier]

Like Batz I had something similar to this in one of my kit and a bit batches. It tasted OK so I bottled and though the beer was never a great one (maybe it was always not going to be great!) it was still quite drinkable a year later. SO go ahead and just use common sense. If it starts to develop a nasty taste throw it out.

Starkesbier