What is going on?! Is this contaminated?

Hello all,

Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated! This is my second batch ever, the first one went well and I was looking forward to bottling this tomorrow. It is a Gumball Head clone. Partial mash, with 6 lbs wheat DME, amarillo hops, partial boil. I used Safale 05 without a starter, it began fermenting within hours, like my first batch, went from 1.060 to 1.018, which I thought be a little high for my final gravity. Anyway, it was in the primary for 10 days, I racked to secondary, and then dry hopped it with 2 oz of amarillo in a strainer bag for 4 days. I noticed white blobs on top of the beer in the carboy a couple days after the dry hopping, today I took a look and it seems to have gotten much worse. The temperature in the apartment is between 60-70 degrees, but it got >70 yesterday. Does anyone have any idea whats going on?! Was my dry hop bag not sanitized? I use Star San to sanitize everything, including the bags, thief, scissors/vacuum sealed hop bags, etc. etc.

HELP! I'd hate to completely waste this beer...

Pictures are included.

You're fine I would say. It's tough to infect a beer that's been fully fermented anyway. Maybe just some suspended yeast.

That looks quite normal. How does it taste?

Looks like 05 yeast blobs to me. Just taste some before you go through the trouble of bottling it, it's probably fine and delicious.

unionrdr,

I don't think so, it kinda looks like yeast to me...but I am very new to this stuff!


Just to be clear, that is my secondary. When I transferred it from my primary, it was pretty clean/clear. This happened shortly after the dry hopping, and it seemed to get worse over a couple days. It is now almost 80 in my apartment (AC is not working properly), did this happen due to temperature or will it influence my fermentation/conditioning at this point?! Thanks for all the help.

wow, I wish it were 80 here...

but back the subject, that looks very normal to me. it just looks like a collection of yeast on the side of the carboy and yeast rafts at the top.

beninan...

is there any way to get the yeast out of suspension? Cold crash, or flocculation will occur when the fermentation is over? I thought this wouldn't happen (yeast in suspension) after I transferred from my primary (leaving the majority of the yeast behind). It's bubbling intermittently as I write this...

thanks again!

I've been drinking so please excuse any confusion...

First off, bubbles mean nothing. Change in temperature or even atmospheric pressure can make it bubble or not. Fermentation will cause CO2 to be absorbed by the beer, so transferring it can agitate it and release it, causing the airlock to bubble as well. The airlock is simply a vent.

About the yeast, honestly I would not worry about it at all. The yeast on the walls is simply flocculating yeast, its just not on the bottom. You can cold crash it, and it wouldn't hurt at tall, but if it were me, I would leave it alone and let it do it's thing. Then when transferring to a bottling bucket/keg, just be careful to not disturb the yeast cake on the bottom/sides, and your beer should be crystal clear.

sometimes when you transfer some of the co2 can start moving around again. so maybe some yeast clumps pushed up by co2 coming out of solutiong. i've had what looks like the same thing before. dont worry about it.

side note, thats kind of a lot of head space for secondary, maybe use a smaller one. or have you read any of the threads on here about extended primary? read some and see how it strikes you.

Your beer looks pretty clear as is, just cold crash is to make everything else drop out. Your beer will be great!

Thanks everyone....it tastes pretty good. I am just going to wait and see how things shape up.

Just continue as ussual. Their isn't anything you can do if it is infected. I've had plently of beers start out questionable and end flavorful. I'm drinking one right now...

Loooks perfectly fine to me.
Beer is NEVER RUINED until you throw it out. And NEVER throw it out until you have tried it (unless dead mice are floating around in it...)

Hello all,

Attached is a picture of my secondary fermenter after 3 days of cold crashing in the refrigerator. A decent amount of the yeast has dropped out of solution, but there is still some white stuff floating on top. Are these yeast rafts, or something else? Just curious, and I am wondering how the best way to limit there uptake when racking my bottling bucket.

As always, thanks for the input!!

First thing I hope that blowoff tube isn't still connected! When you crash cool, the carboy will suck in that nasty blowoff mess. I'd taste the beer it looks like yeast to me, but proof is in the taste. It could be funk from the blowoff container.

It's yeast rafts....Haven't we learned you enough not to worry about this stuff.

Hahaha...I'm a slow learner I guess! However, my curiosity is getting the best of me...

PaleAler84 said:

Hahaha...I'm a slow learner I guess! However, my curiosity is getting the best of me...

Click to expand...

Then quit looking at your fermenter. Do what a lot of us do, pitch your yeast, stick your fermenter in a closet and come back a month later to bottle. Fermentation is ugly and stinky on normal occasions. And it's very hard to ruin/infect your beer.

Here, read this, Revvy's advice for the new brewer in terms of infection worry. You might find the info and advice helpful in your quest to learn to rdwhahb.

PaleAler84 said:

Just curious, and I am wondering how the best way to limit there uptake when racking my bottling bucket.

Click to expand...

Try a piece of a paint strainer bag and twist tie soaked in sanitizer wrapped around the bottom of your siphon.. I've done it a couple times with hops.. I honestly wouldn't worry about thoes little guys.. They'll get broken up when you bottle and do some good..

I had something along those lines happen before and got all worried about ruined beer but then i received some sage advice. Relax Don't Worry have a Home brew. Time also is a good healer when it comes to beer. But that just looks like yeast.