Crystals in vanilla cream (pic)

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deantheking101

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Brewed this beer 5 weeks ago, three weeks in the primary on the third week these white crystals appeared but i bottled it anyways. just opened one and it is the same and does not taste very good. I followed the this https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/caramel-cream-ale-2435/ just used less vanilla. Any ideas what it is or what i did wrong? I am talking about the white things towards the bottom.

<script src='http://img594.imageshack.us/shareable/?i=img649.jpg&p=tl' type='text/javascript'></script><noscript> </noscript>
 
Also stupidly i racked my next beer on to the same yeast cake. I just took a pic of this coffee cream stout that is 5 days old. It did ferment out. I am wondering if it was the lactose?

<script src='http://img190.imageshack.us/shareable/?i=img650.jpg&p=tl' type='text/javascript'></script><noscript> </noscript>
 
deantheking101 said:
... and does not taste very good....
Click to expand...

First, would you please be a bit more descriptive with the "not very good" part? Sour, bandaid, raw meat, green apple, diaper, cardboard, etc.

Second, that stout does look a bit peculiar. Should you worrry? Naw, but you might be proactive and start considering your sanitation regimen.

Yeast rafts can form little islands, but filmy islands are usually something else.
 
First off, keep the top picture because that looks like a Dragon in your beer!

Secondly, based on what I see in the first picture, and what you describe in your last post, you seem to have gotten an infection. On the right side of the first picture, there is a white spot that looks to me to be more than a yeast raft.

If you don't like sour, maybe try blending it? Personally, I enjoy sour beers and would probably let this one age to see how it develops.
 
i do like sour beers and all kinds of beers i just wanted the vanilla cream ale to be sweet... but live and learn
 
If it is an infection and it is in my stout should i bottle it now to slow down or stop the bacteria from growing?
 
deantheking101 said:
If it is an infection and it is in my stout should i bottle it now to slow down or stop the bacteria from growing?
Click to expand...

If you're going to do that you need to store the bottles in the fridge. Wild yeast and bacteria have a tendency to consume every last bit of sugar and you'll end up with bottle bombs.
 
I actually have a question that's relevant to the topic at hand, to help with thread recycling :)

I recently had an infected batch (brett), but decided to bottle anyway after reading some threads about it here.

Thing is, I can now see the fungus in the bottle as well (small bubbles, white gooey head). This is kind of off-putting, though when I tried the beer before bottling I didn't really notice many off-flavors.

Is this normal or should I just toss it? I figured that after bottling you wouldn't see many signs of infection in the bottle itself, and despite trying to funnel the beer from underneath the infection it appears that most my bottles are showing the same signs. Kinda gross. What's a safe amount of time to wait? Does it go away?
 
The bad news is a lacto infection can easily create a pellicle inside the bottles. In fact, I have a good deal of that going on right now in a sour beer I'm conditioning.

The good news is that it might taste great (if you like sours).

I'd leave that stout alone in the fermenter. Check back in 2 weeks. If the gravity is getting below what would be normal, or you are certain you are getting souring, or you see a crazy pellicle, you've got a horse of a different color on your hands.

Me, I'd be stoked. I'd rack it to a carboy full of currant or cherries or raspberries and get rid of as much head space as I could. Too much oxygen while that lacto gets busy will get you acetic acid, otherwise knows as vinegar. Don't want too much of that.
 
dttk0009 said:
I actually have a question that's relevant to the topic at hand, to help with thread recycling :)

I recently had an infected batch (brett), but decided to bottle anyway after reading some threads about it here.

Thing is, I can now see the fungus in the bottle as well (small bubbles, white gooey head). This is kind of off-putting, though when I tried the beer before bottling I didn't really notice many off-flavors.

Is this normal or should I just toss it? I figured that after bottling you wouldn't see many signs of infection in the bottle itself, and despite trying to funnel the beer from underneath the infection it appears that most my bottles are showing the same signs. Kinda gross. What's a safe amount of time to wait? Does it go away?
Click to expand...

Pellicle formation is normal for Brett. And you can't siphon from underneath the infection, since the Brett is in the beer, not just in the pellicle itself (is Brett even in the pellicle?). You can siphon under a mold infection with some success since the mold is mostly just sitting there on the surface.

I would expect the pellicle in your bottles to eventually drop out, but I have no idea how long it will take. I would also be concerned with the continued fermentation in the bottle by the Brett - could lead to overcarbonation and potential bottle bombs. What was the FG when you bottled?
 
1.020, so it hit the target gravity. I read about how fungus can cause bottle bombs so I only used half as much priming sugar as I thought I'd need in anticipation. Might have a flat beer but it's not worth the risk. I guess I can put these away for a month or two. Hopefully something good will come out of them.
 

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