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IslandMike · 09-23-2010, 10:36 PM

Hello everyone,

Did a bunch of searching about infected beers because I recently got my first infection. It formed a nice film on top of the wort and had some thin white strands all over. Now, I don't really care about figuring out what it is but I want to just save the beer.

I have read enough not to dump it so instead I siphoned under the film it into a 5gal glass carboy. I waited a couple days and can see a thin film beginning to develop at the neck of the carboy. It does still taste all right, or as good as warm uncarbed beer does.

Ive read to keg and drink it fast, however I am hesitant to put infection into my kegs because I can't bleach the hell out of them like I can my other equipment. Would I be better off just kegging what I have or do you think cold crashing the beer for a couple days would be better before kegging?

Other Info:
Brewed Aug 25 (4 weeks ago)
OG = 1.046
FG = 1.009
FG has not dropped from before infection to now
Its still pretty cloudy but I care more about taste than looks right now

lamarguy · 09-23-2010, 10:49 PM

Ya, the "drinkable" life expectancy of this beer is very short, measurable in weeks.

If you're worried about infecting your cold-side equipment (which is possible if your cleaning and sanitization procedures are not good), I recommend you dump it. One beer is not worth potentially infecting later brews.

IslandMike · 09-23-2010, 10:58 PM

My sanitation is pretty good normally but this brew I think was doomed from the start. I made it at a buddies and had to transport it home, I noticed later on that the bucket lid was cracked in two places, and also when I pitched the yeast the first time it didn't take for whatever reason. I re-pitched over 24 hours later and I think that might have allowed time for something to set in.

In any case I guess I will be inviting some buddies over tomorrow to float this sucker. I take it cold crashing wont make much of a difference as far as how many bacteria cells get brought over?

lamarguy · 09-23-2010, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IslandMike

In any case I guess I will be inviting some buddies over tomorrow to float this sucker.

Ya, if you have a carbonator cap, chill the beer, fill some soda bottles, and shake it like ya hate it.

You could always keg it and drink it within a couple of weeks. Just be sure to clean the keg and lines that touched the infected beer well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by IslandMike

I take it cold crashing wont make much of a difference as far as how many bacteria cells get brought over?

No, unfortunately, cold just slows bacterial growth. For example, the infected beer may be "drinkable" for 2 months under cold storage vs 2 weeks warm.