Opinion Needed on Infection

Yes. Sorry to post another infection thread.

I brewed a porter 3 weeks ago and pitched onto a cake from two previous batches of - used Wyeast Scottish Ale.

2 weeks ago, I checked the gravity of the porter and it was at 1.010. OG was 1.046 (still working on efficiency).

Today, I was racking the porter to make room for a Wee Heavy - intended to use the same cake. I pulled a sample of porter and it is at 1.002. There are some floaties, but nothing serious. It tastes OK, but should I seal the Wee Heavy and run to the LHBS and buy new yeast in the AM?

Speedy reply would be awesome since the Wee Heavy is cooling as I type.

UPDATE: I transferred the wort to a sanitized vessel and pitched new yeast from my LHBS this morning. I'm still concerned about a possible infection, so still need input on that - pics in a post below.
Thanks.

pics?

Good call. I'll post a pic in a little bit.

theveganbrewer said:

pics?

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This!

if it tastes OK I'd say it's ok! Infected beer won't taste ok...

I would never rack a new beer onto a cake that I thought might be contaminated. It's pretty much the most certain way to propagate your problem ;-)

JMHO.

cbmikey said:

if it tastes OK I'd say it's ok! Infected beer won't taste ok...

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Bingo...if it tastes OK, its not infected.

Is it just the gravity dropping to .002 that makes you think it's infected? Does it taste infected? Does it look infected?

NordeastBrewer77 said:

Is it just the gravity dropping to .002 that makes you think it's infected? Does it taste infected? Does it look infected?

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+2 if it were infected you would know it by smell/taste.

It was the gravity dropping so far and what I saw when I opened the fermentor (below). Because I was going to pitch onto the yeast - and didn't want to move any issues from one batch to the next - I sealed my new wort in a well sanitized container and pitched new yeast this AM.

Here is what was in the porter when I opened it:

Looks like yeast rafts to me. Nothing out of the ordinary. My guess is that by pitching this one onto an entire cake, you got a really vigorous fermentation and really high attenuation. A whole yeast cake is a hell of a lotta yeast for a lower gravity brew.

You might also consider how well calibrated your hydrometer is.

That looks normal to me.

Take a sample, throw it in the fridge over night, then when it gets to about 60 degrees, take a hydro reading.

Checked calibration on my hydro after measuring the sample last night, so I know it isn't that.

My concern is the drop from 1.012 at 2 weeks to 1.002 at 3. If I really did have an aggressive ferment as Nordeast susggests, wouldn't it have been done (doen to 1.002) at 2 weeks?

It tastes pretty good. A fair bit drier than I'd hoped, but still. I guess I'm just trying to understand what happened here. Obviously, I'd rather not have an infection.

A year into this hobby, and I still feel like a newbie sometimes.

Thanks.

prpromin said:

My concern is the drop from 1.012 at 2 weeks to 1.002 at 3. If I really did have an aggressive ferment as Nordeast susggests, wouldn't it have been done (doen to 1.002) at 2 weeks?

It tastes pretty good. A fair bit drier than I'd hoped, but still. I guess I'm just trying to understand what happened here. Obviously, I'd rather not have an infection.

A year into this hobby, and I still feel like a newbie sometimes.

Thanks.

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Two weeks is a general guideline. Sometimes it takes 4 weeks. And sometimes it takes 4 days. RDWHAHB