Session Hefe Pellicle Woes

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TalkingGoats

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Location
Salisbury Steak
Grain Bill

7 lbs Munich
1 lbs Dark Munic

1 oz Cascade @ 50 min

5.75 Gallon batch

WLP380 Hefe IV Yeast 500 ML starter

Pitched @ 90* :ban:, Fermented @ 70*


Ok so this intentional abomination totally fermented out in 30 hours from 1.040 to 1.005 and stayed there for a week. I cold crashed it and it sat in the fridge until I could get my C02 refilled.

I went to rack it to the keg last night and when I opened the fermenter I had what looked like Lacto bubbles floating in the hop oil slick. The largest bubble wasn't even dime sized and it was only present in the hop oil. I tried my best not to get any of the Lactobacillus transfered into the keg.

As of right now the beer is carbing and tastes delicious. Malty round flavor with a banana nose and finish. Will the lacto continue to breed in the fridge? Or did I "save" the beer by getting it cold before it could take off?
 
Lacto will continue to breed in cold temperatures, albeit somehwat more slowly. If the beer tastes good now you have some time before the lacto reallly makes its presence known. It's a shame, but it could be worse.
 
Whats a lacto bubble? Lactobacillus doesn't typically produce a pellicle, nor does it produce any acid at refrigerator temps. Should be fine.
 
Thanks for the peace of mind guys!

I didn't know what to call the formation so I just dubbed it "pellicle".

The contamination looked like this but way, way smaller.

aoha1.jpg
 
That is a definite contamination.

I figured as much. I should have taken a picture. The largest bubble is roughly the size on the bottom left of the photo where the picture is cut off and the contaminated area was about the size of a post it note.

Hopefully it keeps. I might just drink it this weekend! :ban::tank:
 
If it was much smaller, and only appeared in the hop oil slick, I sort of doubt it's infected. I've seen all sorts of bubbles in my beer, but if they're not part of a larger skin with other white bubbles, it's not an infection, just something upping the surface tension of the beer enough to trap some CO2.
 
Some bubbles on top of your beer is not the same as a pellicle, I'm sure its fine. Lacto really doesn't kick out any lactic acid unless its held quite warm, you should have no issues in a fridge. 100 bucks says it was just normal bubbles.
 
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