What's this? Fermentation doesn't look right.

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Hogsprings

Hogsprings

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I brewed a blonde ale last Sat. Everything was going well, airlock was very active, then settled down, No off smells or anything. Last night I decided to take a peek, and saw this. I'm a noob, about a half dozen or so brews under my belt, so I got a little excited, but after reading a few threads, I settled down to wait. I looked again tonight and nothing's changed. Is this something I should be concerned about? I'm ok to wait it out if that's what I should do, but if the beer's infected, I want to toss it now so I can start over and keep the pipeline full. I have the recipe and other details if that helps.

IMG_20110416_210744.jpg
 
Hogsprings said:
I brewed a blonde ale last Sat. Everything was going well, airlock was very active, then settled down, No off smells or anything. Last night I decided to take a peek, and saw this. I'm a noob, about a half dozen or so brews under my belt, so I got a little excited, but after reading a few threads, I settled down to wait. I looked again tonight and nothing's changed. Is this something I should be concerned about. I'm ok to wait it out if that's what I should do, but if the beer's infected, I want to toss it now so I can start over and keep the pipeline full. I have the recipe and other details if that helps.
Click to expand...

that looks like a puke bucket and not a beer bucket. too bad im new at brewing too but from my experience as a biologist if it smells like a micro and looks like a microb , well boy howdy it is one
 
You shouldn't take the lid off so much, or not at all. If you oxidize it not even all the hops in north america will fix it. Active fermintation will last up to and sometimes longer than 48 hours. After that it just sits there.
I don't like using buckets because you can't see what's going on. You might want to tranfer to secondary and take a sample to check the gravity. If its gone down the you know something happened.
 
let it go, even if it was an infection they usually take way longer to show their signs, relax and ride it out...
 
I used Wyeast 1056. What's it doing up on top? It's been sitting at about 66 degrees all week.
 
Hogsprings said:
I used Wyeast 1056. What's it doing up on top? It's been sitting at about 66 degrees all week.
Click to expand...

Fermentation/krausen can be an ugly thing...

My advice it to not look for a week or so. It should drop by then...

Have you checked the gravity? It may not be done fermenting...
 
beerkrump said:
That looks just right. Give it another couple of weeks and bottle that brew.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

+1. Looks delicious! I've had some pretty funky looking krausens and I'd say that's normal. Never used 1056 before, but my US-05 has been weird looking like that.
 
My NB American Wheat with US-05 looked nothing like that...

but if the experienced guys say let it go, let it go. And, quit opening the bucket! That is why I got glass carboys, I wanted to see what was happening :)
 
If you go on Amazon.com, they have 23L (around 6.1 gall) for $28.07 with free shipping. If anyone wanted to start using glass carboys, that's a HELL of a price.
 
Quit peaking, quit opening you bucket, and QUIT WORRYING... Fermentation is ugly and stinky, ON NORMAL DAYS. Everything's fine. Walk away and let the yeast do their thing.
 
brewstonian said:
You shouldn't take the lid off so much, or not at all. If you oxidize it not even all the hops in north america will fix it. Active fermintation will last up to and sometimes longer than 48 hours. After that it just sits there.
I don't like using buckets because you can't see what's going on. You might want to tranfer to secondary and take a sample to check the gravity. If its gone down the you know something happened.
Click to expand...

CO2 is denser than O2. Taking off the lid for a bit ain't gonna hurt it. Contaminants aren't really an issue at that point, either (it's a really hostile environment at that point -- low pH, oxygen all gone, food sources getting eaten up, etc.)
 
SnallygasterBrewery said:
CO2 is denser than O2. Taking off the lid for a bit ain't gonna hurt it. Contaminants aren't really an issue at that point, either (it's a really hostile environment at that point -- low pH, oxygen all gone, food sources getting eaten up, etc.)
Click to expand...

i agree. it's not bad advice to say "don't peek" but i don't think it's as dangerous as some imply if you use some common sense.
 
eastoak said:
i agree. it's not bad advice to say "don't peek" but i don't think it's as dangerous as some imply if you use some common sense.
Click to expand...

i think the argument against peeking is simply that there's no good that will come of it, and there's the potential (albeit small) that you could have a negative impact. So why risk it?
 
I've been "off the grid" for a couple of days. Thanks for the response. I looked through some other threads and found some pictures that looked familiar https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/identify-nasty-155138/

Based on that and all the response, my dog DID NOT somehow open the lid and puke in my fermentor, it's actually a combination of yeast and break material is floating at the top.


My OG was 1.043. I took a reading on Sunday and it was already at 1.004. Seems to me, the yeast has done its job. My question is, how long should I expect the floaters to take before they settle to the bottom? Or will they at all? My plan was to rack to a secondary this weekend, let sit for a week or two, then bottle. If the floaters are still there, is that a bad idea?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
:off:

I'd NEVER buy a carboy for 28 bucks. Buy used. I bought 5 of them (23L, 19L, 3x11L) for 5 dollars each. My first brew bucket was free from a Tim Hortons (coffee shop for you unlucky Yanks) - it was used to ship fondant for donuts before it was used for beer :D.
 
Hogsprings said:
My question is, how long should I expect the floaters to take before they settle to the bottom? Or will they at all? My plan was to rack to a secondary this weekend, let sit for a week or two, then bottle. If the floaters are still there, is that a bad idea?
Click to expand...

Let it sit for a week or two in the primary. I wouldn't bother racking to secondary.
 
Hogsprings said:
I've been "off the grid" for a couple of days. Thanks for the response. I looked through some other threads and found some pictures that looked familiar https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/identify-nasty-155138/

Based on that and all the response, my dog DID NOT somehow open the lid and puke in my fermentor, it's actually a combination of yeast and break material is floating at the top.

My OG was 1.043. I took a reading on Sunday and it was already at 1.004. Seems to me, the yeast has done its job. My question is, how long should I expect the floaters to take before they settle to the bottom? Or will they at all? My plan was to rack to a secondary this weekend, let sit for a week or two, then bottle. If the floaters are still there, is that a bad idea?
Click to expand...

There will most likely still be some floaters. If you siphon carefully, shouldn't be an issue. Anything that gets into secondary will fall out eventually.
 
MazdaMatt said:
:off:

I'd NEVER buy a carboy for 28 bucks. Buy used. I bought 5 of them (23L, 19L, 3x11L) for 5 dollars each. My first brew bucket was free from a Tim Hortons (coffee shop for you unlucky Yanks) - it was used to ship fondant for donuts before it was used for beer :D.
Click to expand...

What? 5 dollars? That's crazy. Besides the one from Tim Hortons (all closed in my area;( ) where do you find these so cheap? I'm kind of skeptical to buy these from someone not knowing where they've been or what's been in them lol.
 
kyle6286 said:
What? 5 dollars? That's crazy. Besides the one from Tim Hortons (all closed in my area;( ) where do you find these so cheap? I'm kind of skeptical to buy these from someone not knowing where they've been or what's been in them lol.
Click to expand...

I get buckets from my local grocery stores (kroger, food lion) that have bakeries. Usually they take their food grade frosting buckets and toss them when they are empty. I call ahead to pick some buckets (usually 2-3 gallons) up, clean em real good, get a drill to stick a grommet in and voila! Free fermenter AND you're recycling! I've never been so green until I started brewing...
 
drathbone said:
I get buckets from my local grocery stores (kroger, food lion) that have bakeries. Usually they take their food grade frosting buckets and toss them when they are empty. I call ahead to pick some buckets (usually 2-3 gallons) up, clean em real good, get a drill to stick a grommet in and voila! Free fermenter AND you're recycling! I've never been so green until I started brewing...
Click to expand...

Good idea. I have a 6.5 gallon plastic fermenter that I'm using now. 2-3 gallon buckets would be too small. However, I want to get a glass carboy, preferably 6 gallons since I'm doing 5 gallon batches. Unless I can find a used one for cheap, I don't think I'll be able to find a 6 gallon glass carboy for less than $28 shipped.
 
kyle6286 said:
What? 5 dollars? That's crazy. Besides the one from Tim Hortons (all closed in my area;( ) where do you find these so cheap? I'm kind of skeptical to buy these from someone not knowing where they've been or what's been in them lol.
Click to expand...

The 5-dollar ones I got from a You-Brew that was closing :)

Seriously, there's no need to buy any of this stuff new. You're going to scrub it, you're going to bleach it with steaming hot water... I also picked up 184 grolsch swing-tops for 40 bucks and a 60-bottle drying rack plus another 18L carboy for 15 dollars.

use kijiji or craigslist... there are things in my area for sale ALWAYS.
 
BACK TO TOPIC, Please -

or start your own Bucket / Carboy thread - (There are TONS of them here, btw)

Hogsprings -
relax. It's doing exactly what it should. Leave it be (no need for secondary unless you're dry hopping, racking onto fruit, etc). Use that other device (secondary) as a primary and brew again!

Give it 2 more weeks, three if you can stand it. Then, to help everything pack to the bottom, set it in a fridge if you can for 24 hours. (crash cool) that will get everything to settle out, so you can rack to bottling bucket or kegs.
 

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