Hello all - I'm new to both the forum as well as to homebrewing and am in need of some wisdom:
My friend and I just cooked my first batch (a sweet stout from NB) which is currently in a 6 gallon carboy for the initial fermentation. This was not his first brew, but it is mine. My concern is that after 5 days the batch appears to have a thin layer of mold instead of a nice foamy bubble. All equipment was properly sterilized beforehand and the wort was at boil for the appropriate time, however a few things happened during brew:
Other than those items, everything else pretty much went according to the letter, however i'm now concerned that the batch (though it is bubbling) isn't fermenting correctly and is actually molding.
We're considering racking from the bottom into another carboy and avoiding the "mold" layer and adding a fresh packet of properly activated yeast - would this be a good idea? Would two packs of yeast affect the taste much?
Here's a picture for your reference, and thanks in advance for your help!
My friend and I just cooked my first batch (a sweet stout from NB) which is currently in a 6 gallon carboy for the initial fermentation. This was not his first brew, but it is mine. My concern is that after 5 days the batch appears to have a thin layer of mold instead of a nice foamy bubble. All equipment was properly sterilized beforehand and the wort was at boil for the appropriate time, however a few things happened during brew:
- After we finished cooking, it took some time (approximately 20 minutes) in the ice bath to cool the wort.
- My friend was concerned that his yeast MIGHT not be alive due to its age and some other factors, however the bag had inflated appropriately and seemed fine.
- Since it was taking so long we pitched the yeast at approximately 105 degrees.
- After pitching the yeast, I looked into the bag and noticed that one side of the plastic yeast mixture pack (which appears to be split into two "bladders") had not been broken, it was a translucent yellowish liquid, while what I pitched was milky in texture. We consulted and decided to cut open the "bladder" and poor the yellowish liquid in, assuming it was needed to fully activate the yeast.
Other than those items, everything else pretty much went according to the letter, however i'm now concerned that the batch (though it is bubbling) isn't fermenting correctly and is actually molding.
We're considering racking from the bottom into another carboy and avoiding the "mold" layer and adding a fresh packet of properly activated yeast - would this be a good idea? Would two packs of yeast affect the taste much?
Here's a picture for your reference, and thanks in advance for your help!