What kind of infection is this?

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bajabrewer7

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This is the third time this has happened... Does anyone know what kind of infection I have here? I have to get to the bottom of what's causing this, this is 15 Gallons... That's A LOT of beer going to waste...
 
Is that a view of the beer surface?

It looks like saran wrap on top and maybe the first pic I've seen that didn't look like normal beer in an "I have an infection thread".
 
No wonder some people think that home brewers are cooking meth.
 
Ive had that infection before, usually during the warmer months while Im trying to brew lighter session beers. I actually quit brewing for about 6 months after 1 summer because for some reason it hit 3 batches in a row and I couldnt figure it out. I finally narrowed it down to my washed yeast samples.
 
I don't know what kind it is, but that looks like a biofilm.

Biofilms form in liquid when some microorganisms manage to float on top of a liquid and reproduce and/or more microorganisms attach to them. It may or may not be one kind of microorganism.

If you've had this three times, and assuming you cleaned the crap out of everything really well, you may want to consider replacing any scratched or plastic gear (hoses, buckets, carboys, cups, spoons). Not that plastic is bad. Many of us use plastic with great success. It's just that plastic is more likely to harbor unwanted bugs than glass. If you get it again, replace the glassware too. After three times now, you're probably to the point where losing beer is costing more than replacing some gear.
 
The streaking makes me think lacto. Here's a pellicle from the Pellicle Photo Collection thread. There aren't any bubbles, but it looks similar. I definitely wouldn't dump it. It'll probably make a decent sour beer in six months or so.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f127/pellicle-photo-collection-174033/index30.html#post3553951

That being said, I think you're going to need to replace all plastic brewing equipment and do a deep cleaning of your glass.

Have you tasted this one?
 
That's a picture from my conical.. Agree it looks similar to the pictures in that thread but no bubbles... What's weird is that all 3 times it has appeared AFTER fermentation has finished, this has been in the fermenter for 3 weeks and it wasn't there a week ago, temp was kept at 65 for the whole time... I'll see what it tastes like, if it's drinkable i'll give it away to certain people I don't like very much haha..
 
From what I have seen is that film is indicative of being exposed to air for a long period of time. is this the case? I dont know what kind of conical you have but maybe it was poorly sealed? If you checked up on you beer quite a few times this could of done it too, especialy if fermentation had stopped and no more co2 was produced to purge the oxygen out of the fermentor.
 
co2 is heavier than oxygen so it forms a protective invisible cushion on the fermentor even when checking it as long as you're careful, conicals need not be air tight... this has happened to me on a carboy as well...
 
did you run this through a plate chiller? reuse yeast? maybe the conical had a bug lurking in some little corner? i would let it go and see if it's any good, maybe move it into carboys if you need the conical then have a sanitizing party with all of your gear.
 
I have racked out from underneath something that looked like this before with varying results from good to not that bad to "no, I am not drinking this". I would definitely taste it before dumping. Usually happens in warm weather in secondary. I now use temperature controlled ferments and don't secondary in general, especially at ambient temps and this (or something that looks like this) doesn't happen. I have always assumed it was a type of
mold. I hope you don't have to dump 15 gallons.
 
I don't secondary and have temp control... I do use a plate chiller but the conical itself was clean as can be... I recirculate for 15 minutes of boiling water in order to clean the plate chiller.. What's weird is that it appears a couple of weeks into the fermenting phase.. Has me baffled...
 
this is the exact infection i've been getting. starts out as clear bubbles and matures to off-white fluffy bubbles. the flavor and aroma is musty, solvent/chemical, and unpleasant.
 
yup, drinkable at first stage though you can definitely tell there's something wrong, no way is it drinkable now. Someone shed some light on this!! Please.. :D
 
Hafnia protea (or protea hafnia, for some reason I can't keep the names straight) is possible. I've also had beers go bad at the end of fermentation.
Parsnip flavor, white scum.
The bacteria rides along with saved yeast, but I've isolated a couple of plastic buckets as my culprit.
 
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