Film on top of beer

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msudawgs267

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I finished my first english pale ale about 3 days ago and bottled it and went to go look at a couple and they have this white film on the top of each bottle. When i brewed my blonde batch about 3 weeks ago I never noticed such film. Anyone have any ideas? Is it normal or does it have to do with a brewing/bottling issue? Thanks for the help as always!
 
Give it a taste in a few days, see if there's anything off about it. If there is, the best you can do is put them in the fridge and slow down the bacteria fermentation. DO NOT however LEAVE THEM! You will pose a hazard for bottle bombs.

Note: This does not necessarily mean bacteria for sure, I'm just saying IF it is, don't just leave them. I'm never quick to come to conclusions...When I first started brewing, I thought EVERYTHING was an infection.
 
Here are a couple pics of what I am talking about. I usually bottle 2 or 3 in like a Corona or Heineken bottle just so I can have a clear bottle to see everything thats going on. I tasted like somewhat of a sanitizer taste. Here are the pics:

IMG00169-20100829-1557.jpg



IMG00168-20100829-1557.jpg
 
Sadly, that most likely looks like an infection. You need to be careful because you may have some bottle bombs on your hands. It's also time to completely think about where this could've happened in your bottling process, and replace/completely clean your equipment.
 
Definitely infected imo. Would do like arover said and do a full sanitize/replace on equipment. Take all of your bottling stuff (lines, wand, etc) and soak in sanitizer for a good 30-40 minutes, and also check your bottling bucket for scratches where bacteria might call home (if you use the standard plastic bucket). Also revisit your bottling process and see if there's anywhere to improve on sanitization. The idea I go with is anything that will come into contact with the beer needs to be sanitized for at least 4 minutes (7-8 to be anally safe for equipment, 10 for bottles, and caps soak until they're used).

Any bottles like that one need to be gotten rid of, and keep an eye on the rest for possible bombs. Store them in a safe spot away from kids/pets, and keep them over a sink when you open them in case they decide to go kablooey.
 
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