ReverseApacheMaster
Well-Known Member
Death.
Post your infection
- Thread starter jcarson83
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
Death.
jwalk4
Well-Known Member
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Paranoid question I know. But yeast has been in there for a week now and Primary fermentation has ended two-three days ago. Just yesterday little groups of bubbles began to form on the top of the beer. Today I look and they have multiplied. No discoloration that I can see, no film on top. Is this the beginning of an infection? Or, should I just not look at it again and save myself the hassle of worrying?
I had to brighten the pictures so you can see them better*
*Also, the really gunky stuff in the photo is the dried foam, stuck to the side of the carboy.*
This is my first batch so I don't know what to expect.
jwalk4
Well-Known Member
Thanks for your honesty!
spoonman
New Member
Looks like my pumpkin porter is infected. I have 10 gallons split between two carboys. They both had a little bit of a sour tasted when I moved them, but only one has signs of a infection. Does anyone know what this is and if I will be able to save the beer? The bottom photo is the one with no signs of infection.
LoloMT7
Well-Known Member
I racked my first SMASH (MO & Amarillo) into a keg for secondary after the primary fermentation of about 2 weeks. It looked fine when I racked it 6 days ago but it did have a funny smell i couldn't put my finger on, it fermented a bit warm also maybe about 66-70. The smell was like sweaty socks maybe? Anyways when i racked to the keg a week ago I added 1 oz of Amarillo dry hops in a mesh nylon reusable bag i usually use for straining wort from brew pot to carboy. I cleaned it good and soaked it in star-san prior to adding the amarillo dry hops. Today I was going to chill the keg and carb it up and let it sit in the kegerator for a few weeks. Because of the smell a week ago something told me to open and look at it first and this is what i see.
FATC1TY
Well-Known Member
Appears to be lacto I think..
Keep it chilled and drink it fast is the best suggestion.
Keep it chilled and drink it fast is the best suggestion.
And be sure to clean your lines and everything else that touched that beer. You don't wanna infect your whole set up.
mont0261
New Member
I had four batches all get the same infection. All looked like this after 2 weeks. The beers were brewed on different days, but all were left in the basement to ferment. We just moved into this house, so I had never fermented in this particular basement. Been brewing for 5 yrs and never had anything like this. I am pretty consistent with sanitation. I only just noticed the bugs in the airlocks today. I am at a loss (first time posting on the forum so apologies if this is in the wrong place).
(the "beer" tastes like hell so no chance to salvage)
(the "beer" tastes like hell so no chance to salvage)
NervousDad
BFM
They look like weevils.
BamaRooster
Well-Known Member
maybe fruit flys....what kind of liquid do you have in that airlock. We have been doing allot of canning over the past couple months and I had some fruit flys in my airlock put they were dead as stones and no infection resulted. Maybe they were stone drunk, I use vodka in my airlock.
+ 1 to Vodka usage. I also had issues with those bastards over the summer...lots of them. Managed not to have any infected batches BUT, they were in some of my airlocks. That I use the 3 piece ones is the only difference. You're going to want to get some Apple Cider Vineger, a small bowl, and a SINGLE drop of dish soap. Put a piece of saran wrap over the bowl, cut a slit so that both sides fold inwards a bit - not too much though. I had to do this for about 5 consecutive weeks until I got rid of them all.
BamaRooster
Well-Known Member
They are a PITA to get rid of. We used a jar and funnel baited with fruit to trap them. They get in and can't get out, but I like your idea better and will try this next year for sure. The current cold snap has taken care of their little asses.
Wow, that's a cool looking infection. My condolences, though.
agodfrey11
Well-Known Member
Some sours I got going from the Wyeast roselare blend.
agodfrey11: that is exactly what the infection on my stout's small-beer looks like. I have left it in secondary for quite a while now, and am thinking of just letting it be for a while longer and then bottling cork and cage... and putting it away. Right now, I simply can not bring myself to taste it. I have an iron stomach, but a hair trigger gag reflex! LOL!
agodfrey11
Well-Known Member
TapeDeck said:
Was yours done on purpose? I intentionally added some dregs of a couple of Brett beers and some fermented Flanders red that I had. I couldn't tell you what specifically caused the pellicle but I am waiting for it to drop before I bottle it. You don't want to break it because it forms to keep oxygen out while the bugs do what they need to do. They also say just to leave the carboy alone and don't move it. I've got my sours tucked into a corner and will see what they look like in the spring.
If you got the pellicle while trying to brew a clean beer I would definitely let it go for a year at least before tasting it. After that maybe taste it and see what you think.
abbysdad2006
Well-Known Member
Infected?! Racked to secondary and showed up the next day. Sorry it's blurry
bchurch
Well-Known Member
abbysdad2006 said:
Just looks like yeast rafts or floaters, I think your fine but maybe just keep an eye on it.
I'm not sure if this is an infection or not. First time I have ever found anything floating out of 30 batches.
This is a Belgian Blonde Ale recipe pitched on a Hefe yeast cake. This spend about 4 weeks in primary before opening the hatch for bottling. Initial tastes have an acidic, slightly lemon sour mid-palate and is dry.
This is a Belgian Blonde Ale recipe pitched on a Hefe yeast cake. This spend about 4 weeks in primary before opening the hatch for bottling. Initial tastes have an acidic, slightly lemon sour mid-palate and is dry.
abbysdad2006
Well-Known Member
bchurch said:
Ok cool. I will keep an eye on it here in the next few days.
abbysdad2006
Well-Known Member
abbysdad2006 said:
Checked on it this morning and this is what I found.
agodfrey11
Well-Known Member
R2-D2 said:
That looks like the beer from the Buffalo Wild Wings commercial.
bchurch
Well-Known Member
abbysdad2006 said:
Still kinda hard to tell by the pictures, it's not fuzzy like mold is it? I'm still inclined to say yeast but I may be wrong. Maybe Google yeast rafts and see what you think. I am sure you are not the first. How long was it in the primary? What style is it and how long do you intend to keep it in the secondary?
abbysdad2006
Well-Known Member
Thanks. I'll google that. It's an ipa that was in primary for one week. Only plan on keeping it in secondary for one week.
bchurch
Well-Known Member
abbysdad2006 said:
If it is infected most people suggest that if it tastes fine to bottle and drink it sooner rather than later because it will just keep getting worse, good thing it's an ipa they are best young anyway. Good luck, hope it's just yeast.
abbysdad2006
Well-Known Member
Not sure is this makes a difference or not but, the fermenting bucket and carboy were used to make wine for a considerable amount of time. I got them from my wife's grandfather who made wine. He also used to make beer also, but then changed to wine.
agodfrey11
Well-Known Member
abbysdad2006 said:
Personally I would toss the bucket if it is old and wasn't new when I got it. Any small scratch can harbor bacteria. Buckets are cheap and there is a good chance of getting an infection with older ones, especially if its not originally yours. Who knows, he could have also used it to pick up dirt and leaves in the yard.
abbysdad2006
Well-Known Member
Fermentation went good, it only showed up the next day after I put it in the glass carboy.
abbysdad2006
Well-Known Member
abbysdad2006 said:
Ok so I got home tonight and this is what I saw. It has not gotten any bigger. Thanks for all the input.
BuddyWeiser
Well-Known Member
This picture isn't great, but near the top you can see the filmy, web-looking stuff that has me mildly concerned. I am merely guessing this is the Brett. Claussenii that I added when I transferred the stout to secondary. Either that, or maybe it's something wild from the bag of raspberries. 
In any case, the beer still smells delicious, and I don't plan to crack the first bottle until mid March. Feedback would be much appreciated! Thanks!
In any case, the beer still smells delicious, and I don't plan to crack the first bottle until mid March. Feedback would be much appreciated! Thanks!
shattstar03
Well-Known Member
This picture isn't great, but near the top you can see the filmy, web-looking stuff that has me mildly concerned. I am merely guessing this is the Brett. Claussenii that I added when I transferred the stout to secondary. Either that, or maybe it's something wild from the bag of raspberries.
In any case, the beer still smells delicious, and I don't plan to crack the first bottle until mid March. Feedback would be much appreciated! Thanks!
Looks normal to me, I normally get that webby looking stuff of bubbles, yeast on top of my beer, looks scary but its harmless (at least for me).
BuddyWeiser
Well-Known Member
Thank you, but do you mean normal for brett. claussenii? There are both normal looking ale yeast bubbles plus this non-normal looking webby film spreading out over the top.
Sorry for all the questions! This is just the first time I've ever used brettanomyces type yeast.
FATC1TY
Well-Known Member
Thank you, but do you mean normal for brett. claussenii? There are both normal looking ale yeast bubbles plus this non-normal looking webby film spreading out over the top.
Sorry for all the questions! This is just the first time I've ever used brettanomyces type yeast.
If you intentionally added Brettanomyces, then you are posting in the wrong thread. This is mostly for accidental. You infected yours with it on purpose.. which is tasty.
Lets just call this an inadvertant open air secondary "contamination".
Any thoughts on what you see in there? I think there's 2 things going on. Mold and something else. It was the bottom of a bucket I used as a catch basin for bottling from my tap.
Any thoughts on what you see in there? I think there's 2 things going on. Mold and something else. It was the bottom of a bucket I used as a catch basin for bottling from my tap.
chrono03
New Member
Just checked my founders backwoods bastard clone. Racked from primary into secondary on to some bourbon soaked woodchips (soaked for about a week). Gravity during racking was 1.020. I had a couple beers during the process and thought it would be a good idea to put an airlock on and use the starsan solution from my blow off bucket. Im guessing that some of the liquid dropped into the beer and infected it. Anyone have any thoughts?
Ogri
Well-Known Member
Pics of the infection that hit one of my batches at the beginning of this summer.
It actually tasted really good and was definitely contemplating bottling but I ended up dumping it out of fear of infecting other equipment.
Thought it might have started from when I was taking a gravity sample, although I was pretty sure I'd sanitised the measuring cup really well with starsan sprayed profusely all over and inside. Talking with my wife recently about the bottled water we get from a local spring and how leaving it to sit for a week or two before using it might not be a good idea and I remembered that I'd used 5 gallons of that water for a batch or two just before the summer. So, there's a chance that it could have been something in the water or bottles.
It actually tasted really good and was definitely contemplating bottling but I ended up dumping it out of fear of infecting other equipment.
Thought it might have started from when I was taking a gravity sample, although I was pretty sure I'd sanitised the measuring cup really well with starsan sprayed profusely all over and inside. Talking with my wife recently about the bottled water we get from a local spring and how leaving it to sit for a week or two before using it might not be a good idea and I remembered that I'd used 5 gallons of that water for a batch or two just before the summer. So, there's a chance that it could have been something in the water or bottles.
whitehause
Well-Known Member
Pics of the infection that hit one of my batches at the beginning of this summer.
It actually tasted really good and was definitely contemplating bottling but I ended up dumping it out of fear of infecting other equipment.
Thought it might have started from when I was taking a gravity sample, although I was pretty sure I'd sanitised the measuring cup really well with starsan sprayed profusely all over and inside. Talking with my wife recently about the bottled water we get from a local spring and how leaving it to sit for a week or two before using it might not be a good idea and I remembered that I'd used 5 gallons of that water for a batch or two just before the summer. So, there's a chance that it could have been something in the water or bottles.
Some people pay good money to have their beers look like that!
Similar threads
