I think I have a problem

I have some pale ale in the secondary, I've kept it covered with a pullover coat and when i removed it today it had a white almost gel like substance floating on the top of it, when i shook the secondary it all fell down to the bottom.


Is this that ropey infection or is this normal, yeast maybe?

"covered with a pullover coat"? You mean, you used a dingy old coat as a bucket lid?

No, The pullover is to protect it from light, its a clear bottle. I had checked it this morning and it was fine, and when i pulled it off tonight it was covered in a quarter of an inch layer of this stuff. Any ideas? I was going to bottle tommorow.

Only thing anyone can tell you at this point is to bottle it and see what happens.

Does it smell bad? Could you possibly post a picture so someone can take a look and give you a hand?

I'm not too sure on this one.

Smells great, like beer. Picture coming right up, i did shake it so most of it settled to the bottom but ill see if I can get it.

I had something like this on top of the secondary beer.....It looked like a very thin white paint...almost like pond scum in the middle of summer. I assumed it was a type of infection or bacteria. I thought if it was a critter growth the CO2 form the bottle outta kill it......When I stuck a racking cane into the carboy, the stuff parted like the red sea and clung to the sides of the carboy. 99.99% was left in the carboy.

The beer had the stuff in the bottles for a few days and then it sunk -without ruining the beer.

Go ahead and bottle...you got nothing to lose. If it looks like beer, and smells and tastes ok you should be ok.....

Beer very careful and wash all the bottles and carboys/hoses/canes, etc very carefully in potent sanitizer afterwards.

Good luck - and keep us updated.

Cheers.

Believe me, if it's ropey, you will know. Ropey is much like a cross between Jello and over-cooked paste.

here is a picture, I have more i can post if you need them

I shook it up so it broke apart and sank but some of it is still floating at the top
thats what the picture is.

It my first brew by the way

Eww gross, throw it away now!!!!!!

Or wait until the rest falls, give it a bump every day to agitate the crap to fall, that's what I did. My favorite beer to date.

If it doesn't all fall out, and it might not, just use some sort of filter to avoid siphoning up any crap that may still be suspended.

Biermuncher, where you at with your filter pics?

Thanks, so im good to bottle tommorow? just filter it out?

It is going to effect the taste? Anyone know what it is?

did you use anything to clear the beer such as Irish Moss etc.? What was the recipe?

Ya, just make sure you don't rack up any of the gunk. I think it's coagulated yeast.

1/2 pound crystal
1/2 pound wheat Tied off in muslin bag and steeped in 3 gallons with burton water salts for 25 minutes at 155 degrees

Heated to boil, added 1 ounce saaz hops two 3.3 pound cans light liquid extract

After 30 minutes added 1/2 ounce fuggles hops

15 minutes later added 1/2 ounce fuggles hops and 1 teaspoon irish moss and continued boiling 15 minutes

Took off heat, cooled, pitched yeast, finished fermenting in 4 days and final gravity 1011 was reached today Day 5.

Siphoned into the secondary, broke my airlock, added 1 ounce hallertau hops in a muslin bag with 5 marbles

If it's only day five, you need at least 10 days in the secondary to make it even worth transfering. Now that you have, I'm afraid you shouldn't be bottling tomorrow.

If I read it correctly, today is day 1 in the secondary, you need to wait until AT LEAST next weekend to bottle.

Sorry, that was a cut and paste from a post a while back, it has been in the secondary for a week and a half now and its clear other than that gunk.

Right on, filter and bottle away. Everything will be just fine. By the way, that happened to me when I dry hopped, as I see you did. Only time I've ever experienced it, but had no ill effects.

Awesome.

Thanks for the help, I appreciate it.

My last two beers, which are also my first two that i used Irish Moss in, looked very similar. I dont think you have anything to worry about.