Pellicle Photo Collection

On Black Friday, I brewed an old ale with Wyeast 9097 (it has an english ale yeast strain and a Brett strain). Secondaried with oak cubes, and tertiaried for bulk aging. There was nothing for quite some time, but when I checked on it this week, I finally saw the starting of a pellicle! Just thought I'd share it with you guys!

Nice. Mine with 9097 still doesn't have a pellicle but no worries. If I shine a flashlight on the surface, I can still see tiny CO2 bubbles popping at the surface!

Delete!

Barc said:

Nice. Mine with 9097 still doesn't have a pellicle but no worries. If I shine a flashlight on the surface, I can still see tiny CO2 bubbles popping at the surface!

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When did you brew it? It's been over two months since I put mine in the primary. When primary was done, I racked onto oak cubes for about ten days, then racked off of the cubes for bulk aging. It's been about 4.5 weeks since I racked to tertiary and I'm just now seeing the pellicle. I did the tertiary only because I did want some oxidation as the style allows it and I wanted some oxygen for the Brett to work on.

What type of fermenter do you have it in?

barrooze said:

When did you brew it? It's been over two months since I put mine in the primary. When primary was done, I racked onto oak cubes for about ten days, then racked off of the cubes for bulk aging. It's been about 4.5 weeks since I racked to tertiary and I'm just now seeing the pellicle. I did the tertiary only because I did want some oxidation as the style allows it and I wanted some oxygen for the Brett to work on.

What type of fermenter do you have it in?

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I brewed it right around 11/11. I moved it to secondary quite a while ago. Brett doesn't need oxygen as far as I know. It just puts up a protective coating (the pellicle) in the presence of O2. It might help to put some O2 in solution for it to use but I would think it might risk oxidation.

Brett likes micro oxygenation over an extended secondary. Thats why the barrel is perfect for them. I use the Raj Apte method using an aged oak dowel in my experimental funks. Google "raj apte flanders" and it will pull up his site. Great info!

Here is the link

http://www2.parc.com/emdl/members/apte/flemishredale.shtml

Here are my pics. It was very thin/flaky (and without any bubbles) until I put a pound of amber candi sugar (diluted in about a quart of water) back in December. Now it looks spectacular!







See my thread about this brew HERE

I made a beer and fermented with WL sour mix. There is a strange brown layer on it, but nothing too interesting. I made a saison and wanted to add some of the brett and bugs from the first beer, so after a 10 day hot fermentation with saison yeast, I stuck a bit of the trub from beer one into the racked saison. I noticed the pellicle after (I think) 5 days, and started taking photos after that. These photos are from that day through today in case anyone wants to see the growth.

looks awesome! especially the last one. How long was it from first photo to last?

jpoder said:

looks awesome! especially the last one. How long was it from first photo to last?

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I think 5 days, should be one picture per day. So I added the brett maybe 10 days ago, started taking photos 5 days ago.

phuzle said:

I think 5 days, should be one picture per day. So I added the brett maybe 10 days ago, started taking photos 5 days ago.

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you said you took the wild yeast from another beer in your original post. how long did the sour mix stay in your first beer? your last photo on day 10 saison looks a lot like a post on page 7 from Jaymo, but the only connection is that you both used mixed blends.

Looks like lacto to me. I've done wild lactobacillus ferments with stuff and that's pretty much exactly what it looks like.

jessup said:

you said you took the wild yeast from another beer in your original post. how long did the sour mix stay in your first beer? your last photo on day 10 saison looks a lot like a post on page 7 from Jaymo, but the only connection is that you both used mixed blends.

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Thanks for the interest. I pitched the WL sour mix on December 26th. All airlock activity was done by Jan 2nd. I pulled some of the trub on Jan 31st to add to the saison. It does look very similar, and I will continue to post some photos as things progress. Some of those bigger air bubbles around the edge of the carboy have broken and a few of the ones in the middle have gotten enormous! Very excited for this beer. I'm not sure how long to let it go, I know that things can take over a year easily to get really funky and sour, but I'm fine with mild flavors of brett and lacto to complement the spicy/fruity saison flavors. I'm thinking 1 to 3 months, anyone have suggestions?

Wow! Best thread ever! Thanks for posting all of these.

passedpawn said:

Excellent thread guys!

MODS: this should be stickied in the lambic/wild forum. Very, very useful.

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Bump. MODS?

This is my Berliner Weisse that I pitched two packs of Wyeast 3191 into less than 72 hrs. before pics were taken. OG was 1.035. This looks like a krausen to me, but a lot funkier. There is no airlock activity, but I did notice the yeast rise off the bottom about 24 hrs prior to pic. Temperature was 67-68 for the first 36 hrs. and has since dropped to 63-64. Is this a pellicle or krausen?
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That looks like a krausen. A pelicile is less bubbly. Give it a month or two and you will probably have a nice pelicile on there.

RJ_InPA said:

This is my Berliner Weisse that I pitched two packs of Wyeast 3191 into less than 72 hrs. before pics were taken. OG was 1.035. This looks like a krausen to me, but a lot funkier. There is no airlock activity, but I did notice the yeast rise off the bottom about 24 hrs prior to pic. Temperature was 67-68 for the first 36 hrs. and has since dropped to 63-64. Is this a pellicle or krausen?

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I would say that's a meaty Krausen. Definitely not a normal one.

Probably the combo of Lacto and Sacc / Brett. Lacto will produce a nice pellicle all by itself.

Here is my funky porter.http://imgur.com/a/RqQu4 I pitched Reinaert starter, Cantillion dregs, Cascade Apricot dregs and RR Temptation dregs.

http://larsenju.imgur.com

I am certainly not a photographer, but you can kind of see what is going on there.

pLambic brewed Dec. 22 2010 using a turbid mash, pitched Wyeast Lambic blend allong with Cantillon and Orval dregs. The OG came in a little low, but I didn't do anything to correct it. I plan on brewing another and stepping up the grain quantity a little bit.

EDIT: Fixed the year.

ejbru said:

http://larsenju.imgur.com

I am certainly not a photographer, but you can kind of see what is going on there.

pLambic brewed Dec. 22 2011 using a turbid mash, pitched Wyeast Lambic blend allong with Cantillon and Orval dregs. The OG came in a little low, but I didn't do anything to correct it. I plan on brewing another and stepping up the grain quantity a little bit.

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Hopefully the carboy didn't slosh to much on your ride back in the Delorean!

Shouldn't be a problem, I will use the flying feature, it is remarkably smooth. Good call though, Dec. 22 2010.

I have a few
Bavic Petrus dregs in a pale unhopped wort. It goes through several phases. I am not an expert but I believe the first is Lacto and then actually pedio.

Lacto - Day 1



Close-up



8 months later it looks like pedio (ropy)



Close-up



Russian River dregs in Belgian Strong wort - 2 months



Allagash Confluence dregs



Cantillion Kreik dregs with tart cherries



Jolly Pumpkin Bam Noire dregs - 6 months



Close-up



Background info on each and more pics on my blog.
http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com

Very nice pictures Almighty! I need to get my hands on some Petrus Aged Pale again. I love that stuff.

BW

Lets see if this works - 1st Post, also first pLambic:

Pellicle Pic 1

Pellicle Pic 2

Pellicle Pic 3

Beer was brewed 10/23/10, using a turbid mash and aged hops. Cooled naturally in the boil kettle overnight, with a square of plywood over the kettle to keep critters out. Moved beer into carboy and pitched Wyeast Lambic blend the next day. I also had some oak that I threw in a starter in November 09, I tossed the dredges of about 6 or 8 different belgium beers in with it during Nov and Dec '09 - a mix of lambics, at least 1 gueze(sp), and a couple of Abbey ales of various types. It has been sitting in a dark corner since, seal on the airlock not broken. I noticed the traub starting to get consumed a few weeks before the pellicle started to form (about 6 weeks ago). I looks to be about 1/3 gone by my estimate:

Pic 4

I plan on letting it sit until October, when I believe it will go into oak barrels with fruit (sitting on 3 x 6 liter oak barrels I've had since December '09). I plan on brewing another batch that will go into this carboy, with the oak cubes sitting in this one now, and whatever I decide to pitch then. Hopefully I'm on the right track with it.

It sounds like you guys are sour masters! I've got my old ale souring now and am wondering if you can give me tips on when I'll know to bottle it. I've heard that when the pellicle falls it's ready to package. Is this generally true? I've got a comp in May and was hoping to bottle in April. If the pellicle doesn't fall by then and I bottle anyways, what may happen?

Thanks!

Pellicles aren't magical indicators. They can happen in 12 weeks and sometimes you may not get one at all (or only a slight indication of one as I can attest to right now) depending on how much oxygen is getting in there. They can fall if you move the carboy. Does that mean the beer is done especially if you've only had it in there a few months? Some of us will have pellicles that won't fall on their own even months after the beer is technically "done fermenting" if they are in a place they aren't disturbed.

Check your gravity now then again in 2 weeks then again in 2 more weeks. If it is stable, it is probably "done." That's really the only way you're going to have a good feeling about bottling, imo. It will mature over time, however, and it won't be the same beer a year from now. And it may be a beer you'll want to submit to next year's competition, or the year after!

Great info. Thanks! I'm sure the SG won't change much over the next couple weeks as it's been in a fermenter since late Nov, however I'll take the reading today and again in 2 weeks just to make sure. Thanks again!

I will agree with Barc on the pellicle. It has nothing to do with a beer being "done". In my mind the beer is done when it tastes like you want it to. If you are referring to when it is done fermenting that is a different story.

With the error involved with hydrometers I would wait more than 2 weeks between measurements. Remember that every gravity point is about 1 Volume of CO2 once bottled.

And late Nov is not very old depending on the amount of food left for the bugs and what bugs you used.

If you really want to bottle the beer and you are not sure that it is done fermenting then use campden tablets. Use 1 per gal and then wait a couple weeks and use a neutral yeast at bottling.

Yum.

This is my "mother" that I use to innoculate a lot of my sour beers.

that last one looks like what i imagine a soilent green processing plant is full of.

Wyeast 9097 Old Ale Blend in secondary on oak cubes.

barrooze said:

It sounds like you guys are sour masters! I've got my old ale souring now and am wondering if you can give me tips on when I'll know to bottle it. I've heard that when the pellicle falls it's ready to package. Is this generally true? I've got a comp in May and was hoping to bottle in April. If the pellicle doesn't fall by then and I bottle anyways, what may happen?

Thanks!

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The pellicle may fall and rise with the seasons. Your palette is the only way to determine when it's ready.

Don't rush to bottle for a comp. These beers take a long time to develop.

smellysell said:

This is my "mother" that I use to innoculate a lot of my sour beers.

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Hey Smelly, mind enlightening me on how you care and feed that mother? Don't want to hijack (new thread?), but I'd be interested in how old it is, how often you feed, how much you use in a batch, and if any bugs have outcompeted the others and are dominating. Thanks

Agree... I have a sour house yeast that I feed on occasion but havent used it yet and haven't seen much info on maintaining a perpetually alive house yeasts. When not feeding it its capped and in the fridge.

Every couple months I decant it and pour some fresh beer on there. When I use it I dump about a quarter of a cup of the oak chips in the fermenter. It's about a year and a half old I think, and so far I've had some really good results. Not real scientific but it works for me.

You are all sick by the way.