Post your infection

Yakima 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
It is definitely an infection. No way to know what it is by looking at the pellicle.

Just let it ride for a while and see what happens. Often unintentional infections can go south. Some infections work very slowly so if you want to bottle you need to be. sure that it is done. Some bugs can work very slowly so err on the side of caution and let it sit for a while.
 
I am cross posting this. I also posted this in the Black Perl Porter thread, but thought I would post here to because it might get more responses here.


Ok, I am really discouraged. I've brewed this twice and had the same issue both times. So I brewed this in early Aug, after 3 weeks cracked my FastFerment Conical and saw a white sludge all over the top. I thought my first infection. I still ended up kegging it, leaving the top inch or so of the sludge still in the conical.

I had taken a picture of the sludge and took the picture to my LHBS and showed it to the owner. He said not to panic, it just looks like some mold on top. He gave me a glass carboy to take home and said to move the beer into the carboy put it in a dark place and see if it happens again. If not it is good. When I cracked the keg open to transfer, it was very clean on top. So I tasted it, tasted fine so I decided to leave it in the keg. In the meantime, I had already bought all the ingredients to make again.

I did not make it again, instead I made a Pumkin Ale, which turned out just fine, no problems. So with the ingredients to make this again I went ahead and brewed this a second time. Well I cracked it open this morning after 3 weeks to check on it, and damn it, I have the white sludge again. See picture below.

I've never brewed with Malto-Dextrine or Lactose before this recipe, is this a result of that? Any help or advice would be appreciated.


attachment.php
 
TorMag said:
I am cross posting this. I also posted this in the Black Perl Porter thread, but thought I would post here to because it might get more responses here.


Ok, I am really discouraged. I've brewed this twice and had the same issue both times. So I brewed this in early Aug, after 3 weeks cracked my FastFerment Conical and saw a white sludge all over the top. I thought my first infection. I still ended up kegging it, leaving the top inch or so of the sludge still in the conical.

I had taken a picture of the sludge and took the picture to my LHBS and showed it to the owner. He said not to panic, it just looks like some mold on top. He gave me a glass carboy to take home and said to move the beer into the carboy put it in a dark place and see if it happens again. If not it is good. When I cracked the keg open to transfer, it was very clean on top. So I tasted it, tasted fine so I decided to leave it in the keg. In the meantime, I had already bought all the ingredients to make again.

I did not make it again, instead I made a Pumkin Ale, which turned out just fine, no problems. So with the ingredients to make this again I went ahead and brewed this a second time. Well I cracked it open this morning after 3 weeks to check on it, and damn it, I have the white sludge again. See picture below.

I've never brewed with Malto-Dextrine or Lactose before this recipe, is this a result of that? Any help or advice would be appreciated.


attachment.php
Click to expand...
Ouch. Definitely infected with something. Did you add the lactose and Malto-Dextrine to the boil, or did you add them after?
 
Dionysus89 said:
First batch. Have never really seen this so I'm completely unsure. Fermentation is very active and started after 48 hours from pitching the yeast. A little worried since I mistakenly pitched too hot

View attachment 372738


View attachment 372739
Click to expand...

The last batch I had that took longer than 48hrs to go... tasted bad, but your mileage may vary. I also pitched when it was too hot im pretty sure.
ThaOthaWhtMeat said:
I'm new to brewing. Does anyone know if this is an infection? Thanks!
Click to expand...

Nope thats a totally normal look. close the lid :)
 
TorMag said:
I am cross posting this. I also posted this in the Black Perl Porter thread, but thought I would post here to because it might get more responses here.


Ok, I am really discouraged. I've brewed this twice and had the same issue both times. So I brewed this in early Aug, after 3 weeks cracked my FastFerment Conical and saw a white sludge all over the top. I thought my first infection. I still ended up kegging it, leaving the top inch or so of the sludge still in the conical.

I had taken a picture of the sludge and took the picture to my LHBS and showed it to the owner. He said not to panic, it just looks like some mold on top. He gave me a glass carboy to take home and said to move the beer into the carboy put it in a dark place and see if it happens again. If not it is good. When I cracked the keg open to transfer, it was very clean on top. So I tasted it, tasted fine so I decided to leave it in the keg. In the meantime, I had already bought all the ingredients to make again.

I did not make it again, instead I made a Pumkin Ale, which turned out just fine, no problems. So with the ingredients to make this again I went ahead and brewed this a second time. Well I cracked it open this morning after 3 weeks to check on it, and damn it, I have the white sludge again. See picture below.

I've never brewed with Malto-Dextrine or Lactose before this recipe, is this a result of that? Any help or advice would be appreciated.


attachment.php
Click to expand...

You surely have an infection in your system. Most likely on the cold side, fermentor, racking cane, tubing, etc. But it could be from a dirty kettle valve too. Once you have "bugs" in your system, they can be persistent. Time to inspect everything and clean thoroughly. Then sanitize well.

What sanitizer do you use? Do you sanitize everything before it touches chilled wort or beer?

The white sludge is called a pellicle, and some micro organism develop those when the surface is exposed to air (oxygen). It's a barrier to other invaders. The bugs are also in your beer, not just in the pellicle. The reason you didn't see it in your keg is because there's no oxygen present in a purged keg. Over time the beer will sour or take on funky flavors. Sometimes they're a happy accident and the beer is very drinkable or even good.

Mold in general is a fairly rare occasion in brewing, so I don't know how your LHBS owner could be so certain. Bacterial and wild yeast infections are very common, so are pellicles.

How or why did your FastFerment crack?
 
IslandLizard said:
You surely have an infection in your system. Most likely on the cold side, fermentor, racking cane, tubing, etc. But it could be from a dirty kettle valve too. Once you have "bugs" in your system, they can be persistent. Time to inspect everything and clean thoroughly. Then sanitize well.

What sanitizer do you use? Do you sanitize everything before it touches chilled wort or beer?

The white sludge is called a pellicle, and some micro organism develop those when the surface is exposed to air (oxygen). It's a barrier to other invaders. The bugs are also in your beer, not just in the pellicle. The reason you didn't see it in your keg is because there's no oxygen present in a purged keg. Over time the beer will sour or take on funky flavors. Sometimes they're a happy accident and the beer is very drinkable or even good.

Mold in general is a fairly rare occasion in brewing, so I don't know how your LHBS owner could be so certain. Bacterial and wild yeast infections are very common, so are pellicles.

How or why did your FastFerment crack?
Click to expand...

I used Starsan. So what is the best way to "clean" out my system? Bleach everything?

FastFerment did not crack. After reading my post, I understand how you came up with that. I meant, "I cracked open my FastFerment to take a look"
 
TorMag said:
I used Starsan. So what is the best way to "clean" out my system? Bleach everything?

FastFerment did not crack. After reading my post, I understand how you came up with that. I meant, "I cracked open my FastFerment to take a look"
Click to expand...

NO BLEACH! Its bad for equipment and will eat away at most plastics and or damage even some metals. Stay away from bleach.

PBW or some other sort of biological cleaner removes gunk and buildup. I use pbw many others do too but there are others. Whatever cleaner you get make sure its a brewing specific cleaner.

https://www.morebeer.com/category/cleaning-sanitizing-chemicals.html

cleaners are not sanitizers and sanitizers are not cleaners.

Starsan

thats really all you need other than just good technique. PBW isnt cheap but its not awful either. I really cant recommend it enough.
 
You can also substitute Oxiclean (or one of its generic substitutes) in place of PBW. Works a treat for removing stubborn and hard to reach gunk. Just be sure to use the scent-free variety.
 
Well, I already use both Starsan and PBW and I still got the infection in my system. I am also very careful in my practices. So if no bleaching of the system, what now?
 
TorMag said:
Well, I already use both Starsan and PBW and I still got the infection in my system. I am also very careful in my practices. So if no bleaching of the system, what now?
Click to expand...

I did the same thing. I just re-evaluated my steps after cooling the wort. I recently started using oxi with great results. Be very careful with how you handle your yeast prior to pitching. I think that's what happened to me.
 
TorMag said:
Well, I already use both Starsan and PBW and I still got the infection in my system. I am also very careful in my practices. So if no bleaching of the system, what now?
Click to expand...

basically just chalk it up to a welp it happened. Unless you think of a step where maybe you missed something? without being there I couldnt see where you could have had contamination come in.

I mean ive had hoses blow off my wort chiller and drain into my now not boiling wort and it went fine.

Hell the FIRST batch my friend and I ever made together we thought the included 1step cleaner was a sanitizer (it wasnt). The batch still turned out just fine.

Basically from out end it will be basically impossible to say where you went wrong without having been there.

Just clean and sanitize as best you can. Avoid touching stuff you have santized that will contact your wort (otherwise why sanitize?) and just keep an eye on what you are doing and itll be fine.

as part of my accidental googling... ritebrew has 4lb refill bags for 15.99 of PBW... wow.
 
treacheroustexan said:
I did the same thing. I just re-evaluated my steps after cooling the wort. I recently started using oxi with great results. Be very careful with how you handle your yeast prior to pitching. I think that's what happened to me.
Click to expand...

I am wondering if the yeast process is where I might be going wrong. I've done 3 batches now with a yeast starter and two have had problems. Just wondering if that might be where the problem lies. Although, I follow the same steps with Starsan and boiling with my starter... I also, soak my scissors in StarSan before cutting the package open and the package for that matter......
 
You might have done this already, but do replace your tranfer tubing. It's one of the hardest things to clean properly and the easiest to replace.
 
TorMag said:
I am wondering if the yeast process is where I might be going wrong. I've done 3 batches now with a yeast starter and two have had problems. Just wondering if that might be where the problem lies. Although, I follow the same steps with Starsan and boiling with my starter... I also, soak my scissors in StarSan before cutting the package open and the package for that matter......
Click to expand...

My last batch of scottish ale.. Didnt sanitize scissors...hell i didnt even sanitize the packet. Didnt do a starter either.

Went fine. Still tasted like beer.

Are you making things too complicated possibly?
 
A few weeks back I was checking on some harvested slurry and found this. What could it be? Looked like some small noodles :D

I dumped that jar but still have one jar harvested from the same batch. It doesn't look anything like this, but there's a very thin layer of something white on top of the yeast. Since the beer on top of the dumped slurry smelled normal, I'm thinking of at least making a starter of the remaining slurry and maybe brew one more batch with it.

The yeast is 5th gen WLP-400. I used some wheat flour in the last batch's boil to achieve a more permanent haze. Could the white layer be some of that flour dropping from suspension?

IMG_20160922_092408.jpg
 
I believe the beer is cloudy because i didn't cook it down properly maybe it will clear up but what is the yellow at the top?

IMG_3233.jpg
 
brewskiez said:
I believe the beer is cloudy because i didn't cook it down properly maybe it will clear up but what is the yellow at the top?
Click to expand...

Just gunk, looks normal to me. Itll clear up too given time maybe. Doesnt look any worse than any one ive ever done.
 
TorMag said:
Well, I already use both Starsan and PBW and I still got the infection in my system. I am also very careful in my practices. So if no bleaching of the system, what now?
Click to expand...

Of course you can use bleach on all your plastic equipment, just avoid it on Stainless Steel. After a good bleach soak/scrub, rinse well, then put it out in the sun for a day (or 2) to remove the last bleach remnants. The UV light also helps in sterilizing your equipment.

Check for scratches in your cold side equipment, and use a brush to clean threaded parts. Check your FastFerment carefully for nooks and crannies that may hold onto dirt, old dried on yeast krausen etc. Isn't there a threaded valve on the bottom of the FastFerment? That definitely needs to be cleaned thoroughly. There are narrow passages inside the valve that don't rinse out well. Does it come apart for cleaning? Soak parts in hot PBW and brush them clean without scratching them.

As mentioned before, replace your tubing. I never dry my racking hoses, they stay submerged under Starsan in a bucket. They'll get semi-opaque over time. I run a long draw brush through them from time to time and after each use.

Infections could indeed come in from your starters, so pay extra attention to sanitation there. Turn your AC or forced heat off while working with yeast and open fermentors.

I always mop the cold side equipment, flasks, yeast storage jars, etc. with a small Starsan soaked wash cloth, and also use a spray bottle.

Go over your methods carefully and scrutinize for possibly missed steps and overlooked parts that need cleaning/sanitizing. The valve on your boil kettle is one such area. It doesn't get hot enough to incinerate bugs. Any threaded part can hold onto dirt and bacteria. Keep em clean.
 
IslandLizard said:
Of course you can use bleach on all your plastic equipment, just avoid it on Stainless Steel. After a good bleach soak/scrub, rinse well, then put it out in the sun for a day (or 2) to remove the last bleach remnants. The UV light also helps in sterilizing your equipment.

Check for scratches in your cold side equipment, and use a brush to clean threaded parts. Check your FastFerment carefully for nooks and crannies that may hold onto dirt, old dried on yeast krausen etc. Isn't there a threaded valve on the bottom of the FastFerment? That definitely needs to be cleaned thoroughly. There are narrow passages inside the valve that don't rinse out well. Does it come apart for cleaning? Soak parts in hot PBW and brush them clean without scratching them.

As mentioned before, replace your tubing. I never dry my racking hoses, they stay submerged under Starsan in a bucket. They'll get semi-opaque over time. I run a long draw brush through them from time to time and after each use.

Infections could indeed come in from your starters, so pay extra attention to sanitation there. Turn your AC or forced heat off while working with yeast and open fermentors.

I always mop the cold side equipment, flasks, yeast storage jars, etc. with a small Starsan soaked wash cloth, and also use a spray bottle.

Go over your methods carefully and scrutinize for possibly missed steps and overlooked parts that need cleaning/sanitizing. The valve on your boil kettle is one such area. It doesn't get hot enough to incinerate bugs. Any threaded part can hold onto dirt and bacteria. Keep em clean.
Click to expand...

Frankly im against the bleach use. Its not needed and way overkill.
 
akithegood said:
A few weeks back I was checking on some harvested slurry and found this. What could it be? Looked like some small noodles :D

I dumped that jar but still have one jar harvested from the same batch. It doesn't look anything like this, but there's a very thin layer of something white on top of the yeast. Since the beer on top of the dumped slurry smelled normal, I'm thinking of at least making a starter of the remaining slurry and maybe brew one more batch with it.

The yeast is 5th gen WLP-400. I used some wheat flour in the last batch's boil to achieve a more permanent haze. Could the white layer be some of that flour dropping from suspension?
Click to expand...

Obviously an infection. What you're looking at is the pellicle it created. I made a starter once that developed a haze over it. After a few days it looked just like that picture.

If the other jar is starting to show signs of infection I'd toss it. Not worth risking a batch over. Next time overbuild your starters and save some out for the next one. And keep things well sanitized!
 
Hi!

I took a stab at the Homebeer Pliny the Elder Extract Kit and after 8 days, I opened the bucket, to start dry hopping, and saw the picture below.

Is this the beginning of an infection or is it suspended yeast?

Some more information:
- Used 2 packs of Safale US-05 (Recommended by the sales guy)
- I may have under diluted the starsan at the beginning

IMG_8270.jpg
 
palobrewer said:
Hi!

I took a stab at the Homebeer Pliny the Elder Extract Kit and after 8 days, I opened the bucket, to start dry hopping, and saw the picture below.

Is this the beginning of an infection or is it suspended yeast?

Some more information:
- Used 2 packs of Safale US-05 (Recommended by the sales guy)
- I may have under diluted the starsan at the beginning
Click to expand...

looks awesome so far

:rockin:
 
palobrewer said:
Hi!

I took a stab at the Homebeer Pliny the Elder Extract Kit and after 8 days, I opened the bucket, to start dry hopping, and saw the picture below.

Is this the beginning of an infection or is it suspended yeast?

Some more information:
- Used 2 packs of Safale US-05 (Recommended by the sales guy)
- I may have under diluted the starsan at the beginning
Click to expand...


There's a film on there, but it could just be hop oils. If it's the early indications of an infection, it'll likely be more obvious when you reopen to package.

Good luck!
 
Cider, been in primary for 9 days with no airlock activity for the past 5.... Looks infected to me what do you guys think!?
It's a Graf with S05 yeast

Could it just be a funky krausen??

EDIT: the big bubbles have fallen this afternoon so think I'm ok. checked gravity at 1.018.... Another week in fermenter should bring me down ready for bottling

image.jpg
 
Don't have pics as they ended up being dumped, but I must've had at least 5+ batches of infected beer before I realized the problem.

I bottle, and I never realized you could dismantle the bottling spigot!!!
I used to just soak the whole thing in Sani and call it good, and then after 5+ batches, realized you could unscrew the whole thing and found a nice set of mold in there.

That got thrown away and bought a few new spigots that I always dismantle and soak for a few hours before and after bottling to keep them clean - no more infections!
 
What infection is this? This is the 2nd infection out of this conical and the first has no off flavor nor signs of over carbonation after 6 weeks in bottles. The beer is an altbier dunkel. It finished in primary at 1.014 and has dropped to 1.013 in secondary. It's been in secondary for about 3 weeks. I peeked in today to find this.
69fc935876.jpg
 
So my keezer took a crap and I've been using my fermentation chamber freezer to serve. Same setup just no collar for taps. Currently using picnic taps. Well I was down to one keg and had to ferment so I dumbly just disconnect the gas to my keg and left it in the fermentation chamber. I checked for good Krausen after a few days and haven't even looked in it for past 2-3 weeks. I went to cold crash it today and found everything covered in mold inside the chamber. I'm guessing it's condensation from the cold keg that was allowed to warm that contributed so much moisture to the chamber and caused the mold. Thoughts?? Is my keg still any good you think? I haven't cracked the lid in the bucket. View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1476830963.867840.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1476830979.211786.jpg
 
Gusmedic said:
So my keezer took a crap and I've been using my fermentation chamber freezer to serve. Same setup just no collar for taps. Currently using picnic taps. Well I was down to one keg and had to ferment so I dumbly just disconnect the gas to my keg and left it in the fermentation chamber. I checked for good Krausen after a few days and haven't even looked in it for past 2-3 weeks. I went to cold crash it today and found everything covered in mold inside the chamber. I'm guessing it's condensation from the cold keg that was allowed to warm that contributed so much moisture to the chamber and caused the mold. Thoughts?? Is my keg still any good you think? I haven't cracked the lid in the bucket. View attachment 373998View attachment 373999
Click to expand...


Clean and sanitize it all before cracking anything
 
Gusmedic said:
So my keezer took a crap and I've been using my fermentation chamber freezer to serve. Same setup just no collar for taps. Currently using picnic taps. Well I was down to one keg and had to ferment so I dumbly just disconnect the gas to my keg and left it in the fermentation chamber. I checked for good Krausen after a few days and haven't even looked in it for past 2-3 weeks. I went to cold crash it today and found everything covered in mold inside the chamber. I'm guessing it's condensation from the cold keg that was allowed to warm that contributed so much moisture to the chamber and caused the mold. Thoughts?? Is my keg still any good you think? I haven't cracked the lid in the bucket. View attachment 373998View attachment 373999
Click to expand...

Burn it. Burn it with fire.
 

Similar threads

_Keven
Question on if this mold made it into my fermenter
Replies
3
Views
552
hotbeer
hotbeer
chrispokey
Time for another round of "Is this beer infected?"
Replies
15
Views
586
IslandLizard
IslandLizard
J
Infection or Dying Yeast?
Replies
8
Views
582
jameb17
J
mattman91
Infection?
Replies
29
Views
1K
IslandLizard
IslandLizard
MightyMosin
Mead Class... Looking for suggestions
Replies
12
Views
760
Johnny2
J
CornyKegs 300

Latest posts

Back
Top