Infected Brew Appears Normal!

Is it possible for infected wort to appear totally normal, i.e. fermentation, krausen formation, etc.? In addition to bad taste/flovor, would there always be some physical manifestation of ther infection?

Let's take a different tack...

What makes you think your beer is infected???

Usually it looks ok- it's the smell and taste that will prove an infection. Unless you have fuzzy growth, it's probably ok if it tastes ok.

Revvy said:

Let's take a different tack...

What makes you think your beer is infected???

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I don't. But if it was, it would be nice to be able to recognize the physical manifestations early rather than have a carboy tied up in a lost cause until the first taste test.

YooperBrew said:

Usually it looks ok- it's the smell and taste that will prove an infection. Unless you have fuzzy growth, it's probably ok if it tastes ok.

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Which implies that everything can appear to be proceeding normally when in fact it is not.

I honestly believe that we need to RDWHAHB about infections, especially new brewers....Yes they happen but they are rare...It's really really hard to infect beer.

Paying attention to our sanitization, brewing, and chilling processes will nearly always prevent anything from happening.

Beer is a lot hardier than we give it credit for.

Revvy said:

I honestly believe that we need to RDWHAHB about infections, . . . . for.

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I agree. I have never had an infection and am not worried. I am simply trying to learn.

For instance: Neither have I ever had my home infested by termites, nor do I worry about it constantly. Just the same, I find it a good idea to be knowledgable about the physical signs of an active infestation.

I've only had one infection, but talked to lots of other brewers who have had them. Unless there is a pellicle or fuzzy mold, it usually looks just fine. And, sometimes weird looking brews (strange krausen, etc) are just fine. So, usually, you can't tell by looking. But you CAN tell by smell usually. My infected maibock was obvious in the fermenter- sour and awful smell when I opened it. It looked ok but when I pulled out a sample for an SG, it was horrid. I think it had a lactic acid infection- very sour but not vinegar. It was a pretty beer, though! It looked nice as I poured it down the drain.

I've had one beer infection. I'm pretty sure it's because I'd racked to a carboy that I'd washed out and left a small amount of water in, and never sanitized afterwards. That was a sour, awful beer. It had had crusties growing on top but I bottled it anyways hoping it'd improve. It never did. Sometimes racking from underneath the mold saves the beer (seriously). Hell, sometimes it makes the beer taste better by souring it in just the right way.