Oaked Mild Pellicle? Oops...

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.

kevin123

Member
Joined
Nov 12, 2010
Messages
16
Reaction score
0
Location
Austin
I went to sample a British Mild I have had in secondary with oak cubes for about a month and found this:

http://imgur.com/qqhDH

http://imgur.com/GGRAs

I steamed/boiled the oak cubes in the microwave before adding to the secondary. But now this...so now what? Pellicle? There are bubbles but nothing fuzzy...Should I just dump this? Should I throw in some RR Supplication or Santification dregs(brett)? I have yet to taste it as I think I should get a new thief to replace the one I use on this. Should I let the taste decide?

Any advice would be appreciated as this is new territory for me...thanks in advance!
 
It looks like brett, but could be something else. Brett can look crazy fuzzy and funky or look like some flakes like you have here or like a normal sacc krausen.

A better question is why did you age a mild on oak? Have you had a mild at 3 weeks old? They are best young.

If it is brett. I'd leave it in the secondary and brew up a strong barley wine or old ale and blend it at bottling.
 
I tried it after about 3 weeks in primary and thought it could use some more flavor...I recently had an oaked mild from a local brewery and it was pretty good so I thought I would give it a shot.

At this point I am not sure what to do with it as I don't know how long I can go without this carboy. I was thinking about adding brett to it and letting it sit a while longer or just dumping it.

Could I use campden tablets or something to kill it? But then I wouldn't be able to bottle condition right?
 
The first thing to do is taste it and figure out what effort is worth it.
Brett does not fix everything but with time it can cover up some flavors if you use a stronger flavored strain.

You can use campden tablets and then wait a few days to a week. It helps if you cold crash and rack before this. Then you can re-yeast and bottle.
 
OK looks like I am going to give this a taste this evening or tomorrow...if it is drinkable I'll rack from under the pellicle then bottle and if not I'll dump.

After thinking about it some more I don't think I am ready to jump into the Brett just yet.

Thanks everyone!
 
You can't siphon beer out from under a pellicle the way you can with mold. This is not to say that you are doing the wrong thing, it's just something to keep in mind.
 
If there is an off-flavor and it is not too bad. It is fun to experiment with how to cover it up (its already gonna get dumped). Without spending too much time or money you can add cold steeped coffee or carafa II special to taste. Or dilute to get below taste thresholds but that may be difficult with a Mild.
 
You can't siphon beer out from under a pellicle the way you can with mold. This is not to say that you are doing the wrong thing, it's just something to keep in mind.

Can you please explain maskednegator?

Do you mean that whatever caused the pellicle is living inside the beer where mold would just be living on top?

So the plan is to to taste it tomorrow and then I will know if I am going to dump or not. And if it is not dumped I am still not 100% on the best course of action...the campden might be a good way to go...depends on taste...and adding things/experimenting with it would be cool too...

Hopefully the symptoms are mild (sorry couldn't resist :) ), I'll let you know!
 
Are you referring to the oaked mild from Live Oak? Man that stuff is GOOD.

You definitely invited something unexpected to your beer. Let it roll for a few months. It might turn into something really interesting.
 
Can you please explain maskednegator?

Do you mean that whatever caused the pellicle is living inside the beer where mold would just be living on top?

So the plan is to to taste it tomorrow and then I will know if I am going to dump or not. And if it is not dumped I am still not 100% on the best course of action...the campden might be a good way to go...depends on taste...and adding things/experimenting with it would be cool too...

Hopefully the symptoms are mild (sorry couldn't resist :) ), I'll let you know!
That's correct. Mold is chilling on the surface, but a pellicle is just a symptom of some other microorganism living in the beer - it's not the actual microorganism.
 
Back
Top