I think my kriek has an acetobacter infection :(

Hey guys,

I transferred my kriek into secondary a few weeks back, on top of two cans of Oregon cherry puree. I rigged up a blowoff tube into a bucket of sanitizer, but I think the tube was too long for the volume of sanitizer in the bucket. The fermentation clearly took off, when I checked on it there was residue in the tube. I changed the blowoff to a regular stopper/bubbler when the krausen had died down, but since it had been kept at my parents' place (short drive from my apartment) for aging purposes, I wasn't able to check on it daily. At some point, the tubing ended up sticking out of the sanitizer, essentially making an open path for any aerobes to get in.

The short part of all of this is the end result: on the bottom of the fermenter the cherry extract has clearly settled, but there are sorta ropy-looking things sticking up from the sediment. I'll try to take some pictures to see if anyone recognizes the appearance of the acetobacter. I'm hoping that it might be because of the saccharomyces or lactobacillus strains in with the yeast, but if anyone has experience with this I'd appreciate any tips.

Thanks!

Here's the recipe by the way: http://www.northernbrewer.com/docs/kis-html/1631.html

I'm not quite sure what you mean in the first paragraph. Did the airlock dry out a little bit? Unless you have fruit flies crawling down through the airlock, your brew is just fine. Especially with the outgassing of secondary fermentation CO2. Remember, microbes don't crawl and they don't fly.

I've never added fruit to beer, but I have done it to mead and cider. The first time I did it it looked just like you described, all sitting at the bottom ropy and tough. Bacteria contamination sits on top, not on the bottom of the fermenter.

So no, you're not up shiat kriek. :fro:

Have you made a lambic before? I have not, so I'm not much help, but I'm wondering if what you're seeing is perfectly normal considering the 'bugs' you add with the yeast to create a sour'd beer.

I say ride it out. You've already spent the money and time...assume its fine and keep going.

I've seen yeast form ropey structures before. I suspect the slow fermentation of the puree is pulling the yeast upward.

Does it smell like vinegar? Does it taste like vinegar? If so, it's acetobacter. If not, it's probably fine!

I did a smell test today, and it actually smells wonderful, no vinegar scent at all. It smells like really sweet cherry beer. I also rotated the carboy and saw other formations of thick puree sludge in various shapes and sizes, so yeah I think it is fine. Thanks for your help guys! I'll try to get some pictures to share.

Everytime we see something new in the fermentation, it's cause for alarm, but I think most brewers are safe enough that actual infections are extremely rare. In my two dozen or so bathes, I've had one infection ruin a batch. Every other time was either pure paranoia or nothing to worry about.