BioBeing
Well-Known Member
I brewed up an old ale several months ago using Wyeast Old Ale Blend 9097, which includes Brettanomyces. This old ale is currently sitting in secondary. while I'm letting the brett character develop.
Last night though, I opened up a bucket of Abbot Ale I have brewing with WLP013. I brewed it about 4 weeks ago, and was waiting for my EK Goldings to come in from Hops Direct for dry hopping. The top of the beer was totally covered in what looked like a pelicle from the Brett. My second bucket of the Abbot Ale (with WLP005) did not have this on top. I took hydros of both, and the one with the contamination was a point or two lower than the other (1.011 vs 1.013). I meant to take a picture, but I was out in the garage and my wife had to run out, so I ended up just throwing my hops in and stirring it around. (I am out of buckets, so I couldn't transfer to a secondary).
So, does this sound like Brett? I'm doubting it could be mold on top of a 5% ABV beer, but I guess it could be? I have also had some carbonation issues recently, with a recent batch of Common Room Bitter exploding and my very recent DogFish Head 60 clone being super fizzy after just two weeks in the bottle. Could these be from Brett taking it down an extra point or two in the bottle? [Wyeast web site suggest if you bottle before 4 months, to expect an extra .5 vol of CO2 from Brett while using the blend.] However, my SWMBO slayer (also brewed after the old ale) barely is carbed after a couple of months in bottles. BUT... I do have 4 fermenting buckets and two bottling buckets, so it might just be that somehow the SWMBO slayer managed to avoid a contaminated bucket?
I'm planning on bleaching everything good before I brew anything else. Taking my spigots apart, removing and washing O-rings etc. Should I take any other precautions (like throwing stuff away)?
Last night though, I opened up a bucket of Abbot Ale I have brewing with WLP013. I brewed it about 4 weeks ago, and was waiting for my EK Goldings to come in from Hops Direct for dry hopping. The top of the beer was totally covered in what looked like a pelicle from the Brett. My second bucket of the Abbot Ale (with WLP005) did not have this on top. I took hydros of both, and the one with the contamination was a point or two lower than the other (1.011 vs 1.013). I meant to take a picture, but I was out in the garage and my wife had to run out, so I ended up just throwing my hops in and stirring it around. (I am out of buckets, so I couldn't transfer to a secondary).
So, does this sound like Brett? I'm doubting it could be mold on top of a 5% ABV beer, but I guess it could be? I have also had some carbonation issues recently, with a recent batch of Common Room Bitter exploding and my very recent DogFish Head 60 clone being super fizzy after just two weeks in the bottle. Could these be from Brett taking it down an extra point or two in the bottle? [Wyeast web site suggest if you bottle before 4 months, to expect an extra .5 vol of CO2 from Brett while using the blend.] However, my SWMBO slayer (also brewed after the old ale) barely is carbed after a couple of months in bottles. BUT... I do have 4 fermenting buckets and two bottling buckets, so it might just be that somehow the SWMBO slayer managed to avoid a contaminated bucket?
I'm planning on bleaching everything good before I brew anything else. Taking my spigots apart, removing and washing O-rings etc. Should I take any other precautions (like throwing stuff away)?
