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I brewed 14 gallons of this which 10 went into a Whiskey barrel a few weeks back. It was also funky but in the barrel now it tastes and looks just fine and nothing seems to be growing in it. This picture was the leftovers that I kept in secondary to top off the barrel when needed. When I racked it the other day it had a funky cheese smell but after cold crashing it and racking it twice now it just smells like coffee again. I haven’t tasted it since the cheese smell developed but it’s now in my kegerator on gas and I think it will be just fine. I soaked the nibs in rum but I guess it wasn’t enough to kill all the bugs. I switched to 191 everclear for my chocolate cherry stout and the nibs worked just fine for that brew.
 
Okay, I'm trying my hand at a Berliner Weisse and used a Wyeast Lactobacillus Delbruekii strain. It has been sitting for about a month at nice warm temps. So today I open the primary to see what my next steps will be and I find this beauty. I know I'm supposed to get some fun and scary looking stuff doing a sour but the green, fuzy stuff scares me a bit.

The recipe was:
4# Pilsner
4# Wheat
Mash at 150*F for 90mins
15 min boil with 1oz Hallertaur
I have not added any Sacch yet

OG was higher than anticipated at 1.050
Todays gravity with a Refractometer was 1.035 so if alchohol was produced it converts to a gravity of 1.024.

The smell is not bad at all and even though the mold is scary I tasted a couple drops from the pipette and it was not bad either, not even sour.

Looking at racking, bringing down temp adding some Sacch for a few days then bottle and hope I don't die. Any thoughts or recommendations welcome.

IMG_1209.jpg
 
Okay, I'm trying my hand at a Berliner Weisse and used a Wyeast Lactobacillus Delbruekii strain. It has been sitting for about a month at nice warm temps. So today I open the primary to see what my next steps will be and I find this beauty. I know I'm supposed to get some fun and scary looking stuff doing a sour but the green, fuzy stuff scares me a bit.

The recipe was:
4# Pilsner
4# Wheat
Mash at 150*F for 90mins
15 min boil with 1oz Hallertaur
I have not added any Sacch yet

OG was higher than anticipated at 1.050
Todays gravity with a Refractometer was 1.035 so if alchohol was produced it converts to a gravity of 1.024.

The smell is not bad at all and even though the mold is scary I tasted a couple drops from the pipette and it was not bad either, not even sour.

Looking at racking, bringing down temp adding some Sacch for a few days then bottle and hope I don't die. Any thoughts or recommendations welcome.

That is NOT from lacto. That is mold. That is not good. Do not drink that.
 
Good advise! That's why I wanted to check with the sour experts first. So I'm pretty much screwed with this batch and need to pitch it along with the bucket. My question then is how did the mold get in when I sanatized like usual and added the Lacto and left it alone?

Edit: This caused concers because the obvious mold and not looking anything like lacto infections I've seen before.
 
Some definitly are bad for you while others are desired. Look at sake and soy sauce they both require mold to do the conversion. Penicillin is mold and does a body good (unless you're allergic). And I know serveral of us have unintentionally consumed mold before spitting out a piece of bread that may have been left out too long.

The biggest question is what the hell is growing in there!
 
Looks like I might have Brett pellicles forming in two batches?

1st pic has been in secondary for two days, 2nd pic is the other in primary just under a week (looked clear as of yesterday).

inf1.jpg


inf2.jpg
 
Ewww, A query though, Is mold bad for you?

Your digestive system and immune system will take care of it. Most things that are bad for you do not smell nor taste good hence why our nose is right above our mouth. If it tastes and smells good you probably are fine drinking it, even if it looks as nasty as that. But then again, look at bleu cheese and wonder how anyone could think that looked edible.
 
My question then is how did the mold get in when I sanatized like usual and added the Lacto and left it alone?

Fungal spores are everywhere in the air all the time. It's why wild fermenting works. Sometimes, fungal spores you don't want in there get in.
 
Very true. I think for now I'm going to focus on yeast driven beers and do a lot more reading on wild brews before my next attempt.
 
Here's mine...anyone know what I got? It's sitting on a IPA (no dry hopping), beer underneath is kegged and yummy :) All i did was split a batch into two different buckets, S04 and US-05. this is the US-05, but it did sit on the yeast for a full month, opposed to 10 days for the S04.

Image linkies not working..meh

First Pic
Second Pic

If anyone can repost these pics so they show up with IMG tags, that would be most helpful.

Yellow!
 
Was trying to help, but for whatever reason the url's break when you post them.
I have no idea, but if the beer is good, then no harms done!
 
Here's mine...anyone know what I got? It's sitting on a IPA (no dry hopping), beer underneath is kegged and yummy :) All i did was split a batch into two different buckets, S04 and US-05. this is the US-05, but it did sit on the yeast for a full month, opposed to 10 days for the S04.

Image linkies not working..meh

First Pic
Second Pick

Looks a lot like my Flanders Red, I'd guess lacto and or brett.
 
Here's mine...anyone know what I got? It's sitting on a IPA (no dry hopping), beer underneath is kegged and yummy :) All i did was split a batch into two different buckets, S04 and US-05. this is the US-05, but it did sit on the yeast for a full month, opposed to 10 days for the S04.

Image linkies not working..meh

First Pic
Second Pic

If anyone can repost these pics so they show up with IMG tags, that would be most helpful.

Yellow!


I would definately say that that is lacto... This WILL! make your beer sour. If you can keg, get it in the keg, crank the gas, drink it in the next 4-5 days.

I have waited a week being indecisive, and it sours, and it also kinda gets into your head that it was funky the longer you wait.

If you can't keg, I don't know if I would try to wait to bottle carb, as it would show up in the bottles.

If you keg, you are going to have to remember to REALLY clean the keg after.

What kind of fermenter?

A last ditch effort, if you can spare the fermenter, and you might want to think about doing this anyway, but, go ahead and throw brett on top of it too, let it sit for six to nine months, and see what you have. You may not want to ever use that fermenter for anything unless it is a bucket, and you use it for storage or something.
 
It was a plastic bucket, got kegged tonight.

Thing is, its been in the fermenter for over a month, and it still tastes perfect. I have had a lacto infection before, it normally hits after 2 weeks.

Anyway, will caustic and blah blah the keg once I am done....

sure its lacto ? looks funky and yellow!
 
Look something like this?

This was a beautiful belgian pale ale, that I had split a 10 gallon batch into two fermenters...

Waited too long, and it eventually became sour...

Didn't bother adding brett and saving, mainly because I didn't think about it...

Infection 7.6.11.jpg
 
Hello everyone. Thanks for all of the info in this thread so far. I have a question about my latest batch and figured this would be the right place to ask. I have a n Oktoberfest brewers best kit going in primary right now. Its in a glass carboy and has been in primary for 11 days now. It has an inch or two layer on top that looks like your wort would when you add the hoppes. Its green and floating on the top. I only ask about it because the other free batches didn't have this, only foam krausen and they were great.

The foam subsided about two days ago. I have never brewed an o fest before and its my fourth beer ever. Everything was sanitized and the brewing went well. I don't have a picture at the moment because im out of town. Will the green hoppes-like stuff drop down? I was hoping to rack to secondary this weekend (14 days primary) and lager it for 2 more.
 
The "krausen", which is the foamed top of the fermenter will drop, leaving a small residue around the edges, and just a few spots on top of the beer.

You need to test the beer with a hydrometer (well sanitized) on a couple days in a row. The fermentation has stopped when the hydrometer reading doesn't change in subsequent days.

After fermentation has stopped, you have a choice about what you want to do. Some of the basic literature and recipes mention racking to secondary, and then moving to bottling bucket or keg.

A current theory is that the beer can be kept on the primary yeast cake for up to 3 months with no negative results, and extended periods in the primary merely allows the yeast to continue cleaning the beer.

One reason that I do like to go from primary to secondary to keg, is to siphon multiple times, therefore leaving more sediment behind.

I do want to clarify your terminoligy about the lagering statement. Lagering by definition would be aging after primary at a temperature between about 35 and 50 fereinheit. Aging would be simply allowing the beer to rest for an additional period of days or weeks.
 
Hey, guys. I've been home brewing with the Mr. Beer kits and extracts for about 6 months now.

Today is bottling day for a few batches and when I went to check out my brews last night, I observed an odd floating mass in one of my fermenters. I've never seen such large quantities of residual krausen so I was wondering if it's contamination. Does this look normal? I haven't sample it yet.

First and second pictures shows some translucent 'skin' floating at or below the beer line.

Third, fourth and fifth pictures show large, white patches of wet matter.

Additionally, this recipe is a Mr. Beer Witty Monk. I added 1/2 cup of brown sugar when mixing the extract and boiled water. I used an entire pack of Safbrew WB-06 (11.5 grams).

http://i52.tinypic.com/2njh5c2.jpg
http://i52.tinypic.com/29xje40.jpg
http://i53.tinypic.com/nci69y.jpg
http://i54.tinypic.com/s2ct55.jpg
http://i56.tinypic.com/v62pkx.jpg
 
Hey, guys. I've been home brewing with the Mr. Beer kits and extracts for about 6 months now.

Today is bottling day for a few batches and when I went to check out my brews last night, I observed an odd floating mass in one of my fermenters. I've never seen such large quantities of residual krausen so I was wondering if it's contamination. Does this look normal? I haven't sample it yet.

First and second pictures shows some translucent 'skin' floating at or below the beer line.

Third, fourth and fifth pictures show large, white patches of wet matter.

Additionally, this recipe is a Mr. Beer Witty Monk. I added 1/2 cup of brown sugar when mixing the extract and boiled water. I used an entire pack of Safbrew WB-06 (11.5 grams).

http://i52.tinypic.com/2njh5c2.jpg
http://i52.tinypic.com/29xje40.jpg
http://i53.tinypic.com/nci69y.jpg
http://i54.tinypic.com/s2ct55.jpg
http://i56.tinypic.com/v62pkx.jpg

Can't tell for sure, you'll have to open the top to give us a better look. But overall it looks fine to me.
 
Can't tell for sure, you'll have to open the top to give us a better look. But overall it looks fine to me.

Alright, I'll take a few more pictures. Just smelling around the vent holes, it smells fine. Does contaminated beer have a distinct odor?
 

Looks like Lactobacillus to me, definitely a pellicle forming on the top. I would bottle and drink it quickly, or since it's such a small batch; dump it. Don't use that plastic fermenter again, or any plastic that has come in to contact with the beer post-ferment, it's not worth the risk of contamination.
 
Benbradford

Thanks for the help. Everything ended up turning out alright. I was just curious because I had never had that happen before. It is usually just a layer of foamy krausen, but it settled out and everything is doing well.
 
That's disappointing as I was really looking forward to this recipe. I still haven't tasted it yet.

Taste it, nothing ventured, nothing gained. It may not be sour yet, it may even be the best beer you've ever made. If you have any plastic soda bottles lying around, you can bottle it without any real concern of bottle bombs. Just don't use that fermenter again or you risk the same infection in another batch.
 
Taste it, nothing ventured, nothing gained. It may not be sour yet, it may even be the best beer you've ever made. If you have any plastic soda bottles lying around, you can bottle it without any real concern of bottle bombs. Just don't use that fermenter again or you risk the same infection in another batch.

Too late. I just tried some. It has soured.

Now I'm trying to figure out how it was contaminated. Obviously not cleaning and sanitizing thoroughly. My other two batches from that same brew-day look fine.
 
Too late. I just tried some. It has soured.

Now I'm trying to figure out how it was contaminated. Obviously not cleaning and sanitizing thoroughly. My other two batches from that same brew-day look fine.

I imagine that the rubber seal where that spigot is in the Mr Beer fermenter is a good place for nasties to hide.
 
After 2 years or so, I guess I was probably due to get hit with a bug or two. Thankfully, it was a relatively cheap (and risky) batch--cucumber blonde:

infected1.jpg


infected2.jpg



From other examples, I'm guessing lacto. It's slowly developing more and more funk (this is after ~5 weeks), and the flavor has definitely gone downhill. Probably about time to dump it and the bucket it rode in on...
 
almost certainly have a brett infection on my freshhop (all boiled) oktoberfest (made with ale yeast)
had a non-brewer transfer it to the secondary for me and that is probably when the infection took place, so presumably it hasnt had much to munch on since it was in the primary w/o infection for nearly a month

i gave it a smell and couldnt detect even a little bit of 'funk'
my plan is to taste it, bottle and hope for the best
 
View attachment 36267

My first brew after one week in secondary. Anything going on here I should be worried about?

Looks like the beginning of an infection, the CO2 bubbles are being trapped by that little slick pellicle that is starting to form. Taste it, if it's good the rack from underneath it and bottle/keg. Drink it quickly if you don't like sour beer.
 
Man, how do you guys even think of drinking some of this stuff in the pictures. I know it could possibly be fine after time in a bottle, but damn, I don't think I could get by the visual factor to put it in my mouth to give it a taste.....
 
Man, how do you guys even think of drinking some of this stuff in the pictures. I know it could possibly be fine after time in a bottle, but damn, I don't think I could get by the visual factor to put it in my mouth to give it a taste.....

I'll take a pic of my Flanders Red done with Wyeast's Roselare blend, it's pretty nasty looking. :mug:
 
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