Is this an infection?

Yes, all, it's the obligatory is-this-an-infection thread.

The batch you see in the picture was fermented on top of old trub for three weeks. Previous batch turned out great. Before bottling I gave a shotglass to my wife to try (before I tried it) and she almost threw up. She thought it tasted rotten and moldy. She always tastes my batches before bottling so it's not that she doesn't know what she's tasting.

I felt bad for having her taste Satan' anus so I tried a shotglass for myself, but I didn't think it was that bad. Then I drank more from the gravity reading container. It doesn't taste quite right, but it's not as bad as I thought it was. My wife was eating a chocolate bar so maybe that threw her taste off.

I bottled it anyway, but before doing so, I took pictures. The reason I am asking the question here is that I wanted to pour another batch on top of the two-generation-old trub, but I am not going to risk it. If it is an infection, I'd like to know so I can try to pinpoint where I went wrong.

What is this? Are you fermenting in a blow-up swimming pool?

Wow, what is going on in this pic? Looks like some odd fermenter sitting in a tub of sewer water

From the pic it doesn't look too bad. A few bubbles and floaties aren't a sign of infection, so I'd probably rely on your taste buds at this point. If you sampled it and didn't notice a nasty flavor, you're probably going to be just fine.

But if you're unsure and are risking another batch by using this existing cake, you might just want to spare a couple of dollars for some fresh yeast to be safe.

Looks like a mr. beer kit and yes it does look like an infection. Others here might have more insight as to what it is but i would be curious to find out what it tastes like. There are other brewers on here all the time who successfully rack under the infection and still end up with good beer. However, I would not rack another batch on top of that! Splurge and by some yeast...and thoroughly sanitize that thing!

it very well could be infected but it also looks like many a beers fresh out of primary. Most likly its just green with some floating remenents of the krausen but if your worried, rack it to secondary and let it sit for a another few weeks and see if it clears or improves in flavor. Is it buttery? Sour acidic, what....?

edit: BTW if it starts getting a skin on it or white lines then you deffinitly need to worry

Looks like some nasty infection. And I recognize the Mr Beer barrel fermenter. You need to clean that puppy well and use some good sanitizer before starting the next batch.

To me it doesn't look like an infection but it does look like you are not leaving your beer in the primary long enough. What is your schedule?

I do agree that you need to remove everything and clean and sanitize that baby.

and keep in mind that Mr Beer is not air-tight and is borderline open fermentation. could be infection, could be nothing.

Trust your taste buds, no way to tell for sure if it's an infection or not until you're ready to drink them but I'd pick up some new yeast just in case. I'd also be sure to really clean that fermenter well before reusing it, heck maybe even pick up an Ale Pail or Better Bottle and step up the batch size!!! :rockin:

mightynintendo said:

What is this? Are you fermenting in a blow-up swimming pool?

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marubozo said:

Wow, what is going on in this pic? Looks like some odd fermenter sitting in a tub of sewer water

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It's a Mr. Beer fermenter. The opening is about 3" in diameter.

scinerd3000 said:

it very well could be infected but it also looks like many a beers fresh out of primary. Most likly its just green with some floating remenents of the krausen but if your worried, rack it to secondary and let it sit for a another few weeks and see if it clears or improves in flavor. Is it buttery? Sour acidic, what....?

edit: BTW if it starts getting a skin on it or white lines then you deffinitly need to worry

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It tasted just green to me and apple-y and sour, but not horrible by any means.

Nurmey said:

To me it doesn't look like an infection but it does look like you are not leaving your beer in the primary long enough. What is your schedule?

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Three weeks in the primary and three weeks in bottles.

wyzazz said:

Trust your taste buds, no way to tell for sure if it's an infection or not until you're ready to drink them but I'd pick up some new yeast just in case. I'd also be sure to really clean that fermenter well before reusing it, heck maybe even pick up an Ale Pail or Better Bottle and step up the batch size!!! :rockin:

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I was actually thinking of a Better Bottle. Two-gallon batches are getting old.

Thanks, everyone.

If you kept it in the fermenter for 3 weeks, I might lean more towards an infection. We had one infected batch that stayed "muddy" looking after months. Tasted bad too.

Nurmey said:

If you kept it in the fermenter for 3 weeks, I might lean more towards an infection. We had one infected batch that stayed "muddy" looking after months. Tasted bad too.

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Thanks. I should have mentioned that the floating matter is not as white as the they appear in the photo. In retrospect, I'm not quite sure what I did wrong. The only thing that came in contact with the wort after boil was the thermometer and a spoon that I used to stir for oxygenation. They were both sanitized with Star-San. Unless a drop might of bathtub water might have rolled from the outside of the pot when I was pouring it.

Time will tell if it is ruined, I guess...

Well, I cleaned it five times with OxyClean and sanitized with a double dose of Star San. Pitched the yeast last night and I'm pretty excited about it. :rockin:

The dusty looking clumps of bubbles have the appearance of Brettanomyces. I have seen bubbles 6" around in some of my Lambics after about 6 months or so. If so, the characteristic leather and horse blanket aromas wont be far behind if so.

The bubbles could be CO2 bubbles from fermentation, and that yellow stuff just bits of krausen that fell into the beer. Let it sit in the fermenter for another week and two and see how it turns out.

Update:

The anticipation was killing me so I opened one last night after five days in bottles and it is good. Carbonation was great, but obviously it tasted green. My wife also tried it and thought that it was good. I will probably open another in a week to see if anything has changed.