About to bottle, came across this infection...

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bfinleyui

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Brewer's Best Kolsch Kit, put it in about 3 weeks ago, haven't unsealed it since. Opened it up to bottle today, and this is what I saw.

This is an infection, correct? What do I do? Dump it? Bottle it anyway?

If I bottle, aren't I bottling bombs, if they're infected?

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That doesn't look good... though I do not believe an infection will make a bottle bomb necessarily. However I wouldn't bottle that. Is there an ex girlfriend in your life you could dump that on?
 
Tastes fine. Only had one or two commercial Kolsches in my life, but this seems to fit the "craft beer for BMC drinkers" title...
 
Tastes fine. Only had one or two commercial Kolsches in my life, but this seems to fit the "craft beer for BMC drinkers" title...

Maybe it's not infected. Maybe rack it to another vessel and wait another week to see what happens.
 
Eh, decided to just bottle it. The FG was where it should be, about 1.03, it'd been in there for a while. If it's gross in 3 weeks after fermenting, i'll dump it. If i get a few explode, i'll dump the rest, but for right now, it tastes great.
 
Eh, decided to just bottle it. The FG was where it should be, about 1.03, it'd been in there for a while. If it's gross in 3 weeks after fermenting, i'll dump it. If i get a few explode, i'll dump the rest, but for right now, it tastes great.

What was your OG? A FG of 1.03 is really high IMO.
 
It does look like the initial stages of a pellicle Yeah 1.030 is way high unless you made an imperial kolsch or something... (maybe you meant to type 1.003) if it's wild yeast like Brett it will keep attenuating that beer and you might get some bombs... Any equipment that touched that beer I would for sure clean really well. I might even do a bleach soak to nuke anything in there. Is your fermentation bucket old? If so consider replacing it.

I would wait two weeks and try a bottle. If it tastes funky weird but has a good carbonation level then refrigerate as many bottles as you can and drink em fast!
 
Yeah, meant to type 1.003, sorry.

When I started to rack, the stuff on the top dropped out. There wasn't a film, just those two bits.

I've got them in a tile-floored closet with a plastic bag underneath, just in case, but hopefully it'll be just fine, as I'm hoping to use this as wedding beer.
 
well once it carbs up then refrigerate it and that will slow down the indfection if that's what it actually was.
 
Unfortunately, this was planned as a gift so i can't keep them cold throughout....

After the beer is finished carbing, Would a stove top pasteurization process be ok, kill the bacteria, but leave tasty beer behind?
 
Maybe just change the person who this gift is for and choose a "less loved" one ;)
 
You will notice the bottles becoming over carbonated before you have explosions. Try one very week or so to be sure.

Every brides dream; a bottle of suspicious home brew! ;)
 
Yeah, I've had good luck with pasteurizing my first batch of cider before... I'll give it a shot after I hit near proper carbonation levels. If it works, I'll do it just to be safe, rather than put bombs inside the wedding hotel welcome bags at my june wedding, lol
 
well you also got plenty of time to make another brew if the weddings in June.... maybe not a Kolsch though
 
well you also got plenty of time to make another brew if the weddings in June.... maybe not a Kolsch though

I have several other planned. At least an ipa and amber, just tasting a Hefeweizen that turned out well. I have some cider too. Why wouldn't a Kolsch work well before June?
 
Hmm.. I'm not finding anything like that in the instructions, and the data sheet from white labs on the yeast says it doesn't work well under 62...
 
ya I wasn't necessarily recommending another Kolsch because you don't have time to lager it... did you not lager this kolsch? They are basically supposed to be fermented at a lower ale temperature and then lagered for at least a month like bob3000 said
 
Kolsch is fermented in the 60s and then when complete it should be largered in a secondary, keg or even in the bottle.
 
Well crud. I guess I'll be tapping my future father-in-law to see if he's got room in his garage fridges for a couple cases of beer...

From what I've been able to tell, that has to do mostly with clarity, and not so much with flavor. Obviously a bit of flavor will come if it doesn't all flocc out, but mostly, it's just the visual side.

So I'll let it carb up in bottles, then try and jam it into the fridge in my FIL's garage.
 
bfinleyui said:
Well crud. I guess I'll be tapping my future father-in-law to see if he's got room in his garage fridges for a couple cases of beer...

From what I've been able to tell, that has to do mostly with clarity, and not so much with flavor. Obviously a bit of flavor will come if it doesn't all flocc out, but mostly, it's just the visual side.

So I'll let it carb up in bottles, then try and jam it into the fridge in my FIL's garage.

It's not so cut and dry as you "have" to lager it. I ferment my kolsch at 58 and then cold crash for a week. They taste plenty clean. Even if you didn't crash it at all it would still just taste like a blonde ale.
 
Also if you have used a wooden spoon at any time during your brew (which I highly recommend NOT using) I would throw it away immediately. Wooden spoons are porous enough to hold many types of foreign yeast or fungus.
 
Well, 11 days in the bottle and no signs of infection (exploding bottles, weird stuff growing inside)... hoping it just disappeared. Might do a taste test soon to see if I've got vinegar.
 
Yeah I mean that's really the best thing to say in the situation... besides dump it, but if it doesn't taste horrible then drinking it is in order IMHO. You can always just give it away to people who don't really know beer that well and they probably will be none the wiser.

Would you have some different advice cagey?
 
I tried it, and it tastes great. I'm going to give it another few days, then off to a fridge for a few months until it's drinking time.
 
And if the infection did make it to a few bottles: oh well, it's free beer at a wedding rehearsal dinner, dump it and go grab another (there'll be Hefe, Cider, Kolsch, Amber, and IPA available) and go back to the ice cream sundae bar.
 
"if there are lumps in your beer, just strain them through your teeth, but don't spit it out just anywhere....this is a freeking wedding!"
 
And if the infection did make it to a few bottles: oh well, it's free beer at a wedding rehearsal dinner, dump it and go grab another (there'll be Hefe, Cider, Kolsch, Amber, and IPA available) and go back to the ice cream sundae bar.

Easier said than done when the beer gushes out all over your white dress clothes....lol
 

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