How often does this work???

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Lazersgopewpew

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Hey everyone.
I just brewed an Oktoberfest style ale a few weeks ago.
Incredibly vigorous fermentation that lasted a week. And the taste post ferm, delicious.

Anyways, I opened it up after letting it sit a week, and lo and behold, I had an infection...lactobacillius by the look and smell of it (kinda a sour smell with a thin white layer)

Now I've read the repeated advice on this forum to simply try racking from under the infection...but how often does this really work???

Also, this was originally supposed to have figs added to it in secondary.
My thought was that the 4 lbs of figs with the few ounces of brown sugar added would cause the yeast to have another mini ferment and that the yeast might drive off the infection.

Any thoughts?
 
Hey everyone.
I just brewed an Oktoberfest style ale a few weeks ago.
Incredibly vigorous fermentation that lasted a week. And the taste post ferm, delicious.

Anyways, I opened it up after letting it sit a week, and lo and behold, I had an infection...lactobacillius by the look and smell of it (kinda a sour smell with a thin white layer)

Now I've read the repeated advice on this forum to simply try racking from under the infection...but how often does this really work???

Also, this was originally supposed to have figs added to it in secondary.
My thought was that the 4 lbs of figs with the few ounces of brown sugar added would cause the yeast to have another mini ferment and that the yeast might drive off the infection.

Any thoughts?

You can't "drive off the infection". If you've got lactobacillus, you've got it. Just like if you left milk out on the counter overnight, and got a lacto infection, you could refrigerate it and it might not get worse. But it won't go away.
 
True enough but as I understand it, yeast is a jealous microorganism, and many fungi are known to have antimicrobial properties.

On a side note, I wonder what the alcohol tolerance of lactobacillus is.
 
Drink it and refrigerate it while its good and not overcarbonated in bottles assuming it tastes good to you. Seems like this happens with fruit in seconadary alot. Your on your own with trusting your bottleing gear afterwards,but Ive done well with thourough cleaning/sanitizeing.Some pbw is probably even better.
 
Now I've never had this problem and never had to do this but isn't the idea just to rack from underneath, get it in a bottle or keg and then drink it as fast as possible before it gets worse.
 
Now I've never had this problem and never had to do this but isn't the idea just to rack from underneath, get it in a bottle or keg and then drink it as fast as possible before it gets worse.

Yes unless it gets better and doenst start overcarbonating.Some of the stuff that is on top of primary may have only lived on top,is my observation. So I drink the last bottled beers first in case some of that stuff got in them and I have not had a problem this way. I almost think its because of oxygen and it not surviving without oxygen in the bottles, that is just an assumption. Ive actually seen some filmy stuff of top of the surface in the bottles disappear,and doesnt turn bad with time and no overcarbonation.Pretty shure I had som lacto infections.
Best thing is to keep them cool conditioning and check on them often for increasing carbonation,you dont want them blowing out.
 
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