Infection? (with picture!)

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frisbee91

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I've got 10 gallons of American Pale Ale (all grain) fermenting in the basement for the past week. I checked on it yesterday, and it has a funky, sour smell. :mad: Both of my 5-gallon fermenters look the same.

I'm using Safale US-05 yeast. Does this look like an infection?

Also, If the infection is on the top, can I rack the beer from underneath and save most of the batch?

Thanks for any help. This was supposed to be my 4th of July party brew :drunk: !

(see UPDATE below)

batch_contam_photo.JPG
 
Sour smell is probably CO2 / fermentation offgassing. +1 for normal.

How's it taste?
 
Good to go. Looks normal.

Remember, fermentation is a nasty, smelly, gross process. Things are bound to look a bit weird from time to time.
 
Did you taste it? How long has it been fermenting? What was the OG and what is the current SG?

It looks fine, but if it tastes awful or has a low SG, it might be infected.
 
I'm glad to hear that this looks "normal". I've had a couple batches develop this exact same look and feared that they were infected. The stuff that in on the surface never grew into a film and the beers all turned out good with no off flavors.

But still, I'm confused as to why some of them develop this white flaky look and others dont.
 
Yea, taste is the major factor here, but it mostly looks like yeast and hop material. Taste a sample and report back. You're in more trouble if a white flake/bubbles covers the entire surface.
 
Thanks for the tips. The taste was a bit sour, but not awful. It's the bad smell that concerned me. It's been fermenting for one week.

I plan to rack it tonight, and give it a more thorough tasting. I'll also check the SG and report back. (Starting OG was 1.053)

After I rack it, I'll give it a week and check again.
 
If you have the time, room and equipment, brew a backup batch for your 4th Party. Insurance policy against worse case scenario.
 
I'd give it another week in the primary to allow the yeast to fully clear up if it was my brew. What's the rush to rack it?
 
Unless this pail is being held at a quite warm temperature, I seriously doubt its a lacto infection. Looks pretty normal to me FWIW, but give it a taste.
 
LLBeanJ said:
It would be unusual to see an infection show up after only a week.

If it were an infection AND it tasted ok, the answer is yes you can syphon off 2" or so below the surface and be ok.
 
If it has flat, white floating sheets on top and it smells sour, then that is a pretty good indication of a lacto infection.

Happened to me once with a pumpkin ale in less than a week after adding a cinnamon stick post-primary fermentation at 68F.
 
UPDATE:
Well, I let this batch sit another week, then racked it to a glass carboy, leaving about 2-3" of beer in the primary bucket, and avoiding the top and bottom with my racking wand.

No luck. :mad: The sour smell is stronger, and is *almost* vinegary. The taste is just a bit sour, but definately not right.

Another funny thing: When I racked to the carboy, fermentation activity had ceased, so I filled the carboy up to about 1.5" from the top of the neck. Next day, the carboy was full to the top. So, I removed about a pint of liquid. Next day, full again. Repeat. It keeps expanding!

Anyway, I haven't dumped it yet, but I probably will this week.

I sanitized all my equipment with bleach solution, then water rinse, then starsan. I also boiled everything I could.

I made a new batch over the weekend, and used two (different) glass carboys for primary fermentation. So far, so good.

Now, the question is, can I adequatly sanitize my buckets for future use? They are relatively new, and scratch-free. I would think a combination a bleach/soap soak, followed by complete rinsing and drying, then a starsan step would work.

Has anyone successfully (or un-successfuly) reused plastic fermentation buckets after an infection? Please relate personal experiences only, not theories. :D


ps. Here's what it looked like before I racked it.

batch_contam_photo2.JPG
 
UPDATE:
Well, I let this batch sit another week, then racked it to a glass carboy, leaving about 2-3" of beer in the primary bucket, and avoiding the top and bottom with my racking wand.

No luck. :mad: The sour smell is stronger, and is *almost* vinegary. The taste is just a bit sour, but definately not right.

Another funny thing: When I racked to the carboy, fermentation activity had ceased, so I filled the carboy up to about 1.5" from the top of the neck. Next day, the carboy was full to the top. So, I removed about a pint of liquid. Next day, full again. Repeat. It keeps expanding!

Anyway, I haven't dumped it yet, but I probably will this week.

I sanitized all my equipment with bleach solution, then water rinse, then starsan. I also boiled everything I could.

I made a new batch over the weekend, and used two (different) glass carboys for primary fermentation. So far, so good.

Now, the question is, can I adequatly sanitize my buckets for future use? They are relatively new, and scratch-free. I would think a combination a bleach/soap soak, followed by complete rinsing and drying, then a starsan step would work.

Has anyone successfully (or un-successfuly) reused plastic fermentation buckets after an infection? Please relate personal experiences only, not theories. :D


ps. Here's what it looked like before I racked it.
Someone probable already re: about this but I have a good bleach and brewvit or starsan and everything was fine after that.
 
After one infection on my first beer, I relegated my plastic buckets to holding star san solution or for soaking bottles in oxy clean.
 
looks like lacto infection to me, too. i've had that happen before with a small batch and i've drank the beer sooner rather than later with no problem at all. tasted just fine.

however, if it tastes like vinegar, it might be acetobacter, in which case i'm don't think i would try to save the batch.

if you want to keep using those plastic buckets, sanitize the hell out of them and then use them... but only to hold sanitizing solution. fermenting in glass is safer (and nicer).

b.
 
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