My first infection

Well I guess I can cross this one off my ****ty things to happen to your beer list

I transfered my IPA to a tertiary last week to get it off the hops I put in for dryhopping 2 weeks prior, and I was planning on it being my first beer in the kegs so I didn't want to bottle it at the time. Looked at it last night, and it has a nice white film on top and it's bubbling away again. The FG was 1.007 in the secondary, so wow... It doesn't smell weird but the wonderful flavor of the hops is all but gone. I put it in the to be kegerator until the kegs arrive to chill it and maybe stop the infection but I don't know if I really want to put this in the keg and infect everything else.

I've had white films form on IPAs during dry hopping without a problem. And you can always dry hop two or three times, if that is what it takes. Bag the hops & put them in the keg.

I don't know, I'm really skeptical as I've never seen this on my beers before and the fact it started bubbling again.

If it doesn't taste infected, don't give up on it.

I’ve found that there always seems to be enough residual sugar for the yeast to produce small amounts of CO2 (which is driving your foaming) even though it doesn’t seem to be increasing the alcohol content.

I think that the production of CO2 is exponentially higher (and more continuous) than the production of alcohol. After all…, two different 1.048 recipes can have wildly different fermentation characteristics (blow off, krausen, length of activity…), but in the end they still attenuate to 1.009.

I doubt you have an infection based on what you’ve said so far.

By tertiary (normally) there is plenty of alcohol to fight off nasties. It is not as delicate as people think. I know that it is your baby right now and you fear the worst, but take heart. And of course it is worth kegging!

If it tastes OK don't hook it up to a full system. Carb it and taste some with a picnic tap. At worst you will need to sanitize the tap and keg, but you won't infect anything else.

here's a pic of a bubble:

http://picasaweb.google.com/z987ka/Randoms/photo#5132147849864426642


I'm usually really calm about things happening, but I haven't seen this one yet.

I'm thinking campden+sorbate to be safe.

ummm...

I see an indian dude and a dead cat...but no bubbles...

[EDIT]...okay there it is.

hmmm..too dark to really tell.

I'd still say to stay the course. People have racked beer from underneath a terrible moldy surface and the beer was just fine.

I'm with Munch...no infection that I can see. Keg and enjoy, I bet it will be a great beer!