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Hi there,

My 2nd ever brew - an Evil Dog American Double IPA. OG of 1.062, current gravity 1.006. Kit says 7.1%, mine is about 7.3% so far. Airlock still bubbling once every 4 minutes or so.

Took a sample tonight which tasted..bland and sort of tart but not too much?

Surface looks like:

2JrBbCul.jpg


There appears to be some larger, thicker bubbles?

Full size image can be found at http://i.imgur.com/2JrBbCu.jpg

Thoughts?

Thanks,

Allan

Added my hops tonight. Can you see the black/green on the edge of the fermenter at the top? Mold!

Must not have sanitized the rim of the lid properly.

I sanitized a cloth and wiped it off both the rim and the lid then sprayed the lot down with sanitizer. Here's hoping it's not infected!

Gravity check on Tuesday will confirm as the beer should have stopped fermenting by now. Got some plastic boxes with lids incase of bottle bombs...
 
Saison, used Danstar Belle Saison dry yeast. Infection or beer?

Smells fine, still has a week left in the primary (2 week primary 2 week secondary).

image.jpg
 
Did I screw up bottling?? First time in 3 years if I did. The "yeast" in these bottles refuses to sit and instead collects on the side of the beer bottle (about 10 days into conditioning). The bottle you see here has been refrigerated for 2 days.

This batch does have hop oil added to it... I wonder if there is a viscosity issue...View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1432364521.126041.jpg
 
Eh, it happens. There are so many factors in how sediment will settle that it's really hard to tell. I would probably crack one open and see how it pours. If it's no good, perhaps refrigerate one for more like a week or so. A little more time warm conditioning might help too.
 
Think I got my first infection. Made a hefe and it looks ok when I look at the fermenter, other than being very cloudy, no floaty gross looking infection but tastes really sour and smells pungent. Can't quite describe the smell.
 
Took another gravity reading tonight after dry hopping. Down to 1.005. Taste is a bit bland with an alcoholic aftertaste. Surface had bigger bubbles on it:

3qZzIsxl.jpg


I think this will need to undergo bottle conditioning before i can tell if it's a success or not.

Allan
 
I was following instructions as per one of the coopers recipe
Brought 2 liters of water to the boil, took it off the hob and then steeped. Alas the grains were not boiled per say. I will keep your advice in mind for the future though.

Does the pic I've posted look like an infection?

don't ever EVER follow Coopers instructions! :)
 
what to do with this?
The fermentation was vigorous nothing too crazy but there was some overflow into the blow off tube. well life happened and by the time I got around to cleaning up and changing the air lock / blow off setup there was circular patterns in the tube and they stopped at the last inch of the tube before the bucket lid so things seemed to be alright but after dry hopping things looked like this so is it worth kegging, should I pull a small sample and try it It looks a bit scary or down the drain?

bad beer.jpg


badbeer2.jpg
 
Forgot about this one for...quite a few months. Finally saw it sitting there in the corner and decided to bottle. Popped it open and saw this.

wall 003.JPG


wall 005.JPG
 
I'm assuming this is my infection or maybe just bubbles? It's only about 10 days in but I made it with a sour mash addition that was added 3 days into fermentation. The beer is slightly sour like it should be. The mash addition had a smell of buttered popcorn but since adding to the carboy it has gone away.

View attachment 1433343552099.jpg

View attachment 1433343631894.jpg
 
If it's at a stable FG, rack from under it or cold crash. Or give it 3-7 days to settle out clear or slightly misty if you haven't given it any time after FG was reached.
 
I hate this to be my first post but so far you have answered all my questions without me having to ask them myself. Thanks for sharing all your knowledge. :mug:

This is my 4th brew. It's supposed to be an APA and is 9 days into primary right now.
I took two readings so far and was about to dry hop it soon. Three days ago it was at 1.025 (from 1.050) and was very promising. no off smell or bad taste at all. The yeast build up on the bottom of my fermenter is also pretty impressive, more than i ever had before.

Today I taped a sample and took another reading (1.019) and suddenly it tasted quite sour. After peeking under the lid i noticed these white/dry looking dots on top of the krausen. What do you guys think? Probably lacto?
Well it's nothing compared to some of the furry beasts in this thread but it's just day 9 .. might still 'grow up'.

Any advice? Scoop it off? leave it? Ditch it?
Judging by the rest of this thread you'll probably tell me to keep it going, keg it and try it. am I right with that? :drunk:

infection.jpg
 
This is about 16 hours into a WLP001 starter pitch, fermenting at 67-68f. This is my first temperature controlled brew!

There is something growing about 2/3 of the way up in my carboy; it forms a layer all through the beer. On top of it there are lighter colored clumps of flocculated yeast that are active and bubbling, but not much going on underneath it. The floating mat/raft thing doesn't appear to be actively bubbling. It's fairly stringy and looks yeastish but it's not the same as the other yeast.

What say you? Yeast being weird? Yeast being normal? Something else?

2015-06-22 15.30.41.jpg


2015-06-22 15.30.32.jpg
 
I hate this to be my first post but so far you have answered all my questions without me having to ask them myself. Thanks for sharing all your knowledge. :mug:

This is my 4th brew. It's supposed to be an APA and is 9 days into primary right now.
I took two readings so far and was about to dry hop it soon. Three days ago it was at 1.025 (from 1.050) and was very promising. no off smell or bad taste at all. The yeast build up on the bottom of my fermenter is also pretty impressive, more than i ever had before.

Today I taped a sample and took another reading (1.019) and suddenly it tasted quite sour. After peeking under the lid i noticed these white/dry looking dots on top of the krausen. What do you guys think? Probably lacto?
Well it's nothing compared to some of the furry beasts in this thread but it's just day 9 .. might still 'grow up'.

Any advice? Scoop it off? leave it? Ditch it?
Judging by the rest of this thread you'll probably tell me to keep it going, keg it and try it. am I right with that? :drunk:

Glad you find the forums informative. I agree, most issues have been answered many times already, and this forum would be pretty static if everyone did the preliminary (re)search. This looks like a more special case, so your question is warranted. ;)
Just kidding, look around and see what keeps this place booming, we like to talk beer, and then some.

You've still got quite a bit of krausen on that beer, and given the gravity readings, it's not done yet. Expecting around 1.010-1.012 perhaps?

Removing the lid from a bucket in a sanitary way takes a bit of prep-effort and forethought. You really need to clean and spray Starsan underneath that whole rim area, then repeat before even trying to "peek." The rim needs to be wiped off with a Starsan soaked cloth ASAP, and before replacing the lid the underneath and groove can use a could douse of Starsan too.

Also, each time you lift the lid you let air in and CO2 out, and airborne bugs could get inside and fester. Although 9 days is a decent time, it's best to let it go for 2-3 weeks before even taking the first sample. Instead of lifting the lid, you can snake a 1/4" OD tube down the grommet hole and siphon some beer out for a test. That keeps the fermentor most sanitary. Spray Starsan around and underneath the grommet hole, before removing the airlock.

Even though lactobacillus hates hops it can grow and cause enough souring and off flavor. So it's possible you've got lacto or some other infection (e.g., acetobacter) starting. It may have been there from the beginning, only becoming visible and detectable now. The krausen looks a bit slimy, which can be an indicator something is off.

I'd let it ride for another week and take it from there, but it may turn more sour. Or drink as-is, ASAP. At 1.015 it will still be pretty sweet.
 
I think it may be a side effect of my temperature sensor placement. I have it taped to the side of the carboy under some insulation. I used a infrared thermometer to measure temperature above and below that layer - it's 67 vs 70. I moved the sensor up to the top of the liquid.
 
You've still got quite a bit of krausen on that beer, and given the gravity readings, it's not done yet. Expecting around 1.010-1.012 perhaps?
I was planing to dry hop at 1.010 and keg it at 1.008.

Also, each time you lift the lid you let air in and CO2 out, and airborne bugs could get inside and fester. Although 9 days is a decent time, it's best to let it go for 2-3 weeks before even taking the first sample. Instead of lifting the lid, you can snake a 1/4" OD tube down the grommet hole and siphon some beer out for a test. That keeps the fermentor most sanitary. Spray Starsan around and underneath the grommet hole, before removing the airlock.
When I take my readings I use the tap at the bottom. Of course there's some air going in to compensate for the volume loss.
Since I'm still using the Coopers fermenter the air won't go through an airlock or anything like that... that might indeed be the problem.
(got it a long time ago from brewuk.co.uk . I believe it's the same as the Mr Beer Craft BrewMax 6gal, which seems to be well known here.)

I'd let it ride for another week and take it from there, but it may turn more sour. Or drink as-is, ASAP. At 1.015 it will still be pretty sweet.
I'm just worried that if it keeps growing in the (brand new 5l mini-) kegs I will neither be able to see any growth nor clean it properly afterwards . Therefore ruining my next brew, my new kegs.. or both :/

Anyways, thanks for your thoughtful reply. :)
 
I was planing to dry hop at 1.010 and keg it at 1.008.

When I take my readings I use the tap at the bottom. Of course there's some air going in to compensate for the volume loss.
Since I'm still using the Coopers fermenter the air won't go through an airlock or anything like that... that might indeed be the problem.
(got it a long time ago from brewuk.co.uk . I believe it's the same as the Mr Beer Craft BrewMax 6gal, which seems to be well known here.)

I'm just worried that if it keeps growing in the (brand new 5l mini-) kegs I will neither be able to see any growth nor clean it properly afterwards . Therefore ruining my next brew, my new kegs.. or both :/

Anyways, thanks for your thoughtful reply. :)

I would give it another week and see what it tastes like before spending money on dry hopping. If it's sour indeed you may want to dump it, decide to drink it as is, or even let it go for another 6 months, if you're into sours.

I'm surprised it isn't closer at FG already. Did you aerate the wort well before pitching? What yeast did you use? If dry yeast, was it rehydrated? What was the fermentation temp?

Many of us only dry hop after the yeast has flocced out, and even cold crash before doing so.

Using the spigot is better than removing the lid. But that spigot and hole area should be cleaned and sanitized thoroughly after and before each use, including the nut and rubber washer, it can harbor bugs over time. You beer may be fine, but if you can taste a sourness already, there's not much you can do. The "bugs" live in the beer, the pellicle on top is just a side effect. It maybe a wild yeast.

To clean infected equipment it needs to be cleaned very thoroughly and soaked in bleach water for a few days. Then after dumping the bleach water, putting it out in the sun for a few days irradiates it nicely too. The crevices, like your spigot, can harbor the infection and needs manual scrubbing and sanitizing.

Anything that has touched your infected beer needs serious cleaning and sanitation, again, surfaces that aren't smooth need special attention. So there is a risk the infection transfers when using the mini kegs. I've never used them, don't know how easy and well they can be cleaned and sanitized.

Seeing you're in Germany, what kind of sanitizer do you use?
 
I'm surprised it isn't closer at FG already. Did you aerate the wort well before pitching? What yeast did you use? If dry yeast, was it rehydrated? What was the fermentation temp?
I've Aerated it as well as I can without specialized equipment (By stiring). I used 15g of dry yeast which I had rehydrated and pitched at roughly 27°C. The temperature dropped to 21-22° and remained constant. The first layer of foam was well visible within 12 hours.

Many of us only dry hop after the yeast has flocced out, and even cold crash before doing so.

Using the spigot is better than removing the lid. But that spigot and hole area should be cleaned and sanitized thoroughly after and before each use, including the nut and rubber washer, it can harbor bugs over time. You beer may be fine, but if you can taste a sourness already, there's not much you can do. The "bugs" live in the beer, the pellicle on top is just a side effect. It maybe a wild yeast.

To clean infected equipment it needs to be cleaned very thoroughly and soaked in bleach water for a few days. Then after dumping the bleach water, putting it out in the sun for a few days irradiates it nicely too. The crevices, like your spigot, can harbor the infection and needs manual scrubbing and sanitizing.

Anything that has touched your infected beer needs serious cleaning and sanitation, again, surfaces that aren't smooth need special attention. So there is a risk the infection transfers when using the mini kegs. I've never used them, don't know how easy and well they can be cleaned and sanitized.

Seeing you're in Germany, what kind of sanitizer do you use?
Currently I use just Chemipro Oxi. I use it before and after every brew. I usually disassemble and mechanically clean the small parts (tap and such) and leave them in the solution as long as it takes to clean and sanitize the bigger parts.

Just like you suggested in another thread I'll combine this with a non-rinse surface sanitizer (Just ordered a bottle of star san) for my next batch.

Shouldn't adding the additional hops (earlier than planned) make life harder for the bugs?
 
I've Aerated it as well as I can without specialized equipment (By stiring). I used 15g of dry yeast which I had rehydrated and pitched at roughly 27°C. The temperature dropped to 21-22° and remained constant. The first layer of foam was well visible within 12 hours.

Currently I use just Chemipro Oxi. I use it before and after every brew. I usually disassemble and mechanically clean the small parts (tap and such) and leave them in the solution as long as it takes to clean and sanitize the bigger parts.

Just like you suggested in another thread I'll combine this with a non-rinse surface sanitizer (Just ordered a bottle of star san) for my next batch.

Shouldn't adding the additional hops (earlier than planned) make life harder for the bugs?

27C is pretty high for pitching ale yeasts, but it won't kill them. I'd look into pitching closer to your actual fermentation temps, and keep those on the low end of the range for the yeast you're using, at least for a week or better, two. After that you can raise the temps a bit to finish out, and condition (clean up off flavors). There's a ton on info on how to keep the temps in the fermentor low. A large plastic bin filled with water and dosed with frozen water bottles is one example. Swamp cooler is another, as is a fridge or freezer with an external temp controller. It makes better beer with less of flavors.

Now that has nothing to do with the apparent infection you're experiencing. The lack of proper sanitation, is likely the culprit. Chemipro Oxi is NOT a sanitizer.

Glad you were able to obtain a bottle of Starsan, it's marvelous stuff. You can make small quantities (quart) and fill a spray bottle with it. A syringe will help to measure the fractional amount of concentrate needed. Keeping a small bucket (1/2 - 1 gallon) of Starsan around with a small washcloth soaked in it is great for mopping sides of buckets and lids, and soaking small parts, like spigots, even racking hoses.

Keep us posted on the progress of your current IPA batch. I had a sour IPA that was not bad at all. The sourness was light, and there was plenty of body and sweetness left to compensate and keep the bitter and hoppy profile palatable.

Only lacto is severely hampered by hops, most wild yeasts not as much. How is the flavor, apart from sourness? Some wild yeasts can make yummy beer, although sadly, many don't. It's much harder to fight an established infection than preventing it from taking a foothold (Starsan!). If it's ends up to be a dumper, extra dry hops won't cure it. Save them for the next batch.
 
After some further research in the past days i realized that too.
My brewery equipment dealer told me I'd be good if i use just Chemipro Oxi. never trust a single source i guess...
There Seem to be more and more european and german resellers for five star products.
In case anyone is wondering: I've ordered it here but there's also brouwland and others.

When I took the first reading it was very promising. Actually so far the most promising I had. No sourness, decent hop bitterness and still quite sweet of course.
The sourness in the second sample was not overwhelming but very much noticeable. so i hope it'll turn out ok-ish. I'll keep you posted when i take the next sample. Btw, it's going to be (sour-)APA not IPA. That will be my next project. :)
Since I'm pretty inexperienced as a brewer it's hard to give a decent/useful description (especially since I don't really know how wort/green beer and all the other intermediate steps should taste for certain styles).

Thanks for the link and all the other input. It's much appreciated. :)
 
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