Moldy Beer!!

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NLM

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So i went to rack two batches out of the seconday into kegs and one had a layer of film on the top. The other had numerious large mold bubbles the size of golf balls! WTF!

I am very careful about sanitizing! perhaps this is from the air on top of the secodnary? (I had to use a 6 gal carboy for a 5 gal batch). My other thought is that the beer didnt ferment enough to kill off the nasties. One batch fermented from 1.040 to 1.020 and stopped. the other fermented from 1.030 to 1.010. I figured the yeast was too weak to ferment above a .020 drop. ie, it died when exposed to that small amount of alcohol. (by the way, i didnt mention that these were both english ales, extract brewed with english ale yeast, i used a starter and fermentaion began immediatly)


i definitly think its mold not bactaria. it doesnt smell at all. though the flavor is probably off. I've had batches before where i suspected contamination but never anything this evident. I'm mad because i thought i sterilized so well. i use B-brite on everything.

I think i'm going to trash both batches as well as the yeast i saved. Maybe the lees i saved are contaminted too?

Nathaniel
 
I should probably mention that i'm new here. been reading for a long time and became a member recently. I've been brewing and making wine for years but still learning there is always so much more you can learn!
 
Moldy bubbles the size of golf balls sounds normal to me. I think those are yeast balls. I hope you didn't dump it. Not unless it tastes moldy.

I think different yeasts do that. My last few batchs did it, and were gooder than before.
 
Yeah, trashing the beer should be your last resort. It could be nothing. I'd say taste it; if it's good, follow your normal procedure and taste it later. If it's nasty, toss it and move on.
 
Thanks for the comments. I keged it. Never noticed that before, maybe because i dont normally put it in a glass carboy.
 
NLM said:
Thanks for the comments. I keged it. Never noticed that before, maybe because i dont normally put it in a glass carboy.

Before you toss, start up a thread with a poll and explain everything that's happened, give a timeline, and tasting notes. We'll vote on toss or keep.
 
What ever you do. Keep it, bottle it, drink it! Not uncommon to have floaties when using top fermenting yeast.
 
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