Mold or ginger beee culture?

So I have been starting my own ginger brew recently, first two bottles went amazing as did the first 2 cultures I started. One on just cane sugar and the other on cane sugar and molasses.

Well I started a third using 1/3s came sugar molasses and honey. It started bubbling much quicker then the other cultures, maybe because I used berries from the start with this batch instead of adding them during the bottling stage.

Yesterday I noticed a funky film growing over the honey batch. I assumed it was just cultures but have been second guessing myself so I figured I should make an account on a site like this and ask some more knowledgeable peoples advice.

If anyone is interested I can post pics of my other ginger brew cultures and bottles too.

Interested in your process, definitely looks like you have something funky going on,could very well be the berries, not mold though.
Is this alcoholic?
If it smells and tastes good I would rack under it and drink.

Well I am following a simple Ginger Bug recipe I found on Wellnessmama through a quick search.

The process is pretty simple, mix ginger and sugar in water and allow to sit and culture. Here is the link to the recipe I have been following: http://wellnessmama.com/8942/ginger-bug/

The first two batches have not smelled alcoholic at all minus one batch I bottled with mango and maybe honey which smells pretty alcoholic already. The berry batch also has a slightly alcoholic smell. I have not tasted it but it does not really smell funky. That batch started bubbling much quicker than the others so I want to say it is just forming culture much quicker too. I hope it works out becouse I was most excited for this last batch.

I just tried replying and hit "quick reply" and my message vanished lol

Anyways here is the recipe I am following: http://wellnessmama.com/8942/ginger-bug/

I was thinking perhaps the berries added extra yeast from the start and helped it form a solid culture faster. The other two batches took a bit longer to start bubbling. Neither has really formed much similiar stuff besides maybe small chunks of culture. The last bottle I opened has some similiar but lighter colored floaters which I am pretty sure are just culture.

The first two batches I did have not smelled alcoholic at all besides one bottle i did with mango and aybe honey which smells pretty strong already. The berry culture also has a slightly alcoholic smell which I have been attributing to the honey.

Why are all my posts invisible and or not showing up lol

WTF, this one works but my last two replies didn't....

Anyways here is the recipe: http://wellnessmama.com/8942/ginger-bug/

The berry batch does smell a bit alcoholic which I think is from the added honey. I noticed a similar but lighter colored floater in the last open bottle I have which I am pretty sure is just a strand of culture. The berries are probably just coloring em and making it look much more funky.

The first two batches I started took much longer to culture so I hope the berry one is just forming quicker. The only other batch that has smelled very alcoholic is a mango batch I bottled using honey as well maybe. It smells very strong already even after just 2-3 days bottled.

lol, looks like my last two post attempts showed up eventually... I can't figure out how to delete them either. This forum is alien to me still.

Musiclover420,
did you try that ginger ale since then? I am trying the same recipe and getting a white film growing on top. Curious what yours turned out like:

Mishraile said:

Musiclover420,
did you try that ginger ale since then? I am trying the same recipe and getting a white film growing on top. Curious what yours turned out like:

Click to expand...

That definitely looks infected. Possibly Brett or lactobacillus.

Its growing a lot faster than I have every seen Brett grow before, this is like 36 hours after I pulled a skin off, and has only been in the fermenter for 5 days.

I think I will probably skim it off again, and keg it up and cool it down and see what it tastes like.

Woah.

Let us know how it tastes.

its from the honey. people infect their beers when they add honey and its not in the boil. there is bacteria in honey but the properties of the honey inhibit it. when its diluted those properties in the honey that inhibit it are not as effective.

In my case though, there wasn't any honey added. Ginger bug, Lemon juice, Shredded Ginger, and Unbleached sugar.

Possibly from the ginger then, or could just be a wild infection from either your equipment or environment.

equipment was sanitized, environment shoulda been good, so only thing I can think is my ginger bug was infected...

The culture in question was used to make several bottles of ginger ale, I tossed it after awhile though as it had a weird taste compared to my other two batches.

That could just be the culture Mishraile, I have had some similiar formations when not stirring my cultures for days.

I still am using my first two cultures I started, I have made probably 20-30 bottles so far and most tasted amazing.

That is an awesome pellicle.

DUSTY BUBBLES! DUSTY BUBBLES! DUSTY BUBBLES!