Sad, Sad night for me!

I noticed a few days ago a very, very thin layer of "something" white growing across the top of my Christmas Ale. This "something" had small groups of "bubbles" growing in little evil colonies. I removed the airlock to have a smell. Took a sniff, did not smell too bad but just not quite right either. Today I removed the airlock for another sniff. Holy Sh*t Batman, this stuff reeked!!! I took the carboy outside to the edge of the yard, said a few choice words to the evil colonies as I poured them and the beer on the ground.
I guess I can't be too mad though. This was the eight or ninth all grain beer that I had made without any problems so I guess I was due. I will be a lot more careful about cleanliness in the future though.

I don't think I read anything that said you "for sure" had an infection or contamination. I've had some pretty smelly fermentations (aka baby **** in a sauce pan) that all turned out well.

What was your recipoe, yeast....etc?

I dare say more (good) beer has been poured down the drain because it smelled bad than beer that has actually been bad.

Sorry for the loss, but next time please consult us and include pictures before dumping any beer in the yard. Never think that you are due for an infection, if you sanitize and pay attention, it is really hard to screw up a batch, esspecially if it makes it to the secondary with no problems, not sure if you were in primary or secondary. But please ask before you dump.

Cheers

The following is the recipe for the Chrismas Ale I discarded tonight.


8# 2 row
2# Carafa I
4 oz. Chocolate malt
4 oz. Black Patent
8 oz. Carapils
1/2 cup molasses at flameout
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cardamon
1 tsp orange peel
.375 oz. Galena (13% AA, 60 min.)
.5 oz. Cascade (6% AA, 60 min.)
.25 oz. Saaz (3.75% AA, 15 min.)
.25 oz. Tettnanger (4.5% AA, 15 min.)
.25 oz. Saaz (aroma)
Yeast is WLP550 that I will wash from a Belgian Saison pumpkin ale
Single mash

I just "assumed" that the white film with little colonies of bubbles growing was an infection. Also this "film" started in the secondary. I have never had that on the other beers. I reused the yeast the same day I bottled the Belgian Saison pumpkin ale. I am not sure I can describe the smell but it smelled rotten, maybe towards a bandaid smell. I wished I had taken a picture of it and posted here before I dumped. Maybe someone could have given me a clue as to what it was. But oh well life goes on. I still have enough extra grains though to redo this. And you could be right Muncher, I could have dumped out a beer that I thought was bad.

A lot more folks around here know far more than I, and hopefully they'll chime in, but from everything I've read the "band-aid" smell was a bad sign. You probably made the right (yet sad all the same) call on dumping...

Ize

yeah band aid is no good, the best bet is that case is to take a sample too. if it taste 's like a band aid then it is definatly bad. I am sure that you made the right decision, but like you said life goes on and more beer will be made.

Sorry for the bad luck. I've never had an infection **knock on wood** but I have had to poor out 10 gallons of brew before. Sad, sad day.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=22684&page=5

sorry for the loss, here is another picture, your not alone. Although this was not a infection just a nasty beer.

GOD DANG IT, warn people first abotu pictures of death. My daughter sits on my lap sometimes while i look through the posts. She could have seen all of the pain and suffering in the previous posts.............

Push through baby , push through.....
Let it go and tell people it is experimental and all the "big Micros" are trying it.

and by the way, I was showing off my rasp, honey wheat, and taking a sample, the damn thing smelled like hot dog water. I even boiled hot dogs to double check...... Yep hot dog water. But what the hey, it is for my non beer drinking friends, so we'll see.

Good luck on future brews. BREW ON!!!!!