What is this film on top of the wort?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

terrapinj

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2010
Messages
2,397
Reaction score
175
Location
Santa Monica
searched around and saw some similar threads but they didn't have photos attached and im not sure if this is same issue

this was taken yesterday as i went to rack from primary to bottling bucket

irish red ale ~4 weeks in primary - avg temp ~65*

i tried to rack from underneath and to the side but once the wort starting being siphoned it swirled it all up

the clumps of yeast look normal and weren't of concern but i haven't seen the layer of film on my last two batches

is this an early sign of infection?

IMG_7392.jpg


IMG_7393.jpg
 
Tasted fine. Wasn't there 2 weeks ago when I checked fg

Was thicker than just a hop oil slick which I have noticed before

I figured if it was anything serious it would have tasted off but am curious what it could be.
 
I have the same stuff on my oatmeal stout. I tried to cold crash it but it's still there. Looks like the yeast is still eating but my numbers have been met. OG 1054/FG1010. I swirl it and it drops but then comes back up. Beer tasted fine after final gravity check.
 
I have the same stuff on my oatmeal stout. I tried to cold crash it but it's still there. Looks like the yeast is still eating but my numbers have been met. OG 1054/FG1010. I swirl it and it drops but then comes back up. Beer tasted fine after final gravity check.

For quite a while after the fermentation the beer still has CO2 dissolved in it and it will continue to bring stuff to the surface with the bubbles. Nothing to worry about as long as it tastes good. You are very unlikely to get an infection in your primary unless you are really sloppy about sanitation.
 
I hate to go against the grain here, but it's got the "broken ice pack" look that some infected beer seems to get (lacto or something). If it was a huge double IPA maybe it could be oil from all the hops, but I wouldn't think an Irish Red's simple hop bill could provide that much hop oil.

Could still end up tasting good, though. Only one way to find out! :mug:
 
I had the EXACT same thing last night and was worried that it might be an infection.

It was the first time I dry-hopped every.

Last night was 3 weeks in the primary, and I bottled it.

Tasted fine to me though.
 
I hate to go against the grain here, but it's got the "broken ice pack" look that some infected beer seems to get (lacto or something). If it was a huge double IPA maybe it could be oil from all the hops, but I wouldn't think an Irish Red's simple hop bill could provide that much hop oil.

Could still end up tasting good, though. Only one way to find out! :mug:

I've read the same. I had this come up with my current milk stout and I found this article. Most people claim it's star san residue or hop oils, but my milk stout had 2 oz of hops (if even that). It doesn't look too bad..it's got C02 bubbles on the surface and a slight, oily looking film on the surface that broke up a bit when I took a sample. It tasted great so I'm not worrying.

The takeaway I got was:

"Generally speaking, any white film that covers the surface of the beer and breaks up into smaller pieces when agitated, is indicative of an infection. It's not "hop oils" or "sanitizer residue" or whatever else you want to believe it is. This picture below is of a slight lacto infection in a keg. Yeah, hard to believe, considering it shows very little signs of something wrong. It may even look somewhat normal. However, when we tested it in the lab, the results indicated otherwise.

The key here, is that not all infections result in terrible tasting beer. Most homebrew does contain bacteria, mold, and other stuff that never fully impacts the overall character of the beer. But it is better to know that it is in our beer and be able to recognize it, than just assume a beer is only truly infected when the surface looks like a murder scene."

http://perfectpint.blogspot.com/2012/03/infected.html
 
Back
Top