Mold in extract

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-Dan-

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Hi everyone!

I received my 2nd order from AHS the other day and decided to brew it today. Started was made last night, grain just came out of the pot and I was ready to pour the extract into my brewpot. When I opened the little bucket they send you, the first thing I discovered was mold! Small little bubbles/spots swimming on top and sitting inside the lid. I was slightly irritated to say the least. Well, honestly I didn’t really have a choice since all other ingredients besides hops were already “wasted” so I scooped the mold off a little bit and poured all extract into the brewpot.

Has anyone tried to brew with infected (guess you can say that) extract before? There was not a whole lot, but enough to see it right away and to get my worried. Mold does not belong in extract. I wanted to take a picture but couldn’t find my camera.

I’m not trying to rant against AHS, even though it was only my 2nd order and the 2nd order with an issue (the first time I found a screw in my extract), but I am really irritated about the mold. Does the heat “kill” the mold? I’m wondering if I should even made an attempted to ferment or just dump everything.

Thanks
 
Boiling the wort certainly will kill off the mold and any spores. If you just had some of the little dots of mold, I would not expect any problems from the mold. I've never dealt with extract that had mold on it, though. I also would be somewhat miffed to receive it.


TL
 
That happened to me - I bought it bulk and got delayed on the brewing for some time and by the time I opened it back up it had molded. I worried and fretted about it and ended up using it as I really had few options.

I had to throw all the beer out and it ruined my fermenter. My brother tasted the hydrometer sample and spent 3 weeks in the hospital from intestinal bacterial infection and we had bottle bombs...:(
























Just joking - we could never tell that the LME was anything but fine in the finished product.:rockin:
 
I'm sorry to hear about your brother. Looks like I will join him soon. :ban:
 
I have also brewed with moldy lme, don't worry to much about it, the sugar content of the lme keeps the mold from growing anywhere but the surface of the jug or bucket, Just scrape off the top layer and toss the rest in.
 
NWernBrewer said:
That happened to me - I bought it bulk and got delayed on the brewing for some time and by the time I opened it back up it had molded. I worried and fretted about it and ended up using it as I really had few options.

I had to throw all the beer out and it ruined my fermenter. My brother tasted the hydrometer sample and spent 3 weeks in the hospital from intestinal bacterial infection and we had bottle bombs...:(

Just joking - we could never tell that the LME was anything but fine in the finished product.:rockin:

That has to be one of the best quotes ever, especially for the newbies, I am going to have to remember to use that some time on the next Is my batch ruined thread....
 
Just watching the History Channel and they are talking about Copper. Copper in itself is an Anti-Microbial substance. Basically almost any bacteria is killed on it within 50 minutes. They still arent sure what it is about copper that does it but they think it actually changes its DNA! Kind of cool but also scares me that we really dont know what it could be doing to us if thats the case. Egyptians were the 1st to use it for plumbing. Theyre also saying that Hospitals are going to start using it for door handles and the such for sanitary purposes. 90% of all copper is recycled. They dont recycle it for electrical use though as copper wire has to 99.99% pure for conductive reasons and to bring it back to that state after recycling is not economical.
 
Odd...I wouldn't expect mold on extract from AHS considering what seems to be a pretty high turnover on their stock. Either way:

"Molds and yeasts can grow on the surface of containers of liquid malt extract that have been opened. One would figure that if the fungi can grow on the surface they should be able to grow throughout the bulk of the LME, but they don’t. The reason for this is that the AW of foods products is not homogeneous once the package has been opened because water from the air (humidity) changes the AW at the food-air interface. This is why LME can have mold colonies form on the surface. Covering the surface with vodka is one way to keep the surface clean. Another method is to repackage your 15 kilograms of LME in convenient sized portions using zipper storage bags so that the air can be eliminated from the headspace of the bag, keeping the AW homogeneous."
http://***********/mrwizard/1708.html
 
If AHS is as great as everybody claims, they should at least refund you or hook you up with a free can of extract.
 
NWernBrewer said:
I had to throw all the beer out and it ruined my fermenter. My brother tasted the hydrometer sample and spent 3 weeks in the hospital from intestinal bacterial infection and we had bottle bombs...:(

Is that all?!? No scurvy, irritable bowel syndrome, leprosy or curvature of the spine? You were lucky!

I'd just boil that LME up and consider the mold to be yeast nutrient. All will be well.
 
Franzi said:
If AHS is as great as everybody claims, they should at least refund you or hook you up with a free can of extract.

I didn't ask for, actually I didn't even contact them. Not worth my time. The last time when I found a screw in the extract I got from them, the response I received was basically along the line of 'sorry, it feel of our pouring station.' Oh well ...


BlindLemonLars said:
I'd just boil that LME up and consider the mold to be yeast nutrient. All will be well.
That's what I did ... just wanted to make sure. Sometimes you never know :)
 
We pour the extract for orders right before the package is sealed to be shipped. We order extract every 2 weeks because we sell 136,500 pounds (68.25 tons) a year so it is insanely fresh. We sell the most liquid malt extract of any homebrew store. I do not know how mold could be in the extract. We will get a mold issue when a customer waits for over a month to brew their beer. Mold does not grow that quick. Very puzzling. What would you like me to do to help?

Forrest
 
I want you to do nothing...I didn't ask for anything nor did I rant against AHS. The posting was just about the mold and to make sure I am not wasting my time with fermenting, bottling, etc. I DID NOT question AHS quality
Excuse me for ordering in the first place :off:
 
-Dan- said:
I didn't ask for, actually I didn't even contact them. Not worth my time. The last time when I found a screw in the extract I got from them, the response I received was basically along the line of 'sorry, it feel of our pouring station.' Oh well

There is a substantial difference in the level of service I received from Forrest through this board on a problem vs the responses via email.
 
Wow! That was pretty harsh. Just seemed like Forrest was trying to suggest how mold could have grown and he seemed puzzled as to how mold had grown so quickly. It looked like he was also trying to provide good customer service by asking if there was anything he could do. Seems a bit of an overreaction to me.

:tank:
 
If I found mold or any other source of contamination in my extract, I'd get on the phone and ask them to send me a complimentary replacement kit (since I will have already steeped my grains at that point) via the fastest available shipping option if they want to keep me as their customer. A good store will apologize, replace the lost batch, and try to implement steps to reduce the chance of something similar happening again. And we'd all be happy, since by retaining me as their customer they'll quickly make up for the added expense of shipping the free kit.

If they didn't address the issue to my satisfaction, I'd switch to another source for my ingredients. For me, Midwest tends to be slightly cheaper than AHS even after shipping, but I order almost exclusively from Forrest because I have received good service and appreciate his taking the time to post on these boards. That's worth a small price premium to me. Still, if AHS messed up my order and didn't make amends, I'd simply switch to Midwest for my ingredients.
 
-Dan- said:
I want you to do nothing...I didn't ask for anything nor did I rant against AHS. The posting was just about the mold and to make sure I am not wasting my time with fermenting, bottling, etc. I DID NOT question AHS quality
Excuse me for ordering in the first place :off:

WOW!!! Forrest was just offering help. He did not say he was doubting you or that you had mold in your extract. I have ordered a few kits from AHS and have had nothing but good service.
 
I think this discussion needs to come to an end. Neither do I have a problem with Forrest nor AHS or the service they provide. The orders are shipped quite well and fast and as I mentioned before, I don't question their quality at all.

The reason why I started the topic was just to find out if I waste my time with fermenting, bottling, etc or should just dump everything. I didn't really expect anything would be left over after the boil but I just wanted to be sure and hear about other ppl's experience. I found out what I wanted to know and everything is good.
 
-Dan- said:
I think this discussion needs to come to an end.

Might I suggest that "Excuse me for ordering in the first place" is not exactly the best way to initiate a ceasefire?
 
pldoolittle said:
Might I suggest that "Excuse me for ordering in the first place" is not exactly the best way to initiate a ceasefire?


+1

In the future, if you have a question about if still using a product is ok, and don't want it to become a bashfest, DON'T MENTION THE NAME OF THE STORE. If you WANT a bashfest, then you bring up the name of the store. Your reply to Forrest was a bit harsh. He is a great guy who has done a lot for many of the people on this board. He is one of the few store owners that take the time to come here and answer questions about his products, or rectify the situation if someone has a problem with something they bought from him. He came here to offer to help you in your situation as well, but we know how that went.

I believe you are right though, this discussion has gotten off topic and should probably end.
 
ArcaneXor said:
If I found mold or any other source of contamination in my extract, I'd get on the phone and ask them to send me a complimentary replacement kit (since I will have already steeped my grains at that point) via the fastest available shipping option if they want to keep me as their customer.

What is it with the nuke and pave attitude toward vendors lately?

While it is quite reasonable to ask for a replacement product, to expect a vendor to replace everything and pay for overnight express is unreasonable. People are human and stuff happens. And until we find a way to kill Murphy once and for all, it is the responsibility of a prudent customer to inspect and inventory your product for damage when you receive it, or at the very least before you began using it. If you get to the end of the boil and then find out your aroma hops are missing (or funky), that is YOUR fault.

One last comment: "ask" and "if they want to keep me as their customer" are mutually exclusive. The first is a request, the latter a threat.
 
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