Help - possible infection with first ever bottled batch?

[GDSWelder]

Greetings everyone, I'm coming to the pros on this site to seek some guidance on if what I'm seeing in my first ever bottled batch of homebrew is some type of mold infection or simply just some unflocculated yeast.

This possible flaw is manifesting as white particulate that is floating on top of the beer inside of the bottles, and a small amount of very fine particulate clinging to the glass. I have opened 2 bottles to smell and taste (but not swallow) any of the product, during which I've found no obvious signs of off flavors/aromas.

The bottles I'm using were ran through a dishwasher and then dunked in star-san prior to use (likely not for the recommended amount of time I must admit). The finished beer was transfered using an auto-siphon that had star-san ran through it prior to coming into contact with the beer/bottles.

Picture of the concerning material attached. Thank you for any time spent replying to this noobie.

Note*: at the time of posting this i am currently chilling the bottles to see if this drops the particulate out of suspension.

 

[Hoochin'Fool]

If it smells (and tastes) fine, it should be perfectly fine. Probably just suspended yeast.

For what it's worth, running bottles thru the dishwasher is unlikely to get enough water up inside the bottles to do much, tho the heated drying cycle should definitely sterilize everything. My bottle cleaning routine starts after pouring into a glass -- rinse that bottle out right away, and set it aside. When I've got 12 bottles, I'll stick them in a wash-tub with hot water and oxi-clean (unscented), let them soak fully submerged for 15 minutes. Then empty them, fill with cold water to rinse, and empty them again. If there's still any junk stuck on the bottom of a bottle, I toss it into the recycle bin. For the rest of the bottles, I shoot a few squirts of StarSan from a spray-bottle into each bottle, swirl it around a bit, then store in a cardboard wine-case upside down (with fresh paper towel lining the bottom of the box).

 

[day_trippr]

Welcome to the forums at Homebrew Talk, @GDSWelder

From what I can see it sure looks like tiny yeast rafts, and tbh I have yet to see a similar image that did not turn out to be...tiny yeast rafts.
I'd say carry on - and give a bottle a try...

Cheers!

 

[eliastheodosis]

Looks like yeast rafts to me too. When you bottle you're doing another mini fermentation. It would be weird if you didn't see some activity.

Give a bottle a try. Take a small sip at first if you're worried. If it doesn't taste off then try more. Honestly, I wouldn't think twice to pour this into a glass and drink it, though. Chilling will help drop it out but make sure it's carbed first. This happens to me sometimes even after a PBW soak, scrub, and Starsan rinse.

Edit: And also welcome to the club! It's always good to have a new face.

 

[GDSWelder]

Firstly: Thank all 3 of you very much for the information about what im seeing, procedures you do to ensure sanitization, and the encouragement to go forward with tasting the Beer.

I have just finished the first bottle of the batch and I am very happy with it despite originally being fearful it had been infected. Also for welcoming me so kindly to the Forum - its nice to be able to learn from likeminded people that have honed their skills in this craft.

I can't wait to kick off on more research that will lead to more batches - and inevitably more questions, all thanks to this site. I will add information about the Grist and Hops used for anyone interested in what was produced.

 

[GDSWelder]

For my first serious venture into Beer Brewing, I decided to go with something familiar. I formerly come from the distilling side of alcohol production, so I am no stranger all-grain mash or the historical context that surrounds certain beverages. Beer has intrigued me for quite some time due to the use of hops which seem like an ingredient that has a lot of mysticism around them.

I decided to Brew a Historical Cream Ale with a mix of Nobel and Modern American Hops (I really like Big Wave by Kona Brewing so why not play around with mixxing history and the new age lol). This Grain Bill is very reminiscent of the kind used in early American Distilling Recipies for all-grain Whiskey in the sense of its simplicity and abundance to farmers of the time period.

The Grain Bill is as follows: 1.85 LBS of Pale 2 Row Malted Barley, and .65 LBS of Flaked Corn. The target is 1.25 Gallons of Finished Mash after boil.
Please do note that I used unmodified Corn for this recipe which will involve a labor intensive step of boiling the grain for 30 minutes (preferably using sacrificial high-temp liquid enzyme or a cereal mash).
Cooled with an addition of colder water to both meet the desired mash temperature of 145 and meet the volume requirement of 1.5 Gallons of Mash pre-boil.
Mashed for 1 hour and strained in a brew-bag.

The Hops used in this recipe were Saaz (2.4% Alpha Acid) and Cascade (6.5% Alpha Acid) with a 30 Minute total Boil duration.
.5 Oz of Saaz at 30 Minutes.
.17 Oz of Cascade at 6.5 Minutes
And Finally .2 Oz of Cascade at Flame Out.

Wort cooled and then fermented with Kevik Yeast by Lallemand (because I am impatient). Its worth mentioning that by using this strain of yeast that this recipe could quality as a Pseudo-Lager, which plays well with the history of Cream Ale trying to mimic German Lagers.

Stats: 1.054 OG, 1.012 FG, 5.5% ABV.
The only thing I would change is maybe a little less Saaz due to its stronger presence, but the traditional Hop flavor is still enjoyable without being too bitter.

If you read this far without falling asleep, thank you - and id love to hear feedback on what you think.

 

[ncbrewer]

Congrats on a successful first batch of homebrew!

 

[redrocker652002]

Welcome to the group. There are a fantastic group of folks here that will answer questions, give tips and just keep the place going. I use the dishwasher to wash and sanitize my bottles and of yet have not had a problem. But, with that said, I am by no means even a novice yet. So, enjoy the hobby and ask away.

 

[eliastheodosis]

No problem at all! I'm glad the first batch worked out

Overall, the recipe looks good to me. There are definitely some aspects that set it apart but you knew that and you're having fun with it. I enjoy blending noble hops and new world hops and I bet cascade and saaz work well in this recipe. There are varying thoughts here on kveik yeast. The Voss kveik will likely give you a certain character that you wouldn't find in the typical cream ale, but if you like the beer that's all that matters. It probably goes well enough with the beer profile and it IS fast! I would give it a try with a lager yeast like 34/70 or a clean ale yeast like US-05 or BRY-97 to see what that's like and how it compares to kveik. You should adjust the hops to your preference, but I enjoy a small amount of the noble hops at the end of the boil. Maybe try that and use less at the 30 minute mark.

Cheers