I think I have to throw this away

[joentuff]

ok I had a beer in a secondary and I left to go out of town for a few days, I get home, and the airlock was dried out to the point it wasnt working, and there looks like mold growing on the top of the beer, kinda looks like a spider web with a bubble in it, nasty, I guess I cant salvage whats under that can I?

 

[TipsyDragon]

taste it first just to be sure. a picture would be nice. but form your description it sounds like an infection.

 

[COLObrewer]

In my opinion it would take a month or so for your brew to "show" any signs of an infection. (Other than saccaromyces that is)

 

[carnevoodoo]

In my opinion it would take a month or so for your brew to "show" any signs of an infection. (Other than saccaromyces that is)

That's not the case at all. If the infection were something that were living in there while the fermentation was taking place, it could have been manifesting the whole time and really, they can cover a beer in a day or two. I've seen a pellicle in my garage form in two days.

 

[XXguy]

I guess I cant salvage whats under that can I?

I guess we won't know unless you try.

At the very least, I'd rack out from under that mess & take a taste. If it's not rank & disgusting, go ahead & bottle/keg it.

I'd try it. No more than 4 minutes of life wasted if you try it. I'd waste 4 minutes for 5 gallons of beer.

 

[COLObrewer]

That's not the case at all. If the infection were something that were living in there while the fermentation was taking place, it could have been manifesting the whole time and really, they can cover a beer in a day or two. I've seen a pellicle in my garage form in two days.

I stand corrected.

 

[malkore]

I wanna see pics. What you describe, in my head, just sounds normal...veins of microbubbles forming on the surface, mixed with yeast and trub.

 

[goose_on_fire]

I guess we won't know unless you try.

At the very least, I'd rack out from under that mess & take a taste. If it's not rank & disgusting, go ahead & bottle/keg it.

I'd try it. No more than 4 minutes of life wasted if you try it. I'd waste 4 minutes for 5 gallons of beer.

Agreed, I've had one infection. The beer was sour and thin after I'd racked from under the gunk, but it was still better than drinking water.

 

[carnevoodoo]

I'll go with acetobacter.

 

[Homercidal]

I'll go with acetobacter.

My thought too. You can simply sanitize a device for dipping or sucking out a bit (like a turkey baster) and take a taste. If infected it will likely have a good sour note to it.

If you can drink it, then refill the airlock and let it ride.

Honestly though, if you had an airlock on it, then it's probably not going to get infected unless a bug flew in somehow. I'd think about any other time something could have gotten into the beer, like during transfer (don't suck the hose), hands touching it without being washed and sanitized, etc.

 

[david_42]

Yeast is a fungus and can take all kinds of weird and ugly forms. I've had growths on beers that look exactly as you described and there wasn't an infection. If the beer is infected, it will probably taste sour.