Infection help

[O.L.D.B.B.A]

Last night we bottled a Double IPA (Extract with 6 Lbs Gold, 1 LB DME, 1 LB Corn Sugar) it was hit with lots of hops throughout the boil, including some CITRA LupulN2 Powder. It fermented fine over 3 weeks, Tasted excellent last week when we measured the gravity (1.008). It tasted fantastic and i was very excited about it.
However, when we opened up the fermenter last night, it had what i believe was pillicle on the top, it looked very strange and I have not seen this on any prior beers (have only brewed 5 batches so far). we racked from underneath the film into the bottling bucket, and as the beer flowed into the bucket, a strange greasy/waxy looking film formed only on the flowing beer. it was very odd looking. The beer tastes NOTHING like it tasted last week. It wasnt awful tasting, just very odd tasting, I would say atleast "slightly" Sour. Still delicious but im pretty concerned as i have put it into bottles with 4 ounces of priming sugar. I forgot to take pictures unfortunately. it looked very small white "Ice on a lake" type of floaties. and a wavy/wrinkly greasy looking film in the bottling bucket. I ferment in a plastic bucket. Just wondering on the general consensus of what went wrong, how much equipment should I toss out? dont want this to happen again bviously

 

[Miraculix]

Could be brettanomyces or acedobacter. Both can create a pelicle and both can create tartness.

I would toss everything plastic that got into contact with the beer. I know it sucks ... I had a continuous acedobacter infection once after "thoroughly cleaning and sanitizing" the plastic fermenter after the first infected brew, won't make this mistake twice.

Be prepared for potential bottle bombs or gushers as brett might take down the gravity even further over time. Put the bottles into something you can put a lid on and open a bottle each week to see where the carbonation is going.

Drink the beer fast and keep it as cool as possible after desired carbonation is there as the taste will likely degrade quickly.

 

[O.L.D.B.B.A]

Damn. I was afraid that was the case. guess I will bite the bullet and toss out all of my cold side equipment. its only 2 months old, brewed with it 5 times. ThankYou for the response

 

[mirthfuldragon]

Damn. I was afraid that was the case. guess I will bite the bullet and toss out all of my cold side equipment. its only 2 months old, brewed with it 5 times. ThankYou for the response

Not necessary. I would go with a full-immersion bleach batch for a day or three, then rinse thoroughly (and then rinse again . . .). Or brew some sours.

What kind of fermentor are you using? And check your hoses - those I do throw out with some regularity.

 

[TurnipGreen]

I’ve racked from below weird white stuff before and had no problems with the beer. Although if anything looks off I do try to drink that batch first.

It could be hop oils or a bit of mold.

I mostly ferment in glass but I do do a little bit in buckets for small batches and when the carboys are all full.

Take your time with sanitation next time. Keep a spray bottle of starsans on hand and spray down the lid anytime you open it. Replace any hoses you use for transferring. Really go overkill with anything that touches your beer. If the next batch gets anything it it get a new bucket.

 

[day_trippr]

Could be a simple lactobacillus infection as well...

 

[O.L.D.B.B.A]

Not necessary. I would go with a full-immersion bleach batch for a day or three, then rinse thoroughly (and then rinse again . . .). Or brew some sours.

What kind of fermentor are you using? And check your hoses - those I do throw out with some regularity.

I am using a plastic bucket for fermentation, with a lid and lid seal and a hole for the airlock. it is almost brand new I think this batch was the second time I used it. I also use a PET carboy for lower gravity beers. I am currently soaking the ferment bucket, bottling bucket, and every other piece off equipment I use in a large tub in a bleach solution.
I cracked one of the beers after 4 days in the bottle and it tasted excellent, it had a very slight "Psst" when i opened the bottle and was slightly carbonated. I did notice a VERY slight burn on the back of the throat that I have noticed before in unconditioned beer (i think acetaldehyde?) I Did use LupulN2 Hop pellets in this beer so the HOP oils theory is intriguing. I always keep a spray bottle of star san handy and spray the top of the bucket before I remove the airlock (ecept for maybe a couple slip ups after to many drinks). I am realy kicking myself for not taking pictures of this. I am still pretty sure the beer was infected with something. The really strange thing to me was the oily that instantly developed on top of the beer as it flowed into the bottling bucket. extremely weird.
As a side note, I have a lawnmower lite ale that was brewed with the same equipment and has been in contact with all my cold side equipment (except the ferment bucket as it is in the PET carboy) and looks great with absolutely no sign of any infection.
Really not sure what to think. I will keep this thread updated with what the beer does as it conditions over the next few weeks. Determined to get a conclusion on whether it was just hop oils from the Lupulin pellets or an infection. I have searched throughly and cant find any info on Lupulin hop pellets and the hop oil floaties to be expected.

 

[O.L.D.B.B.A]

I’ve racked from below weird white stuff before and had no problems with the beer. Although if anything looks off I do try to drink that batch first.

It could be hop oils or a bit of mold.

I mostly ferment in glass but I do do a little bit in buckets for small batches and when the carboys are all full.

Take your time with sanitation next time. Keep a spray bottle of starsans on hand and spray down the lid anytime you open it. Replace any hoses you use for transferring. Really go overkill with anything that touches your beer. If the next batch gets anything it it get a new bucket.

Thank you for the advice. I am ordering new hoses today. Have you seen hop oils floating in the fermentor before? what did that look like?

 

[TurnipGreen]

What I think has been hop oils just looks like a tiny bit of oil like you’d see in a puddle in a gas station parking lot.

I’m pretty sure its been with beers that I’ve dry hopped. And I know it’s been before I started temperature control and cold crashing.

Package it quickly and enjoy it quickly just incase the mold or something else is in there.

 

[O.L.D.B.B.A]

Update: after 1week in the bottles this beer has a pronounced off flavor. Tastes like a super fruity wine of some kind was mixed with a double ipa. Not very good. It tasted quite good on sunday, Only 3 days ago so whatever this infection is its working quickly.

ALSO: the lawnmower lite ale is also infected, same thing. The picture is low quality as it was difficult to get a good picture through the PET carboy. This is the same type of thing we saw on the Double IPA.

Any opinion on what exactly this bug is is welcome.

I have all equipment soaking in bleach solution, I am going to brew again and use the same equipment (except Hoses they have all been pitched) and I will report back on this thread on whether the infection persists.

Thank You everyone for the advice. This was my first thread but I am certain it will not be the last.

 

[TurnipGreen]

It’s tough to get a good pi. That looks like yeast?? but if you’re getting off flavors it sounds like it’s the wrong kinda yeast.

With two bad batches I’d consider replacing your fermenter too.

 

[RM-MN]

Update: after 1week in the bottles this beer has a pronounced off flavor. Tastes like a super fruity wine of some kind was mixed with a double ipa. Not very good. It tasted quite good on sunday, Only 3 days ago so whatever this infection is its working quickly.

ALSO: the lawnmower lite ale is also infected, same thing. The picture is low quality as it was difficult to get a good picture through the PET carboy. This is the same type of thing we saw on the Double IPA.

Any opinion on what exactly this bug is is welcome.

I have all equipment soaking in bleach solution, I am going to brew again and use the same equipment (except Hoses they have all been pitched) and I will report back on this thread on whether the infection persists.

Thank You everyone for the advice. This was my first thread but I am certain it will not be the last.
View attachment 564926

Those spots look more like yeast rafts than infection. At 1 week in the bottle some beers taste funny. Give us an update when the beer has been in the bottle for 3 or more weeks.

 

[O.L.D.B.B.A]

Update: The Double IPA will get poured down the drain as it has become completely undrinkable. a very astringent and unpleasant mouthfeel/aftertaste is getting rapidly worse. Most definetly an infection of some kind.
The picture was of the Lawnmower ale, the batch that was brewed after the D.I.P.A and was also infected. The picture is very poor and fuzzy but it is most definetly the development of a pellicle of some kind, it was steadily spreading out over the top of the beer over the course of a few days. I drank most of this beer right out of the carboy. It was quite good on thursday and quite gross on sunday.

 

[Miraculix]

Urgs... **** happens! Let us know if you managed to get the plastic clean again or if you had to toss it!

 

[seatazzz]

Just a quick question - how do you transfer your beer from the boil kettle into the fermenter? Sounds like that may be your issue rather than dirty buckets/carboys, if you've got infections in two separate vessels. Nasty things can hide in pumps, siphons, and tubing if they're not completely cleaned and sanitized properly.

 

[spddmn6]

Does using glass make a difference when something like this occurs? Meaning one might actually be able to disinfect the glass, whereas the plastic will hold on to it?

 

[seatazzz]

Glass does make a difference. Plastic can scratch, creating nice little hidey holes for nasty things to grow, and needs to be replaced periodically. Glass however can be dangerous (don't google broken carboy accidents, whatever you do). It's also more difficult to dry hop in a carboy, unless you're using pellets, and they are a beotch to clean. But it's much more fun to be able to watch your beer fermenting.

 

[O.L.D.B.B.A]

Just a quick question - how do you transfer your beer from the boil kettle into the fermenter? Sounds like that may be your issue rather than dirty buckets/carboys, if you've got infections in two separate vessels. Nasty things can hide in pumps, siphons, and tubing if they're not completely cleaned and sanitized properly.

We use a hose, attached to a ball valve on the bottom of the kettle. Which brings up the following question: Will the ball valve get hot enough during the boil to become sanitized? we sanitized the hose and attached it to the boil kettle after the wort was chilled...but we did not sanitize the "Inside" of the ball valve. assuming the S.S. ball valve got hot enough during the boil to become sanitized.

I am afraid of glass carboys because i have bad luck with glass. It is either HDPE buckets or PET carboys. Until i can afford S.S. buckets

 

[seatazzz]

I bet that ball valve is your problem right there. You should be taking it apart after every brewday and at least soaking it in some PBW or other cleaning solution. If it doesn't get cleaned after your brew, that tiny bit of wort left in it will grow some nasties that will get into your next batch. Take that puppy apart pronto!!

 

[O.L.D.B.B.A]

UPDATE:
I now believe the white floaties were just some kind of yeast

Those spots look more like yeast rafts than infection. At 1 week in the bottle some beers taste funny. Give us an update when the beer has been in the bottle for 3 or more weeks.

You are correct, the double ipa was quite tasty after 3 weeks in the bottle. I think what happened was to much corn sugar, and also fermented on the warm side. as for the pellicle and the ropy slime on top of the beer....it was definatly something very strange. we bleach soaked all equipment and rinsed with hot water and continued to use it. We are still using it, and have not seen the pellicle or Ropy film since these 2 batches. Has anyone seen such a thing? while transferring the beer from the fermenting bucket to the bottling bucket, the area where the beer was flowing developed a wrinkly skin...almost like soup that has been sitting in the bowl for a while. Have not seen anything like this since. And we now clean our ball valve between brews.
Thank you all for your input. it is very much appreciated.