Infection or no?

[ajbosley2015]

we all have it happen I suppose but this one is new to me.

It’s a honey brown, low hop content, pitched with 2000mL starter. 2 weeks in primary.

Bad picture, but what do you all think?

 

[RPh_Guy]

Could be a pellicle, hard to say from the photo.
Did you add raw honey? Any other adjuncts?

I recommend:
Taste before packaging.
If it tastes fine, go ahead and package.
If you bottle, closely monitor carbonation level until it's gone.
Clean equipment thoroughly, as always.

 

[day_trippr]

I don't actually see anything overtly concerning in that pic.
I've seen similar films atop my neipa hop bombs, and everything else in that pic looks entirely benign and stuck to the carboy.
I'm inclined to say "Carry on"...

Cheers!

 

[ajbosley2015]

So the beer was racked into a few different secondaries, and one of them has these white strings...almost look like parasitic worms.

Thoughts?

 

[RPh_Guy]

Wild yeast (and perhaps some strains of commercial yeast) can clump together and form rafts like that. Wild yeast can also produce cellulose structures (e.g. a SCOBY pellicle as an extreme example).

Parasites do not grow in alcohol.

 

[ajbosley2015]

I didn’t think it was an actual parasite lol. I was just trying to give as much info.

So you think it’s wild yeast?

Should I let it go as for a long time to let it do it’s thing? I only naturally carb.

Wild yeast (and perhaps some strains of commercial yeast) can clump together and form rafts like that. Wild yeast can also produce cellulose structures (e.g. a SCOBY pellicle as an extreme example).

Parasites do not grow in alcohol.

 

[RPh_Guy]

I can't say with any certainty whether it's contaminated. It's not mold and it doesn't look concerning.

My previous recommendations stand:

I recommend:
Taste before packaging.
If it tastes fine, go ahead and package.
If you bottle, closely monitor carbonation level until it's gone.
Clean equipment thoroughly, as always.

Cheers

 

[Chiefer]

Do you have a PH meter and did you take readings pre ferment. If so I would start there.

 

[RPh_Guy]

I think hardly any homebrewer tests post-boil pH, even brewers with pH meters.

A significant lactic acid bacteria contamination would be detectable by taste (sourness).

Taste and smell are all that's needed.