One bottle with amazing head, the rest? Meh...

[Sir Humpsalot]

So I opened one bottle of my SOB and the head was HUGE. The rest were poorly carbed by my 3/4 cup DME. No, that wasn't a mistake. It's a bitter and I was going for a more British level of carbonation. I got what I wanted there. What's bothering me is the ONE bottle which was highly carbed, maybe even excessively carbed... Here's what I saw...

First, an enormous head with an uncharacteristically smooth (micro-tiny bubbles) foam.

Second, a black floaty. This was the shape and size of a hop leaf. However, it broke apart and balled up when rolled between my fingers... and it happens to also look similar to a fungus(?) I had growing inside of my MLT when I failed to completely clean it out between uses. It was black, paper thin, and had a slimy consistency.

So far, the rest of my bottles have been fine. My question is, should I be worried? Was it a hop leaf? Was it a fluky occurrence? Or should I start downing the rest of my bottles asap? Start handling the bottles with kid gloves to prevent explosions? What am I in for? For what it's worth, this is my 6th(?) batch and I've never encountered this before...

 

[Houseman]

Probably something in the bottle that you missed during cleaning...I would not worry

 

[z987k]

Yeah I've had a couple that came from an inadequate cleaning of the bottles prior. It was most likely black bread mold. That stuff loves beer and if you let any sit in the bottom of a bottle for a bit, chances are you will get some. Make sure to rinse your bottles after drinking them and to clean them well if you didn't.

 

[Sir Humpsalot]

Yeah I've had a couple that came from an inadequate cleaning of the bottles prior. It was most likely black bread mold. That stuff loves beer and if you let any sit in the bottom of a bottle for a bit, chances are you will get some. Make sure to rinse your bottles after drinking them and to clean them well if you didn't.

You mean, I can't just finish drinking out of them, refill them, cap them, and let them sit for two weeks?

Seriously, yeah, I think it was probably a mold. I had another one today, it poured just fine and is still tasty...

 

[z987k]

Well no, I thought they were clean the only reason I said they weren't is because of what happened. I've since stepped up the cleaning of the bottles and never had a problem.

 

[Sir Humpsalot]

Well no, I thought they were clean the only reason I said they weren't is because of what happened. I've since stepped up the cleaning of the bottles and never had a problem.

I was just kidding around. But I do seriously think you're right about the mold. Guess I need to be a little more diligent.