Post your infection

[OddCoffee]

Really didn't want to click on a thread titled as it is, but it's turned out to be fantastically informative.

Might regret having it in my internet history, though...

 

[JLP]

Does anyone know what this is this on my Winter Ale with WLP 029 yeast? It tastes just fine I racked from underneath it as it had no smells or off flavors at all.

 

[JLP]

Really didn't want to click on a thread titled as it is, but it's turned out to be fantastically informative.

Might regret having it in my internet history, though...

Yeah, it is like a VD class up in here...

 

[nab911]

Got my first weird looking one in 20 something batches... wanted to post and make sure im not going to be drinking the new strain of Ebola... Smells and tastes fine which I know is all that matters but yeah... Octoberfest, my first lager with only pellet hops. Weird balls of rolled up sheets. Very gooey and solid sheets which resemble NOTHING that went into the beer itself so this grew during fermentation. Any ideas? Just weird ass yeast rafts?

Note: This pic was tasted after racking into a keg. That stuff was all floating on top when I opened the ferm bucket after about 4 weeks at 50F.

 

[unionrdr]

Does anyone know what this is this on my Winter Ale with WLP 029 yeast? It tastes just fine I racked from underneath it as it had no smells or off flavors at all.

That's what the begining of the lactobacylis infection looked like that I got recently. since it was packaging time & you racked it,it should be ok.

Got my first weird looking one in 20 something batches... wanted to post and make sure im not going to be drinking the new strain of Ebola... Smells and tastes fine which I know is all that matters but yeah... Octoberfest, my first lager with only pellet hops. Weird balls of rolled up sheets. Very gooey and solid sheets which resemble NOTHING that went into the beer itself so this grew during fermentation. Any ideas? Just weird ass yeast rafts?

Note: This pic was tasted after racking into a keg. That stuff was all floating on top when I opened the ferm bucket after about 4 weeks at 50F.

This one just looks like yeast rafts to me. The swirling action of fermentation kicks them up out of the yeast cake at the bottom.

 

[nab911]

This one just looks like yeast rafts to me. The swirling action of fermentation kicks them up out of the yeast cake at the bottom.

Just wanted to make sure. My normal yeast rafts were more of "puddles" on top where this was solid sheets all rolled together. Thanks for the confirmation!

 

[JLP]

That's what the begining of the lactobacylis infection looked like that I got recently. since it was packaging time & you racked it,it should be ok.

Thanks. I will drink it quick. It must have happened when I opened it a couple of weeks ago to check the gravity a few times. This was a slow finisher.

 

[unionrdr]

More likely it was something in your system/process that wasn't clean when sanitized.

 

[birdboy8964]

I've had this infection in my last 3 or 4 batches, think it may be due to using an old star san mixture or grinding my grains close to my fermenters. Taste is pretty terrible. I would describe it as solvety, medicinal. Not sure exactly what it is though. I've been brewing for a couple of years now and have never had an infection problem like this.

 

[unionrdr]

It does have a grain dust sort of color to it. I've heard that grinding grains too close to a fermenter (seems it'd have to be open though) can do that. In my experiences,it's something that got sanitized that wasn't perfectly cleaned 1st,like mounted spigots. The threads & seal areas can harbor stains from a previous brew & become infected. Hidden dirt doesn't clean or sanitize well. so those things must be dis-assembled & cleaned/sanitized. Spigots,auto siphons,tubing,etc. But again,it looks like lacto,with that breaking up ice pack sort of look.

 

[pfgonzo]

Agree with the Lacto diagnosis. Short of you opening your fermentor while (or shortly after) grinding grain, and then NOT sanitizing afterward, I can't imagine it's the grain-dust in the air that's caused you to have this infection for the last 3-4 brews.

If you're using buckets, and it looks like you are, it might be time to replace them. You didn't use the same "old starsan mixture" for each of those 3-4 brews did you? At least one of those was a fresh batch of sanitizer? If so, the infection is either elsewhere in the system that's not being properly cleaned/sanitized, or you have a scratch in your bucket that's harboring bugs. Plenty of people get frustrated trying to eliminate bugs from cheap buckets, when they should be replaced every few years (and they're cheap) anyway. It's just easier.

If you've been using the bucket more than 4-5 years, I'd swap it over for use as grain storage (or some other function), and get a new one for fermentation. Same goes for tubing.

 

[Tex60]

I'm planning to replace some buckets, but I've got a batch of pumpkin ale that looks like it could have a Lacto what does it do in the way of flavors? Because fermentation had finished I thought I would try something I put it in a keg and hit it with co2 and bled off the air several times to try to take away the oxygen don't know if it will help or hurt.

 

[unionrdr]

It may help. My latest batch of Maori IPA got a lacto infection. I skimmed,dry hopped,& sprayed the surface with Starsan as an experiment. Bottled beers cleared up perfectly,with no funk in any of the bottles. In fridge a couple days now for turkey day,so we'll see what happens. Got some in the fridge for the weekend as a test too. They look good,so they may well be ok with the co2 rich environment in the bottles?!...

 

[kevy_kev]

I had a pumpkin porter that had a lacto infection. (posted a few pages back on here) I kegged it, carbed and cooled and its been fine. I've had to stop telling people I had an infection because everyone was afraid to drink it.

 

[Tex60]

I had a pumpkin porter that had a lacto infection. (posted a few pages back on here) I kegged it, carbed and cooled and its been fine. I've had to stop telling people I had an infection because everyone was afraid to drink it.

If it's good I'd be telling them so they won't want to drink my beer lol

 

[Ianflean]

Smells fine, tastes fine, but infected? Am a very paranoid first time brewer!

13 days after pitching the yeast (WYEAST 1056), 2 days after adding the dry hops. Yep, I know I got a LOT of hop sediment, need to work on my straining skills!

 

[unionrdr]

It does look like a little pelicle starting to form. Did you use hop sacks & forget to sanitize them?

 

[Ianflean]

I used a laundry bag, but boiled and sanitized it (and marbles, which didn't seem to work) before putting it in.

What would you suggest I do?

 

[unionrdr]

Package it asap when you get enough dry hop aroma.

 

[Ianflean]

Bottle it now? More interested in having drinkable beer for my first time than getting the most out of the dry hops...

 

[unionrdr]

You could bottle it now,but 3-5 day dry hop would be better. you are indeed fighting the clock on it though. So it's up to you to bottle now or take a chance on another day or two. A little hop aroma is better than bad beer...the point being how fast that little pellicle spreads.

 

[Ianflean]

Ok, thanks for this.

Any tips for the bottling process? Will do it now to try and save it!

 

[joyceman]

Got my first two infections after 2 years.

First was a second running 2 gal IPA with 007 that I fermented in an old MrBeer i picked up at a goodwill. Pitched 10/21 and dryhopped 2 weeks ago. Went to crash it for bottled (and to wash the cake for my next batch) and found what you can see in the 1st 2 pics. Im thinking I didnt sanitize the Mr Beer well enough.

Third pic is from a cherry/choc stout also with 007. I secondaried on 3 lbs of fresh/frozen cherries and 2 pounds of canned about a month ago. 2 weeks ago I found what looked like mold on the floating cherries. I racked to a tertiary hoping it was only mold and a week later have pic 3. Still not sure how Im going to deal with this one.

 

[unionrdr]

Remove the hop sack(s) so it doesn't help carry the infectious materials to the bottom as the level goes down while racking. And try to rack from under the pellicle stuff floating on top. But be careful...it doesn't take much for that stuff to mix in with the beer as the level goes down while racking. I had a bad one in my latest batch of Maori IPA (all NZ hopped). I did all this & more,got it into bottles. I had some last night after 3 weeks at room temp & one day fridge time just to see how it was. It seems to me that the co2 rich environment in the bottles killed what was left of the lacto. Or at least kept it from mulriplying.
Joyceman-the first two look like receeding krausen to me. The last one looks like something is only developing on the fruit that's floating at the top.

 

[andrijas]

Hi everyone!
This is my third batch, but first time I had to go and seek help here.

I made Hefeweizen on Saturday and fermentation started normally. It smelled great, a bit on banana side. Everything was cleaned and sanitized/disinfected.

Today, I was measuring temperature with sanitized thermometer and as I came closer to see reading I noticed a funny smell. This smelled like my friend's failed batch this summer (he also did hefeweizen) so I panicked. Then I saw a small hole on barrel, near the top.

Since panic took over, I sanitized a sheet of aluminium foil, covered barrel with it and then sanitized whole lid and returned it on barrel (not sure if that was a good idea) + I plugged the whole with sanitized piece of aluminium foil and paper towel soaked in sanitizer over it.

I took some photos to ask you guys what do you think - is it infected? if so, can I do something about it?....sorry for bad image quality

 

[bigken462]

As a new brewer with just two brews under my belt; who has yet to bottle either of them, this is one thread I wished I would have passed up. To even suggest the possibility to taste some of this stuff pictured would cause me to hurl my toenails across the room.

Uggg

 

[unionrdr]

Hi everyone!
This is my third batch, but first time I had to go and seek help here.

I made Hefeweizen on Saturday and fermentation started normally. It smelled great, a bit on banana side. Everything was cleaned and sanitized/disinfected.

Today, I was measuring temperature with sanitized thermometer and as I came closer to see reading I noticed a funny smell. This smelled like my friend's failed batch this summer (he also did hefeweizen) so I panicked. Then I saw a small hole on barrel, near the top.

Since panic took over, I sanitized a sheet of aluminium foil, covered barrel with it and then sanitized whole lid and returned it on barrel (not sure if that was a good idea) + I plugged the whole with sanitized piece of aluminium foil and paper towel soaked in sanitizer over it.

I took some photos to ask you guys what do you think - is it infected? if so, can I do something about it?....sorry for bad image quality

That's normal. Just receeding krausen left overs. Fermentation can be a smelly,ugly mess till all is said & done.

 

[kombat]

To even suggest the possibility to taste some of this stuff pictured would cause me to hurl my toenails across the room.

Uggg

Really? You think that's bad, you should hear what a growing number of new moms are doing with their placentas after giving birth.

What goes best with placenta? Red wine or white?

 

[joyceman]

Joyceman-the first two look like receeding krausen to me. The last one looks like something is only developing on the fruit that's floating at the top.

Yeah it does kinda look like receeding krausen, but fermentation has been done for 1-2 weeks or so, whats in these pics bubbled up after i dryhopped.

The last one is a pic from after I racked off the fruit. Theres a shiny/bubbly film developing on the top.

 

[unionrdr]

It can be kicked up by dry hopping,etc. Just a lil co2 bubbles from de-gassing,due to the dry hop creating nucleation points. But fruit floating at the top can get a lil ugly. Bottle it,& the co2 rich environment can save it. It worked on my infected batch of Maori IPA. It came out great.

 

[spam_and_eggs]

Just started home brewing in July but have already brewed 8 batches. Went down to grab some Citra IPA bottles from the basement when I noticed something floating on top in the neck of the bottles. Saw that it was in the majority of IPA bottles in some form then saw it was also on some other batches. Here are pictures from the Citra IPA (bottled October 1st), extract saison (bottled September 8th), and an RIS in secondary aging on oak cubes (brewed October 16th). Everything is at ambient basement temperature, ~ 70F. I opened an unchilled bottle of IPA and it foamed over. Not a geyser but a steady foaming out for a minute or so. Never had a problem with over carbonation that I can remember with this batch. Beer tasted normal but different than I remember. Possibly thinner with less hop flavor but that could just be from age. Haven't opened other batches yet.

Could I have a systemic infection on my hands?

 

[backwardsman]

Noob here this is my second brew under my belt just looking to see if this is an infection because it looks different from my last. This was a caribou slobber kit. My fg was1.020 after I added priming sugar, which I now realize was a mistake. I sampled it nothing to stop from drinking it, but just interested in opinions if it is infected. Also this is a month after brew day

 

[unionrdr]

Spam,that could be a gusher infection that would tend to ferment the beer further than usual. Hence the thinner taste.
Backwards,that looks normal to me. Just yeast rafts,maybe some cold break & krausen leftovers.

 

[inkman15]

@Spam - I had the exact same thing happen to me with a batch of chocolate stout. All the bottles have that small white film at the top. It's definitely some kind of bottle infection as they all taste awful. I haven't had the heart to dump them but I really need to. They've been sitting like that for months. Not sure what the source of infection was but it must've been contaminated prior to bottling.

 

[ewebb]

@Spam I have had that happen to me as well, on a chocolate stout. My solution when i noticed it in the fermentor was to siphon it off from below the surface and leave behind extra waste as a result. Nothing has appeared in the bottles, but its a very bitter (Almost sour) stout. I consider myself to have gotten lucky on that one.

 

[m3n00b]

Noob here this is my second brew under my belt just looking to see if this is an infection because it looks different from my last. This was a caribou slobber kit. My fg was1.020 after I added priming sugar, which I now realize was a mistake. I sampled it nothing to stop from drinking it, but just interested in opinions if it is infected. Also this is a month after brew day

That looks normal to me.

 

[Griffin82]

Brett?

Pumpkin Ale w/ WLP002.

Drank it, served it at a party. Wasn't bad, maybe just a slightly different flavor...

Bits in the second fermenter are orange peel. Thanks for any opinions on the diagnosis!

 

[unionrdr]

Yikes! Lacto or Brett fer sher.

 

[Hello]

Totally looks infected but I am curious, is this a secondary you have the beer in? If so, that's a lot of headspace.

 

[unionrdr]

Yup. Def too much head space.