Sediment build up & black stuff growing in bottle

[weissbierdrinker]

So I made up a 10 liter batch of cider using store bought cloudy apple juice & Wyeast 4184, let it sit in primary for a month then bottled on March 6th. Not long after bottling I noticed a build up of white chalky looking sediment around the top of the bottle and down the sides of it. Even in one bottle I even noticed a black fungus looking creature clinging to the side.

So just a minute ago I decided to open one, way to early I know but I was cruious, so opened the black alien bottle and gave a careful pour. Already there is some light carbonation developing, and there seems to be no ill effect. Tart and crisp with some orange notes pretty tasty, can't wait to try it after it ages.

Anyway just wondering if anyone else noticed any crazy stuff present in the ciders they bottled because it seems the cider I just botteled is having the same build up near the top, is it something I'm doing wrong? This is my third cider.

 

[KevinM]

Could be just yeast and krausen from the process (if you've added something to create carbonation), but with 2 months in, I don't think it would have been the case, possible though. Any pictures? And what are you doing at bottling time?

 

[SauceBoss]

contamination perhaps?? not sure....can you upload any pics?

 

[weissbierdrinker]

Yeah I'll take some pics, not tonight though. It didn't taste bad at all, and it happens in every cider I make. All I do at bottling time is transfer to a bottling bucket, after everything is sanatized first of course. I'm very clean with my equipment. My beer bottles get a super hot wash in the dishwasher. I run the dishwasher on its own before I put the bottles in.

 

[weissbierdrinker]

Took some pictures just now. I'm thinking it could be bits of apple pulp since there was a large amount of that at the bottom of the bottles that originally contained the apple juice.

When I transfered to the bottling bucket most of the pulp seemed to be in the bottom of the primary.

Like I said though it DOESN'T taste bad so I'm not really worried, I just wanted to see if anyone else was having similar experiences.

http://weissbierdrinkerbeerpics.shutterfly.com/pictures/75

 

[SaltyTX]

what is that silly thing people say around here..

RDWHAHB

Dishwashers typically will not get hot enough to sanitize, FYI. Perhaps you have one of the fancy models that have a sanitize feature. If so, that would work. If not, then you need to use StarSan or some other liquid sanitizer.

 

[weissbierdrinker]

My dishwasher is from the future and doesn't even use water, no but it does have a sanitize feature. I don't have any homebrew ready right now but I do have some Westy 12 guess that will have to work.

 

[rycov]

Dishwashers typically will not get hot enough to sanitize, FYI. Perhaps you have one of the fancy models that have a sanitize feature. If so, that would work. If not, then you need to use StarSan or some other liquid sanitizer.

really? cuz i've always heard that using the diswasher for bottles is ok

 

[weissbierdrinker]

Rycov I'm originally from the Rock Hill area in SC. I've never heard anything negative about a dishwasher either, never had a problem even before I had this new one.

 

[rycov]

yeah. i always use the dishwasher when i bottle. granted i haven't bottled that many times. but handful of times i have i used it with no ill effects. i read about that method in a book i think (joy of hombrewing?) and have seen it used on here too.

how did you end up in brussels?

 

[weissbierdrinker]

I have a g/f here

 

[PVH]

this guy is good.

 

[rycov]

I have a g/f here

sick!

 

[KevinM]

I'm stumped. Only thing I can think of is junk that gets into the bottles from a dishwasher. That's what happens with my apartment's POS dishwasher, and why I don't use it for bottles anymore. The bottles of beer & cider that had gunk in it turned out ok anyways, but it was still annoying.

 

[weissbierdrinker]

I'm stumped. Only thing I can think of is junk that gets into the bottles from a dishwasher. That's what happens with my apartment's POS dishwasher, and why I don't use it for bottles anymore. The bottles of beer & cider that had gunk in it turned out ok anyways, but it was still annoying.

Possibly, so you don't think it's just apple pulp

 

[KevinM]

I guess it depends on how your pulp starts out. I haven't seen anything like that in the other threads or my own cider yet. And cider is really just unfiltered juice, so I'm kinda equating the two.

If you were carbomating and this was immediately after bottling, I'd think it'd be undissolved sugar. Or perhaps if you were using spices, some pieces of cinnamon or something. Could just be flocked yeast if you were carbing too.

Someone else may have seen the like before though.

The important thing is that it doesn't make the cider taste strange, or make a person sick.

 

[oldmate]

I've seen this before. In my one sole batch of cider that I didn't filter so had some apple pulp in it. I think it's the apple pulp that turns black. It still tastes fine, just unsightly.

 

[rycov]

i had a batch of cider that i put a vanilla bean in. when i taped the keg i had a few black floating vanilla specks (seeds?). it freaked me out, then i remembered that i put vanilla in it. they all settled out pretty quck though

 

[weissbierdrinker]

Thought I'd post an update on this. I was out of town for a couple months and returned to find crystal clear cider. All the "chunks" seem to have settled, but I still have to pour it carefully.

cider pics

Has a great slightly sweet apple flavor with lots of honey in the finish and slightly spicy. Kind of a dry aftertaste and very well carbonated.

*edit

Also this is not the cider I originally posted about but a second batch I did shortly after with a similar problem, it has honey & used 3787 yeast. The first batch is still very cloudy, strange.