This looks like an infection (PICS)

[waddsworth]

I have little white floaties in one half of my 10 gallon batch of American Pale Wheat Ale. These don't look like off-white yeast "rafts". They are pure white with greyish centers. I think this batch is f**ked. What pisses me off is that this batch was in "Better" bottles in my basement. You can't move these bottles without forcing some air out of them, creating a negative pressure environment that sucks ambient air back in once you put them back down. I think this was the source of contamination. What say you?

 

[eastoak]

sucking air into the fermenter is not automatically a source of infection. this picture is not really good enough to tell what that is.

 

[Jayman931]

I'm not sure if it is a infection or not (i am leaning towards yes)...how ever that wouldn't keep me from bottling it...read this and it might make you feel better...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/revvy/99-time-heals-all-things-even-beer.html

 

[goose1873]

doesnt look good. sorry brother...you will know soon. it will get worse if its a problem. but doesn't look promising...

 

[blizzard]

It's hard to tell if that is an infection from the photo, but for reference, these photos definitely are:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f127/pellicle-photo-collection-174033/

 

[mrk305]

It looks fine to me. Beer isn't pretty. Rack away and see what you get. I have had big white waxy looking bubbles and all kind of nasty looking batches. They were some of the best beers ever. It's not supposed to be pretty. It's just supposed to be beer.

 

[mrk305]

It's hard to tell if that is an infection from the photo, but for reference, these photos definitely are:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f127/pellicle-photo-collection-174033/

Nice pics blizzard. Some of those look like beers that I have brewed that tasted great. I wouldn't say they are all infected.

 

[waddsworth]

sucking air into the fermenter is not automatically a source of infection. this picture is not really good enough to tell what that is.

Oh sure. Its just that, when you consider that my house is 110+ years old, and my basement walls are porous to the point that a dehumidifier running full bore still results in 50+% RH at best, and I fill my airlocks with Star San... Well, you get the picture. Old, ineffective, sanitizer in an airlock exposed to an ambient environment wrought with moisture and all kinds of nasties, getting sucked into my precious beer - that ends up having whitish/greyish floaties that I've never seen in any batch prior... Sure, its not automatic, but it seems highly likely.

I racked it to secondary anyway. I'm too optimistic not to. We'll see how it goes. At least I'm certain the other half is going to turn out fine.

 

[ozzy1038]

Anytime I move my BB, I sanitize a sandwich bag and then spray my clean hands with starsan and the bung that is in the BB. Remove said bung and put the baggie over the mouth and rubber band it. You can then transport it without sucking any air in. Once moved replace airlock. I really only do this when moving it to the kitchen on bottling day. I have not had to move it while fermenting, but if I did, I would follow the same procedure.

 

[BillyBock]

I've never bought/used Star San. Just One Step or PBW. Fill my airlocks with water. I also have a ferm bucket with a gravity lid and never had a problem. To move from the closet to bottle/keg, I take the airlock out and transport uncovered!

 

[BillyBock]

BTW OP, that beer looks fine. I'll bet it tastes the same as the other half of the batch.

 

[BlueZooBrewing]

If you are concerned with air getting out and sucking nasty air in, try the milk crates from target. Put your BB in there and leave it in there. Its easier to tilt for racking too. Wont get any more air loss /negative pressure than any other fermenter.

 

[HomebrewMTB]

How does it taste? Nothing else matters.

 

[waddsworth]

Here's an updated pic, this is looking down through the opening of my carboy.

 

[Clann]

I keep my better bottle and all carboys in a milk crate to make moving them easy. It will minimize the suckback when moving the BB.