What's in my beer???

[DasSchlebach]

I need help identifying what this is. I'm referring to what appears to be a soap looking film across the top of my beer. I have a hunch it might be from my tap water as brewed this batch with water straight from my kitchen sink. Perhaps the minerals and slight notes of chlorine? I drink the water all the time without a second thought but if its gonna do this to my beer...i don't know anymore.

Note this is also my first batch of home brew ever. It taste good to me but this presentation definitely makes me worry something may be off that I am unaware of. I used an Irish Red Ale extract kit from NB.

 

[ElevenBrewCo]

im pretty sure star san can leave a oily looking film...ive had plenty of beers with that on it....just randomly shows up....if it smells good, and tastes good, i wouldnt worry...

 

[Brewnoob1]

Mine did that and it was just a co2 bubble pattern. Really small bubbles anyways...but nothing to worry. What was your process?

 

[ElevenBrewCo]

Mine did that and it was just a co2 bubble pattern. Really small bubbles anyways...but nothing to worry. What was your process?

look closer...he is talking about that funny looking film in the center...looks like oily film

 

[509inc]

From that pic I'd be more concerned about drinking flat beer with no head retention. I agree with brewnoob1 just looks like really small bubbles.

 

[DasSchlebach]

It's more of an oil slick film. I popped open a bottle early, that's why there's no head, but overall I'm pleased with the taste and smell, I'm just displeased with this oil slick across my glass...hopefully it doesn't show up in the next batch.

 

[Thirstin4aburstin]

How did you clean your bottles prior to bottling? Did you use the dish washer with detergent? If you did then maybe the rinse didn't do a good enough job and there's still some soap on the inside of the bottle. This would kill your head retention and leave that oily film. It's not recommended to use the dishwasher to clean bottles and even the glass you'll be drinking it out of because of this problem.

 

[iheartcraftbeer]

Did you try using a different glass, and rinsing the glass out with cold water before pouring the beer? Maybe that glass just had soap residue in it. I would try that before jumping to any conclusions about the beer itself.

 

[Xaphoeous]

I know it's your first brew and that you're excited to open a bottle, but you'll really do yourself a favor to wait 3 weeks before opening the fist bottle. Give the beer time to carbonate and condition a bit.

I agree that it looks like a residue issue. When you open the next bottle, use a glass that is clean. Clean the glass with salt or another method like those found in this thread .

Pour half the beer in the freshly cleaned glass and half in a glass from the cupboard. If the film is in both glasses, it's a beer issue. If it's only in the cupboard glass, it's a residue from your dish detergent.

 

[SenorPepe]

Wow, awesome. Thanks for re-posting that Xaphoeous. My girlfriend is always forgetting to leave the beer glasses aside and now I can fix it easily.

 

[solbes]

Beer glasses get handwashed in our house. Plenty of hot water to rinse and hand dry. This way they are always clean, no water spots, and no hard mineral build up.

 

[Xaphoeous]

Wow, awesome. Thanks for re-posting that Xaphoeous. My girlfriend is always forgetting to leave the beer glasses aside and now I can fix it easily.

No problem

Beer glasses get handwashed in our house. Plenty of hot water to rinse and hand dry. This way they are always clean, no water spots, and no hard mineral build up.

This.
Just think about all the fat, grease and other food particles that get washed off of plates, pots and pans and ONTO your beer glasses at some point in the dishwasher cycle. Hand washing really is the only way to ensure clean beer glasses...unless you get a dishwasher/sanitizer dedicated to beer glasses. ha!

 

[Randall]

Pbw in the dishwasher is money! All of the glasses we have in the house are beer glasses, many to clean. Started using Pbw in the dishwasher and they come out spotless even took off the hardwater stains on the bottoms of the glass. Very expensive though only worth it if you buy the 55lb bucket.

 

[JORY]

You can buy dishwasher's? I just married mine.

 

[DasSchlebach]

The glass I poured it in got a quick rinse because it was in the cupboard but I probably should give them a good hand washing. We usually hand wash our glass but lately with family over for the holidays me and my gf get backed up on dishes and have been just throwing everything in the dishwasher. I will definitely give my glassware a good hot scrubbing before I pop open the next one.

Thanks for the heads up everyone, you guys provide the best advice/information. Really, thank you.

 

[Randall]

You can buy dishwasher's? I just married mine.

Mine worked for about a month then just quit, so I had to buy a Maytag. Much quieter than the last one