Hey Y’all.
We’ve got a situation and I’m not sure what our next steps should be. We’ve got our Belgian dark strong which was brewed 8 months ago. It had a pretty slow ferment. Started at 1.114 OG and got down to 1.040 after 3 months. So, I transferred it into new sanitized and co2 purged carboys and added a fresh batch of 05. After a month was able to get it down to 1.033.
Then COVID hit and it was sort left in the fermenter at 40 for the last 4 months. I’m getting ready to finally bottle it this weekend and I noticed (for the first time) a while cloudy film in the two carboys and in my larger fermenter. The beer definitely tastes a little sour (but def drinkable) and the gravity is the same 1.033. It’s really supposed to finish at 1.023 or so. I’m not sure what I should do. It’s a total of 40 gallons, so I want to save it if I can!
Is there a good methodology for me to key out this white film to order/genus to know if it’s safe to consume?
If so, should i syphon off the beer onto some fresh high gravity yeast to see if it will finish?
Or should I just bottle it as is with some good yeast and hope it aged well?
Also, should I be careful with using certain equipment with this white stuff? What’s the long-term contamination risk to future batches?
Sorry for the long post. I could really use the help though!!
We’ve got a situation and I’m not sure what our next steps should be. We’ve got our Belgian dark strong which was brewed 8 months ago. It had a pretty slow ferment. Started at 1.114 OG and got down to 1.040 after 3 months. So, I transferred it into new sanitized and co2 purged carboys and added a fresh batch of 05. After a month was able to get it down to 1.033.
Then COVID hit and it was sort left in the fermenter at 40 for the last 4 months. I’m getting ready to finally bottle it this weekend and I noticed (for the first time) a while cloudy film in the two carboys and in my larger fermenter. The beer definitely tastes a little sour (but def drinkable) and the gravity is the same 1.033. It’s really supposed to finish at 1.023 or so. I’m not sure what I should do. It’s a total of 40 gallons, so I want to save it if I can!
Is there a good methodology for me to key out this white film to order/genus to know if it’s safe to consume?
If so, should i syphon off the beer onto some fresh high gravity yeast to see if it will finish?
Or should I just bottle it as is with some good yeast and hope it aged well?
Also, should I be careful with using certain equipment with this white stuff? What’s the long-term contamination risk to future batches?
Sorry for the long post. I could really use the help though!!
Attachments
-
28B43122-8F72-4251-A7FD-F536C4018B94.jpeg3.1 MB · Views: 54
-
5393F194-BE45-424F-887B-0EB395407CA2.jpeg2.8 MB · Views: 48
-
5B83C3B2-5409-4AB0-B2ED-91BE0017BF05.jpeg2.2 MB · Views: 46
-
96472640-746D-4164-B64A-1440AF17C9B0.jpeg3 MB · Views: 40
-
1ED4E08F-7D53-44E9-AAF8-946EE2F05B5D.jpeg2.6 MB · Views: 36
-
0C63E7EE-AFC6-4FF6-B209-AE73218F48EE.jpeg4 MB · Views: 35
-
C24C8974-67C2-459A-9CA7-BF8F8C576787.jpeg3.4 MB · Views: 34