Post your infection

[bishkekbadger]

thanks for the reply. i bottled it. i rarely use a secondary fermenter to limit chances of infection and shoot for 6 weeks in the primary. too long???

 

[unionrdr]

6 weeks in primary is a bit long for an average gravity ale. 3-4 weeks is more typical.

 

[lolcats]

@arnobg

That's what it should look like when the krausen is dropping co2 bubbles and yeast rafts

 

[moreb33rplz]

No photos, but had to dump an entire batch. Whole cone hop made it through the strainer into primary, had a little patch of growth 4 weeks later at bottling, and then every bottle had a white film and floaties.

Farewell sweet prince.

 

[IJesusChrist]

No photos, but had to dump an entire batch. Whole cone hop made it through the strainer into primary, had a little patch of growth 4 weeks later at bottling, and then every bottle had a white film and floaties.

Farewell sweet prince.

Did you smell and taste?

 

[joshesmusica]

No photos, but had to dump an entire batch. Whole cone hop made it through the strainer into primary, had a little patch of growth 4 weeks later at bottling, and then every bottle had a white film and floaties.

Farewell sweet prince.

So you're saying that a whole cone hop was in the boil, but you were straining them out while pouring from the boil kettle into the primary, but then one of those made it into the primary still somehow?

And I gotta wonder the same thing, did you actually taste it before you dumped it, or did you just dump it because of the film?

 

[kombat]

No photos, but had to dump an entire batch. Whole cone hop made it through the strainer into primary, had a little patch of growth 4 weeks later at bottling, and then every bottle had a white film and floaties.

Farewell sweet prince.

How would a hop cone (that has been boiled!) contaminate a batch? Many people dump whole hop cones (unboiled) directly into the fermenter to dry-hop. Hops are added as a preservative - they have the opposite effect of contaminating the batch.

Either your beer was not actually infected, or it picked it up somewhere else, but I guarantee it did not get infected by leaving a boiled hop cone in it.

 

[moreb33rplz]

How would a hop cone (that has been boiled!) contaminate a batch? Many people dump whole hop cones (unboiled) directly into the fermenter to dry-hop. Hops are added as a preservative - they have the opposite effect of contaminating the batch.

Either your beer was not actually infected, or it picked it up somewhere else, but I guarantee it did not get infected by leaving a boiled hop cone in it.

I do not know what caused the contamination, but there was some growth on a hop cone that had found its way into the bucket.

I'm 99 percent sure it was infected. It tasted slightly sour, was overcarbed, had a fairly thick white film in the bottles, and floaties in every single bottle (there were not visible floaties at bottling).

 

[Bryan_85]

This picture is an update on one that I posted over the wknd. The "film" that I had before has grown vertically and the smell has gotten a bit funky. Most ppl would pour these batches out, right?

 

[Resonator]

I do not know what caused the contamination, but there was some growth on a hop cone that had found its way into the bucket.



I'm 99 percent sure it was infected. It tasted slightly sour, was overcarbed, had a fairly thick white film in the bottles, and floaties in every single bottle (there were not visible floaties at bottling).

Sounds infected, but doubt the hops caused it directly. It was just probably floating and provided a space for whatever caused your infection to land, or was an old stuck hop that finally freed itself from somewhere in your brewing setup.

 

[IJesusChrist]

This picture is an update on one that I posted over the wknd. The "film" that I had before has grown vertically and the smell has gotten a bit funky. Most ppl would pour these batches out, right?

that is absolutely disgusting.

 

[Resonator]

This picture is an update on one that I posted over the wknd. The "film" that I had before has grown vertically and the smell has gotten a bit funky. Most ppl would pour these batches out, right?

Take a sample from under the film and taste it.

 

[Bryan_85]

Take a sample from under the film and taste it.

I was very skeptical, but did try it, and was surprised that it tasted completely normal. That makes me want to try bottling it. Any advice on how to handle the s*** on the top? just scoop it off?

 

[Resonator]

I was very skeptical, but did try it, and was surprised that it tasted completely normal. That makes me want to try bottling it. Any advice on how to handle the s*** on the top? just scoop it off?

Make sure the gravity is the same a week to a month apart first. Then just rack from under the film.

 

[unionrdr]

This picture is an update on one that I posted over the wknd. The "film" that I had before has grown vertically and the smell has gotten a bit funky. Most ppl would pour these batches out, right?

Looks like it's getting ready to crawl out of there! Never saw one like that!

 

[IJesusChrist]

Make sure the gravity is the same a week to a month apart first. Then just rack from under the film.

Most (>50%, I have no idea actual numbers) have no real affect on flavor. But they can produce bottle bombs, as they can ferment things the yeast cannot (+CO2).

Yeah just rack under it, or scoop it off with a santitized spoon. Its not a big deal if it gets in a bottle - it will just be visually unpleasant. My roommate just bottled an infected beer and I had do drink some chunks of the first bottle for a taste test...

extra protein is what I tell myself...
extra protein.
:cross:....

 

[Ginntonnix]

This is a snapshot of a Mosaic IPA in about week 7. I've left it alone for the past few weeks in the dark, and it looked fine then. But I took the cover off of it today to dry hop and noticed "patches" on the surface and potentially something floating, along with what looks like hop residue along the sides.

Is this an infection? What do the experts think? Appreciate it!

 

[IJesusChrist]

This is a snapshot of a Mosaic IPA in about week 7. I've left it alone for the past few weeks in the dark, and it looked fine then. But I took the cover off of it today to dry hop and noticed "patches" on the surface and potentially something floating, along with what looks like hop residue along the sides.

Is this an infection? What do the experts think? Appreciate it!

Could be. Take a closer pic if possible. Doesn't look likes hops to me..

 

[joshesmusica]

This is a snapshot of a Mosaic IPA in about week 7. I've left it alone for the past few weeks in the dark, and it looked fine then. But I took the cover off of it today to dry hop and noticed "patches" on the surface and potentially something floating, along with what looks like hop residue along the sides.

Is this an infection? What do the experts think? Appreciate it!

7 week! Holy get to bottling quicker man! Seriously though, you're almost defeating the purpose of it being an ipa when waiting that long, especially if you're bottling. Dr hopping will help, but you're losing so much of what you did in the boil by waiting that long. And if that's not primary, but you racked to secondary, if you introduced any oxygen, it's likely to hurt the effects of the hops even more!

It looks like it could possibly be, but need a better pic to tell.

 

[Ginntonnix]

Thanks guys, I appreciate all the input. I used to be a pretty prolific brewer until about a year ago... which corresponds with the birth of my daughter. Kids are awesome, but they are very high maintenance, so taking several hours to brew seemed unkind.

This was my first batch in a year and it's been difficult to stay on the proper timeframe, hence letting it slide longer than usual. I was probably sloppier than I should have been and I'm afraid my brew gear may have caught something in storage.

I took two more pictures today - to my untrained eye it looks like something is progressing. Bottle this weekend, wait to bottle until this finishes, or throw it out?

 

[joshesmusica]

Thanks guys, I appreciate all the input. I used to be a pretty prolific brewer until about a year ago... which corresponds with the birth of my daughter. Kids are awesome, but they are very high maintenance, so taking several hours to brew seemed unkind.

This was my first batch in a year and it's been difficult to stay on the proper timeframe, hence letting it slide longer than usual. I was probably sloppier than I should have been and I'm afraid my brew gear may have caught something in storage.

I took two more pictures today - to my untrained eye it looks like something is progressing. Bottle this weekend, wait to bottle until this finishes, or throw it out?

Yeah that looks infected. If you're as careful as possible, you could leave like a half gallon in the carboy, and siphon from underneath that stuff. You should be ok to bottle, but I would check your SG. Since you've already waited this long, check it again in a week. If it drops, then you might think about doing a combo of priming lower than normal and drinking these up pretty quickly. Some of these wild yeast and bacteria strains will continue to ferment all the complex sugars.

 

[raceon4]

So this was a pale ale. Brewed it late August. Just hadn't got around to bottling. This doesn't look so great though.

View attachment 1445613039767.jpg

View attachment 1445613056540.jpg

 

[unionrdr]

It's definitely got something going in there...and it ain't good...well, maybe. Try it & see.

 

[raceon4]

Yea it doesn't taste great. Is it worth letting it sit? I also don't have extra sour equipment at the moment so is that something I should be concerned about? Or should I just dump it? Also should I get it away from other carboys? This is the first time I've gotten something like this.

 

[m00ps]

The last 2 batches are certainly infected IMO. Anytime you get those "ice drift" looking batches that is the beginning of a pellicle IME.

Its proximity to other carboys isnt an issue. If its glass you can clean it thoroughly by filling with PBW and letting it sit. But most of all, be sure that any sampling/racking equipment you use with that beer DOES NOT touch any of your other beers. Thats how infections spread

 

[unionrdr]

What concerns me more is the splotches floating just under the surface. That looks worse than the spots on the surface. If it tastes bad, rather than like a sour ale, then it might be a dumper...

 

[Ginntonnix]

Yeah that looks infected. If you're as careful as possible, you could leave like a half gallon in the carboy, and siphon from underneath that stuff. You should be ok to bottle, but I would check your SG. Since you've already waited this long, check it again in a week. If it drops, then you might think about doing a combo of priming lower than normal and drinking these up pretty quickly. Some of these wild yeast and bacteria strains will continue to ferment all the complex sugars.

Ok, so I checked the gravity. I'm down to 1.01 (started at 1.07) as of today, which is close to where it was lingering a few weeks ago at the last check. The taste isn't anything to write home about, but it doesn't taste BAD... fairly standard IPA. I agree with the other posters here that I waited too long and now a lot of the hop aroma is gone.

I'll check it again in a week and if it hasn't moved, bottle away!

I really appreciate all the assistance - this forum has been great. I'll be sure to start contributing as I get my brewing chops

 

[EcksFactor]

how about this one?

 

[unionrdr]

I'd say krausen & yeast floaters.

 

[EcksFactor]

I'd say krausen & yeast floaters.

I hope so. This is week three of fermentation. At the end of week two, i had three days straight of what was a stuck fermentation (same hydrometer readings more than 8 points away from FG). I did the gentle swirl technique to try and rouse the yeast and three days later, i get bubbling in the airlock again. Today is three days after bubbling started again and i have what you see in the picture. Doesnt taste too bad, but I'll let it go to see if anything else develops.

Thanks for the response.