thin white film

Hi all, I have a pumpkin pie porter in secondary now. It's been a total of about 5 weeks since brew day, and only about 3 days in secondary. I sanitized the new carboy and all my equipment. Has anyone seen this sort of film develop on their beer? I'm really scared, it's been smelling wonderful and it still does, I just have no idea what this is. Here is a shot of the carboy itself, it looks like it begins to run up the sides. Second shot is through the mouth of the carboy. Thanks in advance for help.

 

that looks like a pellicle to me. I've never seen one with that texture on top, but I would say you picked up some wild yeast or bacteria.

 

ditto

 

Looks infected, if you keg you could rack under it and drink quickly, or let it run it's course and see what you end up with. Do not bottle until it is finished!
One problem you have even is it isn't infected is you have way too much headroom for a secondary.

 

Thanks for the help everyone. Just tasted it and it still tastes great, and I'll take the extra headroom into consideration next brew. What do you mean exactly by not bottling until it is finished? I only bottle so far, kegging is a goal in the near future.

 

If you bottle an infected batch you are risking bottle bombs as your new bugs will continue to feast on sugars the yeast won't consume.

 

Okay... So any insight as to how I will know if it is done? Man I hate this feeling

 

I have not had an infection or dabbled in sours so i'm only going by what i have read but it would need to age out months or longer.
I'm sure someone more knowable will chime in.
If you decide not to wait and are going to dump offer it up first someone may be interested in an experiment, i probably would be if you were local.

 

Then again i'm not sure a porter would work out as a sour, as I said someone more knowable will probably chime in.

 

a porter can make a good sour, they are often soured then blended with other sour beers. there is a brewery in capitola, ca that makes an excellent sour called loves armor that has porter in it.

 

lots of styles can make good sours, but those have typically been innoculated with specific blends of bacteria and wild yeasts to give you certain results.

A wild infection like you have could give you flavors ranging from vinegary to dirty diaper...

For me, it wouldn't be worth wasting the time and fermenter to "wait and see." I would taste it now. If it tastes good, drink it as fast as possible. If you can't keg, you can bottle and keep cold. Treat them like live grenades that may explode at any moment. Wear gloves, prepare for a mess, drink fast. Or you could dump it.

The next thing would be to reevaluate your sanitation processes and try to figure out where you picked up this "infection." Maybe stop using a secondary unless you really need it (dry hopping or adding fruit, etc.).

 

Here's a thought: Bottle it normally now, and open a bottle every couple of days to check carbonation. When it reaches the level you want, pasteurize it. Check the Cider forum- it looks like they do it fairly commonly.

 

If you avoid bottle bombs, you will still wind up with gushers and very little drinkable beer.

I'd bottle right away if it is still tasting good. Then in a week or two invite some people over for an impromptu gathering and get it all out of the house. You aren't going to like it very much in a few weeks.

I've had a similar-looking pellicle form after transfering a beer to secondary; for me, it developed a distinct paint-stripper aroma and flavor. Depending upon how low your gravity was when you racked to secondary, you may have a little more time as there will be less sugars for the bugs to eat - but it's a timebomb and should be treated as such.