Am I boned?

[WaltG]

Ok. This is 10 days in. Dry hopped 2 days ago. Is all that from hops or is it infected? If infected I'm throwing away the bucket.

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[Shawn_Brewin]

It's the hops. IMO. Takes them a bit to drop out. You look just fine.

 

[Hello]

Man, came here hoping to see if you were boned. Disappointment.

You're fine. It's hops and they do take time to settle out.

 

[kombat]

I'm normally the first guy to say, "You're fine" in these threads. But I have to admit, the white bubbles near the edge in that third photo do make me suspicious. Let it ride, play it out, but taste it before you bottle just in case you have indeed picked something up that could potentially produce bottle bombs.

 

[Hello]

I'm normally the first guy to say, "You're fine" in these threads. But I have to admit, the white bubbles near the edge in that third photo do make me suspicious. Let it ride, play it out, but taste it before you bottle just in case you have indeed picked something up that could potentially produce bottle bombs.

On my phone, it wasn't as evident. That third photo though, the bubbles at the top, one of them does look a little like pellicle.

You can taste it now and bottle it up, drink fast...or you can let it ride.

 

[cannman]

On my phone, it wasn't as evident. That third photo though, the bubbles at the top, one of them does look a little like pellicle.



You can taste it now and bottle it up, drink fast...or you can let it ride.

I second the "drink it fast"notion. Those white bubbles along the edge are concerning...

 

[hottpeper13]

It looks to me like you hopped in primary and those bubbles are leftover krusen. The only way I know to settle out hops is cold crashing,that will also slow down the infection if you even have one. After 3 days crashing, taste it.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Looks like pellicle under hop funk. But, you say if it's tits up your going to throw out the bath with the water so why not just wait it out and see what comes of it.

 

[Yooper]

Looks like pellicle under hop funk. But, you say if it's tits up your going to throw out the bath with the water so why not just wait it out and see what comes of it.

Agreed- definitely a pellicle with those white spots and bubbles.

 

[WaltG]

Would it help to rack to a secondary at this point? Trying to avoid all that crap on top and see if it pops back up?

 

[Yooper]

Would it help to rack to a secondary at this point? Trying to avoid all that crap on top and see if it pops back up?

No. The more time it has, the worse it will get. It's already got a ton of headspace that allows this type of thing to take hold- racking it and exposing it to more air and time will make it worse.

If you want to bottle it up and drink it fast, before the taste is affected, that would be the way to go. Keep the bottles someplace contained, in case it continues in the bottle and overcarbs them.

 

[WaltG]

I wasn't talking about tossing the batch. Just the bucket. Second time in a row that I had a problem. It's been through about 15 or so batches so maybe end of its life.

 

[CA_Mouse]

IMHO, it looks like you dry hopped before the yeast had dropped out of suspension. If your yeast was still active when you dropped your pellets into the fermenter, that would cause extra oxygen uptake by the yeast as well as a lot of contact points for CO2 to hold onto.

Does it have a slight off aroma, say like sour cream or buttermilk? Those two aromas would be the first sign of an infection. Most bacteria are very slow acting, so a pellicle formation in 2 days is highly unlikely. Just for comparison, my sours took nearly 3 weeks after adding the bacteria to form a pellicle.

 

[WaltG]

Ok. Got it in my fridge to cold crash. How long? 24 hrs be ok?

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I wasn't talking about tossing the batch. Just the bucket. Second time in a row that I had a problem. It's been through about 15 or so batches so maybe end of its life.

More like a toss of the dice, or a glitch in your sanitation system.

I've still got buckets that are well over 7 years old and have been through countless batches.

Been a while since I've brewed. Toward the end I took up using Reynolds Turkey bags as a bucket liner. Not because i had any infection issues, but because it made it way easier to clean buckets. You just pulled the liner, rinsed the bucket, and it was done.

 

[CA_Mouse]

I wasn't talking about tossing the batch. Just the bucket. Second time in a row that I had a problem. It's been through about 15 or so batches so maybe end of its life.

You hadn't mentioned this in your original post. Most likely you have gotten an infection in your plastic then. I would suspect anything in your brewhouse that is plastic now: ie racking cane, racking tubes, funnels, spoons. You can kill the bacteria in your bucket by dumping near-boiling water into it, then hitting it with starsan immediately, but cost of a new bucket is low. Replace the lid and and airlocks and tubing that has come into contact with beer coming out of this bucket.Anything plastic that touched your wort before the bucket should be fine, unless you used a racking cane/tube from your kettle to your bucket after your last beer was in this bucket.

 

[WaltG]

You hadn't mentioned this in your original post. Most likely you have gotten an infection in your plastic then. I would suspect anything in your brewhouse that is plastic now: ie racking cane, racking tubes, funnels, spoons. You can kill the bacteria in your bucket by dumping near-boiling water into it, then hitting it with starsan immediately, but cost of a new bucket is low. Replace the lid and and airlocks and tubing that has come into contact with beer coming out of this bucket.Anything plastic that touched your wort before the bucket should be fine, unless you used a racking cane/tube from your kettle to your bucket after your last beer was in this bucket.

My autosiphon is new. This gives me an excuse to buy a carboy anyway.

Should my fermentation be done? It was a session to begin with and my OG was only 1.035.

 

[m00ps]

if its infected, you should give it 2 months or so to ferment. It will condition with more time than that but Ive usually found its safe to bottle past 2 months usually

 

[WaltG]

Ok. I did read hoppy beers are hard to get infected. Is this hoppy enough to fall into that catagory?

7.5 lbs Pale 2-row 78.9%
2 lbs crystal/caramel 20 21.1%
.75 oz cascade FWH 60 min 15.7 IBU
2 oz Amarillo gold 5 mins 11.7 IBU
2 oz centennial hop stand 15 mins 17.1 IBU
.25 oz cascade hop stand 15 mins 1.2 IBU

1 vial WLP001 or us-05 at 67 degrees F for 10 Days

Dry hop in secondary for 4 days with:
1 oz Centennial
1 oz amarillo gold

 

[55x11]

Ok. I did read hoppy beers are hard to get infected. Is this hoppy enough to fall into that catagory?

7.5 lbs Pale 2-row 78.9%
2 lbs crystal/caramel 20 21.1%
.75 oz cascade FWH 60 min 15.7 IBU
2 oz Amarillo gold 5 mins 11.7 IBU
2 oz centennial hop stand 15 mins 17.1 IBU
.25 oz cascade hop stand 15 mins 1.2 IBU

1 vial WLP001 or us-05 at 67 degrees F for 10 Days

Dry hop in secondary for 4 days with:
1 oz Centennial
1 oz amarillo gold

I think hops can preserve beer from spoiling to some extent, but I don't think they would totally stop the arms race of who gets to wort first - Yeast vs. Bacteria.
Hops can hide some off-taste too, but your case seem to be pretty advanced.

Do you think this developed from dry hopping? Or was it there all along?

Also - just curious - how long did you have this bucket? do you open it often during fermentation? do you clean it with hard brush?

 

[WaltG]

I think hops can preserve beer from spoiling to some extent, but I don't think they would totally stop the arms race of who gets to wort first - Yeast vs. Bacteria.
Hops can hide some off-taste too, but your case seem to be pretty advanced.

Do you think this developed from dry hopping? Or was it there all along?

Also - just curious - how long did you have this bucket? do you open it often during fermentation? do you clean it with hard brush?

There are some scratches in it which may be the issue. I'm gonna cold crash and bottle and hope for the best.

 

[Dixon9717]

A title like "Am I boned" I expected an interesting video that creates a different kind of infection. [emoji12][emoji12][emoji12][emoji12]

 

[CA_Mouse]

My autosiphon is new. This gives me an excuse to buy a carboy anyway.

I only use carboys for bulk aging my sours or ciders nowadays. Buckets are cheaper and usually pretty reliable. I have my original bucket still in use after about 5 years of constant brewing. As long as you don't scratch them, they will last several years.

Should my fermentation be done? It was a session to begin with and my OG was only 1.035.

Only your refractometer/hydrometer will be able to tell you that. Honestly though, 2# of crystal in such a small beer will leave it extremely sweet. A SG of 1.035 under best circumstances and conditions may only yield a 3.3% to 3.6% beer. That much C-20 will give it a very sweet taste that your hops may not contribute enough bitterness to compensate for. It will be beer, but may be a bit off.

 

[WaltG]

I only use carboys for bulk aging my sours or ciders nowadays. Buckets are cheaper and usually pretty reliable. I have my original bucket still in use after about 5 years of constant brewing. As long as you don't scratch them, they will last several years.



Only your refractometer/hydrometer will be able to tell you that. Honestly though, 2# of crystal in such a small beer will leave it extremely sweet. A SG of 1.035 under best circumstances and conditions may only yield a 3.3% to 3.6% beer. That much C-20 will give it a very sweet taste that your hops may not contribute enough bitterness to compensate for. It will be beer, but may be a bit off.

My bad it was 1.5lb crystal. Was supposed to be an All Day Ipa clone.

 

[WaltG]

This is after cold crashing 24 hrs. I think infected but not terribly. I'll bottle tonight.

Was 1.009 so it's only gonna be 3.4%, but it was only supposed to be 4.2 in the first place. Really just hope it tastes ok.

 

[WaltG]

Help if I posted picture.

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[Roadliner]

Been a while since I've brewed. Toward the end I took up using Reynolds Turkey bags as a bucket liner. Not because i had any infection issues, but because it made it way easier to clean buckets. You just pulled the liner, rinsed the bucket, and it was done.

oooo.. I like this idea

 

[CA_Mouse]

Help if I posted picture.

This looks pretty normal after a cold crash. Is there any lactic aroma? Something like warm milk?

 

[WaltG]

This looks pretty normal after a cold crash. Is there any lactic aroma? Something like warm milk?

That film on top? Also do I bring to room temp before bottling?

 

[WaltG]

Doesn't seem that clear for something I cold crashed. This is about halfway through bottling. Did clear up bit after this.... https://youtu.be/1gqGy4r7pyc