Beer mold won't go away - help!

[brianpablo]

I've now gotten to my fourth infected batch (fortunately all one gallon) and am hoping for a bit of advice for going forward.

We're talking about white crude growing on top of the beer, usually starting out as a film and at times turning into creepy fractal patterns if I don't stir it up. The beer is still drinkable (I'm an expert at "safe disposal") but does have what I would describe as a "****ty bitterness" and a general taste and smell that just seems "off."

I've attached a few pictures here, though it's the first time I've done it so I don't know where or if they show up.

This stuff frequently grows in secondary, and generally isn't visible until at least a week into fermentation. I try to scrape the white crude off the sides of the stock pot before I bottle it, but the bottles usually end up with a collection of white stuff at the top that doesn't come out of suspension even when I chill them.

My initial suspects were the stockpot and the dirty lines, so for my last batch I got a new stockpot and racked the wort by pouring it (don't have any clean lines onhand). That evidently didn't work because I've got the same crud still growing in there. My next suspect is the test jar, which I always sanitize but is old and likely has places for critters to hide. Have already ordered a new one.

Another thing that occurred to me is that because these are one gallon batches, the boil is often less than an hour. Could mold survive a half-hour or 45 minute boil? Seems unlikely, but worth consideration.

Could there be mold growing in the bathroom where I've got the carboys fermenting? It's not a bathroom we use much so could be a suspect.

I've been using a one-gallon glass carboy. I sanitize it, pour boiling water into it, everything I can think of. There's still a bit of a film where the krausen collects, could this be a potential suspect? I could simply get another and start over.

I've been keeping dry yeast packs in my fridge. I always sanitize them before I cut them open. Is there any way that refrigerator bacteria is the source of the contamination?

I did have one Wyeast smack pack that I smacked a few months ago for a brew but ended up not using it, so I stuck it in the fridge even though it was a bit inflated. When I did use it I realized I hadn't actually broken the nutrient pouch inside, but it had inflated anyway. Potential sign of a problem?

All just thoughts. Much appreciate any ideas.

 

[Trencher]

I'd guess that your most likely culprit is the krausen remaining in your carboy. Remember, you can't sanitize dirt - it's still dirt.

However I'm not entirely clear on your process. You mentioned scraping the crud off the sides of the stock pot before bottling. Are you fermenting in the stock pot?

 

[mjo81]

I'd sterilize the carboy in the oven. It should fit since it's only a gallon. What I do with bottles is clean all sediment out of them with a bottle brush, add a tablespoon of water and seal it with aluminum foil. Then cook them in the oven at 235 degrees F for 8 hours.

You want to be careful not to shock the glass too much. I'm careful not to add or subtract more than 5 degrees every minute. The aluminum foil will keep the bottle sealed and sterilized for a long time.

 

[mjo81]

IMO a secondary is not necessary unless you're racking your beer on top of adjuncts. There are other ways to make a beer clearer such as whirlpooling or adding irish moss to the boil.

 

[Calder]

I don't see anything obvious that would alarm me in the pictures. Maybe they don't show it well.

Either heat everything to 200+ degrees F, or soak in mild bleach solution for about a week (will clean and sanitize). With hoses, suck/fill with the solution and submerge. Rinse with hot water to clean off the bleach.

Mild beach solution is 1 tablespoon per gallon of water.

 

[brianpablo]

Thanks everyone.

I ferment in a carboy but transfer back to the stock pot to add the bottling sugar. I'm going try putting the carboy in the oven, hopefully that will kill off whatever residuals are left int there. Just for my own understanding, is this different from rinsing it in Star San? Of course i usually use only a small amount of Star San so maybe there's still room for mold to keep growing.

 

[number40fan]

Clean the carboy with a brush to get rid of anything clinging to the sides of it before you do anything. Filling it up with hot water and some oxyclean and letting it sit for a while will help loosen up the crud.

 

[Calder]

I'm going try putting the carboy in the oven, hopefully that will kill off whatever residuals are left int there. Just for my own understanding, is this different from rinsing it in Star San? Of course i usually use only a small amount of Star San so maybe there's still room for mold to keep growing.

Heat kills everything. Starsan sanitizes the surface. If you have mold or something else in there, Starsan may not kill it all, as not all of it is exposed to the surface.

 

[cjgenever]

Fyi... spores are hard to kill and starsan isn't the sanitizer for that job. Most molds just don't grow in beer so a spore here or there isn't a problem. If this is infact a spore issue then heat is your best bet, but I'm surprised that simply cleaning with pbw soak followed by brush and then starsan isn't fixing the problem.

What test jar are you talking about? Yorur not pouring gravity samples back in are you?

Don't use a secondary. Use both as a primary for separate batches. Don't open them during fermentation. Give them enough time to ferment so you don't need to take gravity samples.JUST LEAVE THEM CLOSED. If one of them grows stuff you know the problem.

There shouldn't be anything on glass. I suspect that you are not cleaning well before sanitizing. Use pbw and soak for a day or two. Scrub with a brush till spotless, then rinse with hot water.

 

[Riot]

If there is anything still visibly clinging to the jug when you go to sanitise it you haven't cleaned well enough. I have also been guilty of bottling from a kettle because my bottling bucket has an active ferment in it. Boil the pot before you start, heat kills everything. Also, why are you racking to a secondary? If you're using a gallon jug it will fit in your fridge, a two day cold crash works wonders. Just a few immediate thoughts from your post.

 

[Transamguy77]

It could be where you are fermenting, I had a mold issue a few years back and it turned out to be something in my basement in my old house. Once I started fermenting in my living room and second floor (depending on the time of year) and all my problems went away. I cleaned everything with a bleach solution and have been good since.