Can beer get mold?

[PTS_35]

I'm on week three of the four week secondary as instructed for this drunken farmer kit and I look and I see a few white clusters. This looks a little more concentrated than the sudsy ones I've seen with wine and my other beers. I'm pissed this may be mold clusters. What should I do. I was to add the hops today for the final week. Is this batch ruined?? please say no. That's 70 bucks down the drain if that's the case. Was gonna rack it into a bucket and go that route.

 

[PTS_35]

Here it is. Pic is bad but wanted to post it

 

[secondbase]

Hard to tell exactly what it is based on the picture, but with all that headspace I wouldn't be surprised if that was the beginning of a pellicle. Can you give us some more specifics about your recipe/process? (ingredients, yeast, how you cleaned and sanitized everything, etc)

 

[IslandLizard]

Did the kit instructions tell you to secondary for 4 weeks?

If so, without certain precautions, that's a sure road to problems, such as oxidation and infection.

I would take a taste sample and prepare to package it right away. If there are a few little white furry floaters, it's likely a mold. They're typically contained to the surface area, where there's air and dampness. If they were in a bucket you could scoop them out, with a sanitized spoon, measuring cup or ladle, then package the beer.

You can probably rack the beer from underneath into your keg or bottling bucket without any harm. Try to prevent sucking them up or disturbing them. Drink the beer as soon as possible.

If it's an infection, it will be throughout the beer, and your beer may taste sour or weird, or just be fine. Infections tend to spread faster, and form a pellicle more quickly. Usually there would be a "haze" developing on the surface first.

 

[PTS_35]

Well I brought it up to sit on counter so I can rack it. I'll taste it as well. What I saw was what looked like white little floats. Seemed furry but couldn't tell bc of carboy. Yes the instructions say 4 wks secondary. I did sanitize with star san. Read on another post that the syphon in hose can call problems. Pissed bc so far I've not gotten any issues with anything I've made. Now that I've moved it I disrupted it and I don't see them on top. Don't know if I should give it the night or what. Let it reappear maybe so I can syphon without disturbing it. I still have to dry hop..

 

[dwhite60]

Most of your problem is the amount of air above the beer in the carboy. To secondary you have to have the beer all the way up into the neck of the carboy. You want almost no headspace.

All that air will hold "stuff" and the oxygen will oxidize your beer.

Ruined? Maybe. Maybe not. I would bottle asap and drink it asap too.

All the Best
D. White

 

[PTS_35]

Wasn't aware that head space could cause issues. FIgured that's what the airlock was for. SO you wouldn't dry hop for a week as directed?

 

[PTS_35]

That's a 6 gal glass carboy. I have one 5 gal plastic ones but didnt want the beer sitting in plastic for 4 weeks