Do I need to dump it? Do I need to worry?

[Jhatfield]

Hey guys,

I am brewing an awesome Honey Amber Ale - went to open my 5 gallon bucket to see this (Look at image) No off smells. Just looks like a contamination I guess....

What do I do now. I haven't had this happen to be before. I am so good about sanitation and I am pretty sure no air got to it during its fermentation.

Anyways- any suggestions/recommendations would be great. If I have to dump it - please let me know.

 

[BrewerBrad82]

That appears to be the beginning of a pellicle and is generally caused by lactobacillus. The beer could be beginning to sour unintentionally.

 

[Gavin C]

Not that it's ever possible to identify specific microbes from a photo, this looks entirely conssitent in appearance with other images of acerobacter infection owing to a large enough head space with suffient oxygen for sufficient time.

How long was it in the bucket. The lids are prone to leaks allowing the ever present airborne nasties to get established.

If it is infected, and I strongly suspect it is I would do the following.

1. Dump beer after tasting it
2. Clean bucket
3. Plan the next batch
4. Buy some excellent beer (treat myself) or enjoy some already made homebrew on tap/ in bottles.
5. Not give it another thought.

Nice photo-documentation of the pellicle BTW. You should share it in the post your infection thread. I think there is a link to the appropriate support group in it. You're not the first to have to deal with such a loss. Best of luck with your next batch.

BTW. How long was it in the bucket?

 

[Jhatfield]

It was probably only in the bucket for a month.

So best course of action - dump it? (Damn)

Would you recommend that I bleach out the bucket and all equipment it came into contact with?
This was my first bucket brew. I usually use glass and I have never had a problem.

 

[Gavin C]

I would clean the bucket and lid paying particular attention to the lid's seal area. If worried, chuck it out to be sure.

 

[Cyclman]

Or you could let it go and see how it turns out. You never know.

 

[beersk]

I doubt a leak in the lid is the cause, but it's possible. It's a bummer either way.

Not sure I'd use that bucket again though. There may be a scratch that caused that infection.

 

[Resonator]

Taste it. If it's not bad, you'll probably just have a sour honey amber ale.

Don't dump until you taste it though.

 

[Gavin C]

The picture almost looks like there are fruit fly larvae in the beer in the 2 o'clock area of the image. The ~0.8mm long narrow creamy white looking things.

maybe not. If they are there it is good news for the bucket as you will have identified the culprit. Probably just other stuff though.

 

[passedpawn]

I doubt a leak in the lid is the cause, but it's possible. It's a bummer either way.

Not sure I'd use that bucket again though. There may be a scratch that caused that infection.

A leak in the lid would very likely allow the CO2 to be completely replaced by O2, after which any O2-loving microbes would go to town, especially with all the headspace in there.

Further, a single fruit fly that gets through a gap can create an acetobacterial infection that will ultimately result in vinegar.

While I do think plastic fermentors can be cleaned (bleach/starsan/both), my opinion is go back to your carboy (I don't like buckets) .

 

[j1n]

i would dump it. also many bacteria makes a pellicle not jsut lacto, so to assume its lacto is not a good idea when it could be anything.

 

[beersk]

A leak in the lid would very likely allow the CO2 to be completely replaced by O2, after which any O2-loving microbes would go to town, especially with all the headspace in there.

Further, a single fruit fly that gets through a gap can create an acetobacterial infection that will ultimately result in vinegar.

While I do think plastic fermentors can be cleaned (bleach/starsan/both), my opinion is go back to your carboy (I don't like buckets) .

I don't disagree, I guess a month like that is pretty long. For normal fermentation of 2 weeks, I wouldn't think it'd be enough unless there's a draft in the area where the fermenter is.

 

[Jhatfield]

Well - this is what I did -

I took the beer out of that bucket so I can try and save the bucket.
I put it into a bottling bucket where I plan on letting it sit for a couple of days, see what happens - and I will report back.

I bleached, cleaned, and sanitized the bucket and checked it for any scratches or seal issues.. Seems to be good.

I will taste the batch and if it tastes like vinegar or some other liquid that is not warm, un-carbonated beer - I will dump it down the drain.

Here's to seeing what happens!

Cheers.

 

[Resonator]

It's already in the beer, most likely it will reappear. Also if it's originating in the bucket itself it will be hard to get rid of.

Don't dump it. Depending on if you like sours -- I would have either left it in the bucket, or put it in another container/carboy and let it ferment all the way out before bottling/kegging it. If the gravity stays the same from samples a few days apart you should be good.

Other people would say bottle it now, cool it to stop it from over carbonating, and drink it quick.

But don't be discouraged by an infection. As they say in programming "it's not a bug, it's a feature." -- so allow it to finish out, and try expanding your palette. [emoji3] Brettanomyces and lactobacillus are good in certain circumstances.

If it tastes absolutely horrible to you and other people that try it, then consider dumping it. Even if it does I would still say give it a few weeks and try again before dumping it. But I would definitely have other people try it too, because your tastes aren't the same as everyone else.

Edit:

The picture almost looks like there are fruit fly larvae in the beer in the 2 o'clock area of the image. The ~0.8mm long narrow creamy white looking things.

maybe not. If they are there it is good news for the bucket as you will have identified the culprit. Probably just other stuff though.

After seeing that and looking again, I might be a little more concerned.

If it is larvae, then that's most likely the culprit of your infection.

Up to you how manly you want to be about drinking extra fly larvae protein haha