Do I need to dump this beer?

[AbeM]

I brewed two weeks ago after an extended break. To my surprise as I was getting ready to add to the fermenter, I was out of star san. At a loss what to do, I cleaned everything with B Brite, which I know is not a sanitizer, but it said sanitizes on the side.

Two weeks in, there are little white dots appearing on the surface of my beer. Is this beer lost? Should I dump it now an move on? Or am just being paranoid because I had no star san?

 

[clone63]

Or am just being paranoid because I had no star san?

:rockin:

 

[bigbeergeek]

It's hard to see on my phone but those could be little rafts of mold growing on the surface. While mold looks gross it doesn't always make the beer taste/smell gross. Pull a sample. If it tastes OK then package it. Some bottles might develop their own little rafts, perhaps none will. Or perhaps I can't see the picture on my terrible little phone and they're just foamy clusters of CO2 bubbles from settling yeast! Regardless, I say roll with it.

 

[flars]

Difficult to tell but the dots may be CO2 bubbles. Let it sit for another week to see if a pellicle develops. If it is an infection another week won't change it. If it is not an infection another week will not harm the beer.

 

[AbeM]

Thanks for the feedback, I'll post another photo in a week.

 

[urg8rb8]

Looks like CO2 bubbles to me.

 

[user 70770]

I wouldn't dump it until you've tasted it. If you have a little bit of wild fermentation, it could get interesting. It may not turn out exactly like you had planned, but it could still turn out delicious if you got the right cocktail of bugs in there although it's hard to tell what's going on.

 

[bigplunkett]

You didnt have any bleach?

 

[Whatsgoodmiley]

I had the same issue, if not worse, a few months back:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=581982

That beer turned out to be the best of 4 brews I made for my wedding.

 

[RM-MN]

Beer has been brewed for hundreds of years before Starsan was invented. How did they manage to survive without Starsan?

 

[T29]

sometimes happens but not always an infection, ive just taken it off after with something a spoon or whatevers at hand. let us know how it smells and tastes. dont be discouraged happens all the time, i do mini batches here at the brewery around 25 containers at a time when im creating a new recipe, sometimes it has a negative effect sometimes its just light film and ends up becoming a really good beer..

 

[SFC Rudy]

Bottle it and drink it.

 

[ChelisHubby]

Beer has been brewed for hundreds of years before Starsan was invented. How did they manage to survive without Starsan?

I would bet they drank a fair amount of Sour beer!

 

[ericbw]

It looks like bubbles and maybe some yeast. Not uncommon. I would be more leery of a film across the top. The one time I think I had an actual infection, it looked normal, but it was super sour, thin, and very fizzy. I tried to drink it, but dumped it.

BUT, I have also dumped a couple of batches because they looked like yours and I now figure that I probably dumped perfectly good beer.

Give it another week or so to see what more develops.

If you were going for something smooth and malty. and it ends up sour, dump it.