Help! What's this growing on my cider?

[Peter Frantz]

Hi folks,

First time cider maker here. I pressed apples from my tree (4.5 gallons of juice), stabilized with 6 campden tablets for 48 hrs, added 2 lbs honey after heating and cooling the honey, it went to 1.056, pitched cider yeast (with nutrient), 8 days in a sanitized bucket for primary, it reduced to about 1.000, then I sanitized four carboys and siphoned into secondary. I'm using 3 piece airlocks.

Now, after two weeks on secondary in a 68 degree basement, there is white stuff floating on top in two of my carboys. There's also a bit of haze beneath the stuff on top. The other two are clean. Is this mold? Could it be a yeast raft? There are still very small bubbles rising continuously in the clear liquid.

If it is mold, what should I do next?

Thanks,
Peter

 

[jrgtr42]

That's some sort of infection. I'd say let it ride and see what happens. You could end up with something really tasty. (you could also end up with something disgusting.)
Hard to say what might have happened there, though if things looked good coming out of the fermenter, it likely happened in the transferring. What do you use for sanitizer? did you sanitize the siphon, bungs and locks?

 

[Peter Frantz]

Thanks for the quick reply. So I used One Step and then StarSan (both from my local brew store) on all the parts. I don't know if my process steps are up to par, but I think I these are sufficient for cleaning and sanitizing. I cleaned all the parts in a 5 gallon bucket, and scrubbed the carboys with a brush, followed by starsan.

Everything looked clean and clear coming out of the primary fermenter. Just a ring of residue around the perimeter of the bucket.

Weird thing is, out of four carboys, two have exactly the same stuff, and two are clean. So it's not some random inoculant. The same source got into two carboys. Transferring to the carboys went well. I used a simple siphon from the brew store, and I started it by sucking on it. I wondered if I could have contaminated it with my mouth.

But, hmm, really? Just let it ride? If there's even a chance that this is going to ruin a couple gallons, wouldn't it make sense to try to save it? Or is it too late at this point?

And if I did choose to take some action, what would you do at this point? Would you try to get it out and then stabilize with some campden tablets, and then restart with new yeast?

Last question: if I let it ride, is there any chance I'll end up with something that will make me violently ill? And is there any chance this crap is going to continue to grow even after I bottle it?

Thanks a lot. I really appreciate the opinion of someone who's done this before. Sorry so many questions.

 

[ong]

It’s not mold. It’s probably lactobacillus (bacteria), maybe some brettanomyces (yeast). Lacto will definitely sour your cider given some time, and brett will funk it up. There’s not a whole lot you can do at this point; you could try bulk pasteurizing, if you are ok with the current flavor. Campden won’t kill the infection, at least in dosages that keep it drinkable.

There is almost certainly nothing in the cider that will make you ill; it will almost certainly continue growing if you bottle. If you just want to “let it ride,” I would keep it in these jugs for at least a few weeks until you have a stable gravity reading.

 

[CoreyD]

Definitely looks like a pellicle. Let it ride. Should come out fine. As stated by ong, it could turn out sour, or funky. Those of us that brew farmhouse style beers love seeing a nice pellicle like that. I'd leave it for a month or so, then bottle. Should be fine. Hillbilly siphon could have been the culprit. Get an auto siphon. Makes transfer so much easier.

 

[MajorJC]

Were there any fruit flies around when you were transferring? Those little buggers carry acetic acid bacteria on their feet. It does look kinda like a vinegar pellicle. You may end up with a batch of apple cider vinegar. I've got some vinegar going now on the top of my kitchen cabinets. It's beer vinegar though.

 

[dmtaylor]

Campden should hurt or kill it. I'd rack then add some.

 

[jrgtr42]

well. I used a simple siphon from the brew store, and I started it by sucking on it. I wondered if I could have contaminated it with my mouth.

That's your problem right there. I know it's not something most people want to hear, but the human mouth is filthy. Millions of different types of bacteria in there.
Like Corey said, either get an auto-siphon, or use the gravity method
Fill the tube with water, or sanitizer. Get the business end as low as possible, end covered or clamped. Other in the cider (in this case.) Open the tube into a cup or something. then once the cider starts running, get the end into the new carboy.