Hmm wtf is going on in this carboy

[greasemnky_brew]

I brewed a Naughty Sauce like beer(blonde coffee stout) last night. My grist was %80 Maris Otter %8 Munich and %12 oats in it. Could the large amount of oats in it cause this wierd cloudy split

 

[JonM]

Weird, eh? I had an Oktoberfest that did the exact same parfait kind of thing. It all blended up just fine, but it was a weird sight for sure. I bet yours is fine too.

 

[TheMadKing]

That's officially the weirdest looking carboy I've seen on HBT.

No idea what it is, but my first two guesses would be oat proteins or infection.

 

[HomebrewSupply]

That's officially the weirdest looking carboy I've seen on HBT.

I'm on board with this, that's just weird. It's likely some break material combined with yeast rafts/etc., and some stratification... but man, I've never seen anything that looks like that.

It's probably fine though, just let it ride and see how it smells/tastes!

 

[Gavin C]

Looks like an extract with steeping grains batch (I hope the oats aren't in the FV)

Not mixed well or at all and the top up water sits atop the denser layer of sugar rich wort. As fermentation has begun you are seeing krausen on the upper layer of the dense sugar rich wort layer as it tries to break through to the surface. You have a hydocline in the FV for want of a better term.

Looks very odd. Never seen this. But I'm inexperienced with extract brews. Given enough time the whole thing should become homogenous.

That's my theory anyway.

If the oats are in the FV no bueno. I'm almost sure they are not.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Protein coag.

 

[greasemnky_brew]

Looks like an extract with steeping grains batch (I hope the oats aren't in the FV)

Not mixed well or at all and the top up water sits atop the denser layer of sugar rich wort. As fermentation has begun you are seeing krausen on the upper layer of the dense sugar rich wort layer as it tries to break through to the surface. You have a hydocline in the FV for want of a better term.

Looks very odd. Never seen this. But I'm inexperienced with extract brews. Given enough time the whole thing should become homogenous.

That's my theory anyway.

If the oats are in the FV no bueno. I'm almost sure they are not.

This is all grain. The grist details are in the post.

 

[greasemnky_brew]

Protein coag.

I was thinking this. Will the proteins drop to the bottom?

 

[Gavin C]

This is all grain. The grist details are in the post.

Gotcha. Was blinded by the cool sideways picture.

That blows that crappy theory out of the water assuming you didn't top up the FV to reach volume.

 

[Dirt_McGirt]

That beer is clearly haunted by beer ghosts. You need a fermexorcist, immediately.

In seriousness, though, did your fermentation start unusually fast? I'm thinking maybe some krausen glommed onto some of the denser hot break material before it could settle out and caused that weird stratification? Unlikely, but just spitballing ideas.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I was thinking this. Will the proteins drop to the bottom?

Most likely, yes. But may end up needing some help to get the CO2 out from under cloud city so it will come down.

 

[JonM]

When I had the same thing happen, I was using an immersion chiller and I drained the kettle via a valve. I think things stratified in the kettle and drained in the same order, if that makes sense.

It was all mixed up with a dense layer of trub as soon as fermentation kicked off.

 

[bierhaus15]

Improper wort/mash pH can cause this, along with too much whirlfloc or finings in the kettle.

 

[Brettomomyces]

It's gotta be just a ton of break material and proteins...definitely looks like cloud city though

 

[greasemnky_brew]

Gotcha. Was blinded by the cool sideways picture.

That blows that crappy theory out of the water assuming you didn't top up the FV to reach volume.

Haha no worries. Ya I went out to it this morning and started the head scratching. Very wierd to watch as well the top half has fermentation movement the bottom half is stagnant

 

[JonM]

I bet it looks perfectly normal by Sunday morning.

 

[HausBrauerei_Harvey]

I would stir it quick, before it becomes 'self aware'!

 

[greasemnky_brew]

Mash pH was 5.6 used 1.5 worflock for 8 gallons of wort. Fermentation started in normal fashion. I used my counterflow instead of an immersion so I didn't get a cold break in the kettle. So maybe a mixture of all the proteins and no cold break......?

 

[m00ps]

ive seen that before, but only in a plastic carboy that has those little horizontal rings. Weird that a smooth one did it, but maybe this type of phenomenon is what helped make the design of the plastic ones. Facilitates flocculation, itll all drop given time

 

[bierhaus15]

Mash pH was 5.6 used 1.5 worflock for 8 gallons of wort. Fermentation started in normal fashion. I used my counterflow instead of an immersion so I didn't get a cold break in the kettle. So maybe a mixture of all the proteins and no cold break......?

That could be too much whirlfloc. For normal protein malts, ideal usage rate is around 8-10ppm. Most home brewers don't even think about calculating their whirlfoc/fining additions, but it makes a big difference with downstream wort clarity, fermentation, and beer losses. Worth doing.

 

[greasemnky_brew]

That could be too much whirlfloc. For normal protein malts, ideal usage rate is around 8-10ppm. Most home brewers don't even think about calculating their whirlfoc/fining additions, but it makes a big difference with downstream wort clarity, fermentation, and beer losses. Worth doing.

I've used that much whirlfoc in a batch this size and never had problems. I will look more into it.

 

[greasemnky_brew]

Took another peek at it most of it has dissolved and it's now 3/4s of the way down the carboy. Smells malty and awesome 😊

 

[Gavin C]

Wrong thread

Post deleted. Sorry about that

 

[cas3439]

You didn't state the type of yeast you used. I'll take a guess at WLP002 English Ale Yeast. I've had mine look that way before.

 

[greasemnky_brew]

You didn't state the type of yeast you used. I'll take a guess at WLP002 English Ale Yeast. I've had mine look that way before.

Nailed it. First time using that yeast too