Houston we have a problem. INFECTION?!

[Khaan4645]

Well I've got trouble on my hands with my latest batch of a negra modelo clone. I've had it in the secondary now for about a week(4 total weeks) and I came home today to find a thin film on the top layer of my wort. The film consists of small bubbles that are somewhat connected to eachother. check out the pic. Please let me know what you think.

beer on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

 

[HorribleCatfish]

I've had similar looking things on 2 or 3 batches. All were delicious.

 

[Khaan4645]

Nice. Yeah I definitely posted too soon. Just read all types of "infection" stories. Looks like I'll be fine. Just freaked out a little, never seen anything like that before!!

Thanks for the help

 

[moger777]

The floating white thingies are very common, just floating yeast. The stringy looking things coming out of them I've never seen before though. Try a bit of the beer out. If it tastes good, it's probably fine.

 

[rohanski]

I used to have this problem on every batch I made after it first appeared. After I started brewing and racking in the garage the problem went away. I believe it is some kind of mold that is in the air where you are racking. I didn't think it made a difference in taste but after it went away the taste was slightly different.

 

[giligson]

Just out of curiosity, what strain of yeast are you using? Some yeasts have a fillament like component to their life cycle (but I didn't think that they were used for brewing)

 

[ghack]

I had the same thing a few years back. I've heard it called a "dust mold" but I have no idea what it is. It seemed to have no effect on the beer.

I just racked out from the bottom and stopped the flow it right before any of it made it to the tube.

 

[Khaan4645]

The yeast was a White Labs German Lager 830.

I shook the bottle a bit a few days ago and the airlock reactivated, so maybe that'll clear some of it up.
I think from now on I may just Primary for 6 weeks. I've made several batches that way and decided to secondary this one for one reason or another. The previous batches turned out great.

 

[brrman]

Definitely an infection - I've had it before in 3 batches. My guess is acetobacter.

If it stays on the beer too long it will give the beer an acidic bite to it. I drank all my batches that had it except one. The 2 I drank were ok, but as time went on I noticed the taste changing to the acidic bite.
The last batch I threw out because it had sit in the secondary too long with the infection and was not good to drink. Basically the bacteria can eat things the yeast cannot, so you get byproduct.

The culprit for me was an insufficiently sanitized racking hose. Replace your hose and bleach your racking cane.

That said - no one can ever "really" tell if an infection has taken hold unless you have a lab in your basement. You might be fine in the end.

 

[benl560]

this is what i have on my cider.

looks pretty similar. should i just rack from under it and bottle?

 

[Lefty]

Hmmm, never had a sour Negra Modelo before...new style maybe?!? Sour mexican brews. Different.

 

[bendavanza]

wow that stuff looks nasty. Never seen that before.
-Ben

 

[blue_bmw2]

My secondary has some white things floating at the top. They are quite smaller than the two pictures posted and the string like things are not there. I'm hoping this is just the yeast on top.

 

[jds]

Any time you look at a beer in the fermenter and wonder, "is this infected?", I think you also need to ask yourself, "and what will I do about it?"

If it is infected, you probably can't save it. If it's not, then there's nothing to worry about. Let it finish up, and your taste buds will tell you what's really happening.

The only thing I can remember losing to an infection recently was a batch of apfelwein that I let sit around way too long (think 5 months or more) that turned into vinegar. Guess what: It looked fine. However, it tasted like Satan's taint, so I dumped it.

That said, that film on your cider, benl560, looks nasty. How's the cider taste?

 

[carnevoodoo]

My secondary has some white things floating at the top. They are quite smaller than the two pictures posted and the string like things are not there. I'm hoping this is just the yeast on top.

That sounds like yeast.

The other two were really likely infected. That cider looks gnarly.

 

[notwoohoo]

Yeah, strings/tendrils are a typical sign of contamination. If it is indeed acetobacter, your ethanol (alcohol) is being converted to acetic acid. This only occurs in the presence of oxygen. Do you have an airlock on the carboy? You could possibly pasteurize it if you are concerned with its stability.

 

[benl560]

well...i cant bring myself to taste it. the thin white film has since turned into a thick ofwhite film. maybe ill get drunk tonight and taste it. hopefully its not the acteobactor, but its a good possibility since it was probably almost done fermenting.

 

[batfishdog37]

Could any of those be Brettomyces? Wild yeasts that can make a film on the top of beer. I had a similar thin film on top and was told it is wild yeast. Which is fine to drink just watch out for exploding bottles.

 

[Khaan4645]

Well I've tasted the batch, and it is in fact the most sour beer I've ever tasted. I'll probably leave it on tap for another week just to see if anything changes. not sure if I'll end up drinking it or not. Not exactly what I had in mind when I brewed it.