I need some advise with a...growth

[VoronweSeattle]

What would this be? What causes it? And what should i do about it?

Picasa Web Albums - Orestes

Thanks!

 

[TipsyDragon]

talking about the white stuff??? could be hard water... could be mold ... hard to tell from the pic ... if its a mold or other biological growth i would say drown it in StarSan. mix a proper batch and fill the carboy to the top and let it sit with a cap on for as long as you can. if its hard water use some CLR and rinse really good after.

 

[TipsyDragon]

also might not be a bad idea to use PBW before the StarSan.

 

[Revvy]

Well that looks like a pellicule, a sign of an infection....

Not all infections are bad, in fact many people brew Lambics and other sour beers and are proud of it.

Brettanomyces forms a pellicle- a lumpy white film yeast that coats the top of the beer in fermentation. The yeast cells form chains that can float on the top of beer making use of atmospheric oxygen, thus, Brett is an oxidizing yeast. The pellicle will form in the fermenting vessel (porous or non-porous) and help guard against oxidation during the long aging / fermentation time. The pellicle also guards against acetobacter.

The beer may actually be fine under it....or it may be slightly funky, and enjoyable, or you may have to dump it, if it smells or tastes too bad...but you wont know until you draw a sample and taste it.

(remember, nothing that can harm you, or make you sick can grow in beer, so don't worry about tasting it.)

Not knowing anything about your beer/recipe, and whether or not that is in your primary or secondary, or how long it's been there.

(Hint hint, the more info you give us, the better we can help you)

What I would do is rack it carefully into another sanitized vessel to get it out from under the pellicule. THen I would draw a sample, take a hydro reading and smell and taste it....and tell us if it tastes good or not....

Now separate from whether or not you keep the beer, you need to re-examine your sanitation regimen (since you missed something) and also treat all your gear to insure it doesn't happen again.

I posted some info on treating infections here https://www.homebrewtalk.com/1398587-post4.html

It's no big deal...we all get them eventually...you just gotta nip it in the bud...

 

[DragonTail]

Welcome

 

[VoronweSeattle]

Awesome. Got it racked over and sampled it. Seems to be fine! Keepin my fingers crossed!