Infection? Something else?

[bdoubleya]

Hi all,

I've been having something similar to this appear in 3 of my beers as of late, like a white film that grows with time. The previous two I've kegged right after seeing this, they still taste great. The attached pictures are from my oatmeal stout, it's been in primary about a month now and this appeared a few days ago.

My question is, is this an infection? Is it safe to drink? Because I have been

It looks to be maybe a pellicle, based on what I've been able to search? Anything that would cause this other than general sanitation issues? This is a trend I don't think I've seen in my beers before, I've been brewing for ~10 years. I have made some brewing process changes, so they could be suspect.

Let me know what you think, thanks in advance!

 

[Dave Sarber]

No way I'd drink that.

 

[Vale71]

Anything that can infect beer (wort is something else entirely) cannot harm humans. It can make beer taste pretty awful though...

What you have is definitely an infection. If the beer doesn't taste funky at all it's probably a combination of pichia and candida which have the least flavor impact on beer, but the beer will still get worse with time.

I suggest you review your cleaning/sanitation practices and if this becomes a recurrent infection start looking into replacing some of your gear.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Yes, it's a pellicle. We can't be certain which wild microbe(s) may be present.
+1 it's not harmful to your health.

All cold side gear needs to be cleaned properly. Sanitizers don't work if the surface isn't clean.

I recommend cleaning immediately after use. Water rinse, hot PBW soak, water rinse, citric acid rinse, and water rinse before storage. Sanitize immediately before use. Disassemble all parts for cleaning. Review all possible sources of contamination.

Cheers

 

[Horton]

I brewed a pecan brown ale and added a pound of brown sugar for experimentation purposes. Dec 24. Secondary about a week ago. Noticed a small pellicle forming. Bottles immediately.

Was this a good idea? I’ve never had this happen.

 

[bdoubleya]

Kegged it the day after those pictures, turned out great. No sign of sourness or off flavors, RDWHAHB

 

[RPh_Guy]

I brewed a pecan brown ale and added a pound of brown sugar for experimentation purposes. Dec 24. Secondary about a week ago. Noticed a small pellicle forming. Bottles immediately.
Was this a good idea? I’ve never had this happen.

I suggest treating [known] contaminated beer with no off flavors like normal, so yeah I think it's fine that you bottled. However you'll need to keep a closer eye on it to make sure it doesn't over-carbonate, and you should probably keep it cold after it carbonates to retard any potential effects the wild microbes.

Clean equipment thoroughly.