Infection?

[bulldogwinters]

Turns out one of my carboys doesn't have a good seal with the stopper I grabbed. Been sitting in secondary for a week and I checked and saw this.. There was condensation at the top of it too.
I agitated it a lil bit and this was the result

Should I even try bottling? It's been open to the air for a week if this stopper was loose like it was today.

 

[hunter_le five]

Have you tried tasting it? Smelling it? That's usually the easiest way to tell if something's infected.

I'm honestly having trouble telling what's going on in the first two pics. Is that something growing on the side of the carboy in the first pic, or just a glare.

I agitated it a lil bit and this was the result View attachment 207655

It's normal to bubble when you agitate beer, even prior to carbonation. Some of the CO2 always gets dissolved into solution during primary fermentation, and will off-gas when you agitate it. This isn't necessarily a sign of anything.

 

[j1n]

Yeah, looks infected from that first pic. Is this secondary or primary? if secondary, that looks like a lot of head space.

 

[day_trippr]

Definitely a righteous pellicle in those first pics...

 

[bulldogwinters]

The second pic isn't bubbles, it's clumps of whatever was growing on it. I ended up tasting and tossing it unfortunately, definitely infected

 

[dobe12]

First pic definitely looks like an infection. You dumped it? Too soon man. Rack from underneath the infection, keg, and drink. If you do it quick enough, you won't even know there's an infection.

 

[bulldogwinters]

First pic definitely looks like an infection. You dumped it? Too soon man. Rack from underneath the infection, keg, and drink. If you do it quick enough, you won't even know there's an infection.

Guess I worded that wrong, I decided I will toss. Haven't actually dumped. I don't have an open keg right now.. And working 60 hours a week I don't have time to bottle. Perhaps I'll try and kick my keg quickly and try your suggestion

 

[jeneliz]

Question here - how does kegging/bottling prevent the spread of the infection?

 

[j1n]

Question here - how does kegging/bottling prevent the spread of the infection?

What do you mean by the spread of infection.... If the beer is infected then its infected.

 

[jeneliz]

What do you mean by the spread of infection.... If the beer is infected then its infected.

Fair point - Well, for example, I have what I guess is some kind of infection in my heffeweisen and I want to avoid a sour flavor (assuming this is the infection I think it is) from producing in each of my bottles.

So...I guess what I'm asking is - if the beer is infected and has a slight smell, does that necessarily mean the entire batch has that bacteria and, thus, a sour taste; or does bottling/kegging prevent the "spread" of whatever bacteria is causing that off taste?

 

[j1n]

Fair point - Well, for example, I have what I guess is some kind of infection in my heffeweisen and I want to avoid a sour flavor (assuming this is the infection I think it is) from producing in each of my bottles.

So...I guess what I'm asking is - if the beer is infected and has a slight smell, does that necessarily mean the entire batch has that bacteria and, thus, a sour taste; or does bottling/kegging prevent the "spread" of whatever bacteria is causing that off taste?

If it was infected before bottling or kegging then yes, the whole batch is infected. If some of the bottles are infected then it could have come from dirty bottles so then not all of it would be contaminated.

 

[HawleyFarms]

I have a very young infection in my cyser. I racked into secondary after fermentation was nearly through (will have to look back in my notes to check exact gravity). Two days after racking I noticed an inch or more of sediment on the bottom of the carboy. I had read somewhere that its not wise to leave it aging on so much sediment. I re-racked to siphon off the sediment at the bottom. I should have let it be. I think I have too much headspace and 24 hrs after re-rack, allowed it to become infected. What can I do to save my cyser? Have a pic but don't know how to upload.

 

[SmCranf]

I have a very young infection in my cyser. I racked into secondary after fermentation was nearly through (will have to look back in my notes to check exact gravity). Two days after racking I noticed an inch or more of sediment on the bottom of the carboy. I had read somewhere that its not wise to leave it aging on so much sediment. I re-racked to siphon off the sediment at the bottom. I should have let it be. I think I have too much headspace and 24 hrs after re-rack, allowed it to become infected. What can I do to save my cyser? Have a pic but don't know how to upload.

Let it go and taste it in 6 months:fro: