IPA gone wrong-- I think it's got mold. Salvageable?

[SchizoFilly]

I'm not missing any elephant, I'm just pointing some info out to the uber noob brewers who are deathly afraid of their beers being toxic.......or evil's formerly favorite beverage, pepsi clear.

Revvy, that elephant comment wasn't directed at you, you were, as always, spot on. :rockin:

......and, uh, I liked pepsi clear also, but I definitely didn't have an over abundance of it.

 

[Munsoned]

Revvy, that elephant comment wasn't directed at you, you were, as always, spot on. :rockin:

......and, uh, I liked pepsi clear also, but I definitely didn't have an over abundance of it.

In my teenage years I was once out with some friends one night, just driving around. One of them had a bottle of Pepsi Clear. We got stopped by the cops and our car was searched. The cop saw the bottle of Pepsi Clear, opened it (thinking it was filled with vodka or something) and essentially put his nostril on the mouthpiece of the bottle to take a big whiff. He returned it to my friend after figuring out there was nothing alcoholic in it. That experience turned me off from Pepsi Clear forever just because of the grossness factor of what the cop did. Pepsi, you can thank the Evansville, IN police department for turning a potential customer off forever. (Nothing was found in the car, and the cops let us go without even a warning.)

Ok--back to the topic at hand: Yes, again, that mold looks gross but I'd still try to save the batch... As Revvy said, it ain't gonna kill ya!

 

[Revvy]

Revvy, that elephant comment wasn't directed at you, you were, as always, spot on. :rockin:

......and, uh, I liked pepsi clear also, but I definitely didn't have an over abundance of it.

Yeah I realized it after...but it got me thinking about how truly nasty those IPA's mave have actually tasted compared to our modern versions.

In my teenage years I was once out with some friends one night, just driving around. One of them had a bottle of Pepsi Clear. We got stopped by the cops and our car was searched. The cop saw the bottle of Pepsi Clear, opened it (thinking it was filled with vodka or something) and essentially put his nostril on the mouthpiece of the bottle to take a big whiff. He returned it to my friend after figuring out there was nothing alcoholic in it. That experience turned me off from Pepsi Clear forever just because of the grossness factor of what the cop did. Pepsi, you can thank the Evansville, IN police department for turning a potential customer off forever. (Nothing was found in the car, and the cops let us go without even a warning.)

Ok--back to the topic at hand: Yes, again, that mold looks gross but I'd still try to save the batch... As Revvy said, it ain't gonna kill ya!

LOL...

You can find just about anything in teh googelz.....

 

[AndyC]

Thanks for the help guys-- I'll be updating this whenever I settle into my new place. I've gotta move from Boston to Providence for 6 weeks, then to Philly. SO essentially, brewing is taking a back-seat for a little while.

 

[Trubadour]

I would toss it and forget about it, but it's up to you. I like the idea about making up labels with that picture though

 

[Figbash]

Ugh, I am getting sick and tired of people thinking their beer will kill them. There's no 'maybe' about it, the acidity of the wort and alcohol content kills or neutralizes any pathogens. I'm putting this in big text so people don't miss it:

NO KNOWN PATHOGENS CAN EXIST IN BEER.

Shouting and using large text doesn't make it true. In fact, blanket statements are seldom true.

A type of fungus known as Fusarium that infects barley produces mycotoxins that survive the malting process and can end up in beer. This is one of the fungi responsible for the gushers we have all seen. There was a documented case of myctoxins in a commercial beer produced in Kenya. Google the terms fusarium beer and Kenya will turn up lots of hits.

I have no idea if the mold produced by the OP is hazardous or not, but since it could be hazardous it's hardly worth the risk for a lousy batch of beer. It's easy enough to produce a batch that is not abnormal.

Tom

 

[scinerd3000]

according to wikipedia...bentonite binds with mycotoxins:
"In the feed and food industry it has become common practice to add mycotoxin binding agents such as Montmorillonite or bentonite clay"

you could possibly try bentonite if your worried but at 3.5% i dont know if would care to salvage it. In defense of the never dump rule, maybe people (not i) have had infected batches turn out better than if they had never become infected.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/post-your-infection-71400/

 

[JoeMama]

I second this....nothing in your beer can kill you.

Well, maybe the alcohol... But thats the least of my worries
-Me

 

[AndyC]

Well I ain't dead-- so I'm not too concerned.

 

[viking999]

Shouting and using large text doesn't make it true. In fact, blanket statements are seldom true.

A type of fungus known as Fusarium that infects barley produces mycotoxins that survive the malting process and can end up in beer. This is one of the fungi responsible for the gushers we have all seen. There was a documented case of myctoxins in a commercial beer produced in Kenya. Google the terms fusarium beer and Kenya will turn up lots of hits.

I have no idea if the mold produced by the OP is hazardous or not, but since it could be hazardous it's hardly worth the risk for a lousy batch of beer. It's easy enough to produce a batch that is not abnormal.

Tom

That's a bad example. It isn't an example of something infecting your beer, it's an example of something infecting the grain and the byproduct of that infection ending up in the beer. That's like someone brewing a beer with grains coated in arsenic and then saying he died because his beer got an infection. It's not an infection, it's a chemical poison from a tainted raw ingredient.

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

Might want to add this to your cut and paste Revvy.

If there was stuff that could live in beer and kill you, the human race would have died out a hell of a long time ago!

 

[7Enigma]

Here's another vote for bottling it and give it a bit of time. I'd wrap them and put in a rubbermaid container just in case, but you are likely to get a very passable brew and you would have kicked yourself if you only saved 12.

 

[Revvy]

Shouting and using large text doesn't make it true. In fact, blanket statements are seldom true.

Tom

So fear mongering is better? How the heck dies this relate to the situation at hand?

I have no idea if the mold produced by the OP is hazardous or not, but since it could be hazardous it's hardly worth the risk for a lousy batch of beer. It's easy enough to produce a batch that is not abnormal.

This is one of those things where if one "has no idea" perhaps they should feed the fear quotent.

That's a bad example. It isn't an example of something infecting your beer, it's an example of something infecting the grain and the byproduct of that infection ending up in the beer. That's like someone brewing a beer with grains coated in arsenic and then saying he died because his beer got an infection. It's not an infection, it's a chemical poison from a tainted raw ingredient.

+1 to this, at least there's some sanity on this thread.

I was going to make a comment about how INTERESTING it is that those with the highest postcount seemed to take the "your beer is probably fine, no pathogens can live in beer," while the noobs were crying that the sky was falling...but you've redeemed my faith in new members of our family!

 

[Vuarra]

...I was going to make a comment about how INTERESTING it is that those with the highest postcount seemed to take the "your beer is probably fine, no pathogens can live in beer," while the noobs were crying that the sky was falling...but you've redeemed my faith in new members of our family!

I wasn't going to comment, folks, but I agree with the "If there were something that could kill you in beer, we would not have beer" state of mind... I actually don't sanitize as much as most of the beer geeks here want me (boiling water works for me)... but seriously... it won't kill you... except the ethanol... that's what I'm hoping for

 

[Revvy]

Might want to add this to your cut and paste Revvy.

If there was stuff that could live in beer and kill you, the human race would have died out a hell of a long time ago!

+1 to this!!!!

I wasn't going to comment, folks, but I agree with the "If there were something that could kill you in beer, we would not have beer" state of mind... I actually don't sanitize as much as most of the beer geeks here want me (boiling water works for me)... but seriously... it won't kill you... except the ethanol... that's what I'm hoping for

Welcome sane one!!!!!




BTW, I like your sig line

If you are not growing your own 6th generation barley and hops, you're not *really* homebrewing.

/Sarcasm

I say something similar in this blog;

http://blogs.homebrewtalk.com/Revvy/Why_cant_we_all_get_along/

 

[Figbash]

So fear mongering is better? How the heck dies this relate to the situation at hand?

How does it relate? It was a direct response to the incorrect statement that pathogens cannot exist in beer. It's not common, but it is possible (I certainly wouldn't want to be known as a fear monger lol).

Perhaps the reason the human race has survived this long is that the survivors have enough common sense to say "there is no way I'm going to drink something that looks like that".

BTW, your comment about post counts is absurd. How does the number of posts or for that matter, the number of words typed in your posts make you more of an authority than the next guy?

Tom

 

[Revvy]

How does it relate? It was a direct response to the incorrect statement that pathogens cannot exist in beer. It's not common, but it is possible (I certainly wouldn't want to be known as a fear monger lol).



Tom

Well then since there's no way to detect it, we might as well just pack it in pal....no point in playing around with such a lethal hobby, right?

Why the heck do you bother?

Seems like we're playing Russian Roulette every time we brew, right?



There's plenty of instances where an idea, taken out of context, can be a dangerous thing.....I'm thinking the inquisition, the day care center sex abuse hysteria of the late 80's.......We don't REALLY need to drum it up here....

Again, it is highly unlikely that the op's beer is LETHAL.......many of us as we have said here, have racked out from under a layer of mold in the past, with no adverse effects.....

 

[davesrose]

Again, it is highly unlikely that the op's beer is LETHAL.......many of us as we have said here, have racked out from under a layer of mold in the past, with no adverse effects.....

I haven't seen if the OP did manage to taste the beer. I hope they didn't dump it! If mold on beer was bad, then why are brewers looking for a really thick pellicle in lambics and bretts? The chef characteristic that these bacteria cultures give is a tart sourness. If you weren't making a lambic or a soured stout, then you should taste and see if you've made a new soured beer style!! As posts here indicate, there's no way fermented beer can kill you. At least I have yet to see one case of a person dying from fermented beer....pellicles are welcome for some styles, and the only time beer is infected is if it tastes terrible. Taste is a good indicator of things....maybe we should be chiming more of that in this forum.

 

[COLObrewer]

I like waffles with boysenberry syrup.

 

[7Enigma]

I haven't seen if the OP did manage to taste the beer. I hope they didn't dump it! If mold on beer was bad, then why are brewers looking for a really thick pellicle in lambics and bretts? The chef characteristic that these bacteria cultures give is a tart sourness. If you weren't making a lambic or a soured stout, then you should taste and see if you've made a new soured beer style!! As posts here indicate, there's no way fermented beer can kill you. At least I have yet to see one case of a person dying from fermented beer....pellicles are welcome for some styles, and the only time beer is infected is if it tastes terrible. Taste is a good indicator of things....maybe we should be chiming more of that in this forum.

Not only that but I'll add that even if it didn't taste good to STILL bottle it and wait a couple months. My first brew ever (a simple pale ale) had a pretty bad taste at bottling, and even at 2 weeks. Tasted a little like sanitizer (I had used no-rinse). But don't you know it a couple weeks/months later I had people raving about it. This batch was closer to 3.5 gallons than the 5 intended and so it wound up tasting more like an IPA than a pale ale.

So again, take the time to bottle it and let it sit in your new house or storage locker (only if AC'd) for a couple months and I will bet you will be pleasantly surprised.

 

[yeasty]

chicken mcnuggets arent supposed to be able to kill you either. i still wont eat them.

 

[7Enigma]

chicken mcnuggets arent supposed to be able to kill you either. i still wont eat them.

Water is not supposed to either, just don't drink too much!

 

[Revvy]

I like waffles with poisonberry syrup.

Fixed it for you.

 

[Weezknight]

While it may be a futile attempt, I'm going to try to ask a serious question here.

How do you get mold inside of a fermentor? I'm looking at my setup with the fermentor and lid completely sanitized, lid snapped tight, CO2 being created, and the airlock keeping out any extra oxygen, it just doesn't seem like mold would survive. Am I being naive?

 

[RedIrocZ-28]

How does it relate? It was a direct response to the incorrect statement that pathogens cannot exist in beer. It's not common, but it is possible
Tom

Proof??

Thus far I have researched enough to know that E. Coli, Salmonella, and C. Botulinum cannot exist in beer.

If you have some other deadly toxin that can exist in the low pH of beer in a high alcohol (toxic) environment, trust me, I am all ears.

 

[bull8042]

Give it up Revvy! Your secret is out, your post count is meaningless and now everyone knows you are a poser.
To the OP, rack from under the surface into your bottling bucket and leave the last couple of inches. Chances are very good that your beer will taste fine. Worst case, it won't taste great even after bottle conditioning, but it WON'T hurt you. (Well, the REAL wort case, it may taste like satan's anus! But it still won't hurt you.)

 

[davesrose]

If you have some other deadly toxin that can exist in the low pH of beer in a high alcohol (toxic) environment, trust me, I am all ears.

Humm.....I wonder if my toe fungus can set forth and multiply in beer....but seeing as I sometimes groom my feet with my teeth, I don't think it's toxic LOL

As for Weezknight's question....well it is very hard to get mold in your fermentor if you're keeping the prescribed methods. But I think your beer is most susceptible to bacteria cultures before fermentation begins. If bacteria is setting forth and multiplying before your yeast is fermenting....there's less food for the yeast to eat. If enough yeast have gone through active fermentation, you're going to have the alcohol and PH to keep your beer drinkable (if not worth drinking).

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

How does it relate? It was a direct response to the incorrect statement that pathogens cannot exist in beer. It's not common, but it is possible (I certainly wouldn't want to be known as a fear monger lol).


Tom

Good God man. You want to start spewing this stuff then where's the documented proof of a pathogen living in beer?? I want empirical evidence. Not conjecture.

 

[Figbash]

Good God man. You want to start spewing this stuff then where's the documented proof of a pathogen living in beer?? I want empirical evidence. Not conjecture.

Conjecture? If you would take the time to read the post rather than just spew, you might find that the empirical proof has already been provided. Here's a little excerpt from the article to wet your appetite:

"As previously mentioned, the problem for brewers is that the Fusarium fungus thrives on the conditions inherent in the malting process. While the fungus itself is killed during kilning, the heat-resistant mycotoxins can persist into the finished beer."

Tom

 

[HSM]

Not all molds are beneficial. One type of mold commonly found on grain products produces a mycotoxin. Maybe it could occur in fermenting wort, maybe not. It would hardly be worth the risk to find out.

Tom

Sorry, you are wrong. If you ever get mold, please throw it out so you feel better. No risk to you.