Is there an infection in my brew?!

[Tomo_316]

Hi,

have been brewing beer kits for a few years.

just opened fermentation bucket to take a gravity reading and found what looks like a white mould.

never happened before?!

would appreciate a second (or many) opinions!

thanks

 

[RPh_Guy]

Hi, welcome to HBT.

That is called a pellicle. It indicates the presence of wild microbes (and oxygen). We cannot determine which wild microbe(s) may be present without microbiological testing.

It is safe to drink. Give it a smell and taste.

Do you bottle?

 

[Tomo_316]

Thanks for the quick response!

I was about to take a gravity reading and add some hop pellets to bottle it all on Sunday.

had a small swig, nothing sour going on in the taste.

am I ok to add the hops and carry on?

 

[RPh_Guy]

Yes, it's fine to proceed as normal with a couple caveats:

You'll need to monitor the bottles periodically because there's a small risk of over-carbonation. Open one at least every couple weeks.
If possible, refrigerate the bottles after they carbonate in order to reduce the risk that off-flavors will develop.

These are just precautions, it will likely be fine.

Clean your equipment thoroughly. I suggest a hot PBW soak overnight and an acid rinse afterwards.

Cheers

 

[DatsyukianDeke]

Are you sure? That doesn't look like pellicles I've seen in other infection threads.

IDK, I'm just wondering.

 

[Tomo_316]

Thanks so much, that’s good to hear!

bottles will be going out to the shed after a week, it’s still pretty chilly in the uk!
Will be sure to sample a few periodically.

I am using vwp steriliser on my equipment, will this be enough to give it a thorough clean before my next batch?

thanks again

 

[RPh_Guy]

Are you sure?

100%

The white patches are a dead giveaway:

 

[bracconiere]

hmmm, not sure what to make of it being that this thread, was just revived...and this memeber joined today....

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/is-this-normal.663398/#post-8647794

 

[RPh_Guy]

Thanks so much, that’s good to hear!

bottles will be going out to the shed after a week, it’s still pretty chilly in the uk!
Will be sure to sample a few periodically.

I am using vwp steriliser on my equipment, will this be enough to give it a thorough clean before my next batch?

thanks again

Yeah it's snowing right now where I live.

I can't determine what chemicals are in "vwp steriliser", so I can't speak to its efficacy, sorry.

You are using a no-rinse sanitizer too, right?

hmmm, not sure what to make of it being that this thread, was just revived...and this memeber joined today....

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/is-this-normal.663398/#post-8647794

Hmm? Hmmm.

 

[Tomo_316]

I have only ever used vwp, give all my kit a good soak and a rinse before use. Never had any issues before with this method.

I know starsan is popular in the states but not available in the uk, I think there is something called Chemsan in the uk which does the same.

will have a look at adding this into the process of it’s going to avoid any future issues!

cheers

 

[RPh_Guy]

You should definitely use some kind of no-rinse sanitizer on your (previously cleaned and rinsed) equipment, minutes before use.

Yes, this is comparable to Star San:
https://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/cgi-bin/sh000001.pl?WD=sanitiser&PN=Chemsan-250ml-No-Rinse-Sanitizer.html#SID=330

 

[Tomo_316]

Vwp contains amongst other ingredients troclosene sodium. This is all it says about the contents on the tub!

Reached my daily post limit now apparently!

Thanks for the info , fingers crossed there’s something drinkable at the end of this!

cheers!

 

[dwhite60]

Is that in a "secondary" fermenter?

All the Best,
D. White

 

[RPh_Guy]

Vwp contains amongst other ingredients troclosene sodium.

That appears to be a chlorine-based disinfectant, probably not the best option for cleaning (and it's why they strongly suggest rinsing).

Some kind of oxygen-based (peroxide, actually) cleanser would be better, like OxiClean or anything with sodium percarbonate.

Hope this helps.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Some kind of oxygen-based (peroxide, actually) cleanser would be better, like OxiClean or anything with sodium percarbonate.

Or just pure, like this
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B073JNBJR8/