Is this an infection?

[nils wåhlin]

Brewed an Amber ale two weeks ago. Today while checking FG, I noticed something I´ve never seen before on the surface. Is this an infection?
The beer have no strange smell or bad flavour. The FG sits at 1.018 (from 1.062)
The yeast I used is Windsor. I´ve brewed for a year and never had an infection, I´m really meticulous with sanitation.
Thanx for replies!
/Nils

 

[CasB]

I'm afraid it is an infection indeed...

 

[casperswapper]

Looks like an infection to me.

 

[nils wåhlin]

Should I dump it?

 

[Dcpcooks]

Appears to be the beginnings of a pellicle. The thin whispy lines are the giveaway. I’d taste it before dumping. I doubt I’d waste the time to bottle it but you could keg and drink it fast if it still tastes ok.

You’ll probably want to double check your cleaning and sanitizing methods.

 

[nils wåhlin]

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I think my bucket´s getting old and hard to sanitize properly. Nothing wrong with taste and smell of this batch but the odds is it won´t last long.

 

[hopjunkie26]

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I think my bucket´s getting old and hard to sanitize properly. Nothing wrong with taste and smell of this batch but the odds is it won´t last long.

What kind of beer is it? Could end up being a good sour.

 

[nils wåhlin]

A Amber sour
Perhaps a new style of beer! This can turn out to something big..

 

[hopjunkie26]

Sometimes the best beers are born from a mistake. I would let it ferment out and see how it tastes. Problem will be replicating it if it in fact does taste good.

 

[probablynotnick]

Throw it in a carboy with a few french oak chips and forget about it for 3-6 months and see what happens!

You may have lost a bucket, but you could be growing "good" bugs! When the pellicle started forming on my flanders red, it looked just like that. Eventually the bubbles and ribbons grew and the whole mess looked pretty exciting. Turned out great!

 

[nils wåhlin]

I think the gravity won´t drop any further. Been the same for one week. Unless the funk starts eating the rest of the sugars.

Now that I have had a time to think about my brewday. I remember putting some red food colouring in my primary thinking "ops, should probably have sanitized than." Everything planned and a spur of the moment "inspiration" infected it. Well, learn by your stupid mistakes. and who knows, it may turrn ot great.

 

[Sparkncode]

Sucks you got an infected batch.

I have had one infected batch and it was in my first fermenter, a coopers kit one without an airlock that burped co2 by the preassure lifting the lid slightly. Not sure how i got that batch infected but i never did trust that fermenters airlock less system and the batch was in there nearly a month because i was unwell and didn't get back to it. I think i have improved my cleaning methods since then and the coopers fermenter probably had scratches in it from stiring to mix extract i used then.

To make my bucket fermentors last now I just soak with strong sodium percarbonate for a day or two and rinse.
Seams to do a really good job and no scratches for bugs to hide in. Also using it at a decent strength its suppost to be a form of sanitiser so kind of like a backup to my usual starsan.

Dedicating one as a bottling bucket means only one can potentially get scratched from stiring if you are doing all grain as apart from mixing in priming sugar in your bottling bucket there is no need to stir in a fermenter

 

[probablynotnick]

I think the gravity won´t drop any further. Been the same for one week. Unless the funk starts eating the rest of the sugars.

Now that I have had a time to think about my brewday. I remember putting some red food colouring in my primary thinking "ops, should probably have sanitized than." Everything planned and a spur of the moment "inspiration" infected it. Well, learn by your stupid mistakes. and who knows, it may turrn ot great.

Yeah the funk will take a while, but could be worth it! Play some Bootsy Collins for extra funky mojo

 

[ong]

Wait, red food coloring?

 

[nils wåhlin]

Ok, here´s an update:
I cold-krashed the fermentor for two days.
I Pasteurized the wort, 75c for a couple of minutes.
I chilled and pitched some US-05, saved from a previous batch and
added 200 grams of table sugar. After a stir next day the fermentation took off with a thin kreusen and a steady ferment. In five days the gravity was 1.015 (from 1.020) the body and sweetness was all but gone.
Two days later the gravity was 1.010. Interestingly the sweetness and body are back.
Very fruity and nice with notes of melon and red apple and a mellow bitterness for aftertaste. Sitting here sipping a tasty sample..
I´m hoping the gravity won´t drop any further, but I mashed between 65-63c for 90 minutes so the wort is highly fermentable.
I will bring you a update when the beer is bottled and ready.
Ps. Windsor is a great fruity ale yeast, that I highly recommend, but special arrangements must be taken if you want to bring attenuation down below 1.020. Mashing low with not much crystal won´t be enough. You need a sugar addition after high kreusen. I made some amber Belgian candi sugar
that I will feed to the yeast in my next beer.
Cheers everybody and thanks for all the great answers.