is this batch fine? infection? (pics)

[rafaeluzzi]

is day 26 in primary for this batch is a saison and I'm planing to bottle tomorrow since it has the same FG since the last reading, that was in day 13.

The thing is that I was expecting to see a somewhat clear top but it has this thin film with bobbles, below that the beer is clear, it is sitting @ 5% abv. what is this? is this any kind of infection? It's my first beer.

here is how it is underneath the that film, is really clear ,it's a saison

 

[Yooper]

Yes, that's definitely a pellicle on top. I'm no expert on sour beers and cultures, but it's definitely infected.

It could be that the bucket was not airtight, and the large amount of headspace after fermentation ended allowed oxygen loving microbes to take hold.

 

[rafaeluzzi]

so it is infected.. but the sample i took underneath that tasted good.. what should I do? should I bottle anyways or just dump it?

 

[Dovage]

Bottle anyway. Even if it tasted funky, I would bottle.:fro:

 

[day_trippr]

Make sure the FG is stable before bottling...

Cheers!

 

[TNGabe]

so it is infected.. but the sample i took underneath that tasted good.. what should I do? should I bottle anyways or just dump it?

Bottle anyway. Even if it tasted funky, I would bottle.:fro:

Bottling isn't a good idea. You'll likely have bottles explode, or at the least over carbonate and start tasting bad. You could always fill growlers with it and drink them flat. If you're going to do that, keep them in the fridge because whatever is in there will start tasting bad very soon.

 

[killian]

let it ride, check the gravity again in a couple of weeks or a month and bottle if its stays the same

 

[rafaeluzzi]

2 weeks ago it had the same gravity reading that it has today.. I think im going to bottle it tonight.. since I like the flavor it has now

 

[GuyBob]

Bottle it. If FG is in range your good. Might still be ok. Not worth dumping yet. Try a bottle in about a week or so and see what it's like.

 

[Hanso]

Sounds like infected deliciousness to me. Agree, bottle it up and clean/sanitize everything thatcame near so the next batch of beer isn't unintentionally infected.

 

[passedpawn]

Infected? Oh yea. Good luck.

I'm with day_tripper, make dang sure the gravity is stable before bottling. That beer should already have some odd flavors, but if you're OK with those flavors then maybe it'll be OK for you.

 

[day_trippr]

"FG in range" is not a good metric. What the heck is "in range" when you're dealing with something other than brewer's yeast?

Track the FG over time. When it stabilizes for successive readings, it's safe to bottle. If you're kegging you have lots more flexibility, but don't (ever, actually) go by any recipe or "rule of thumb" when dealing with potential glass grenades...

Cheers!

 

[eastoak]

Bottling isn't a good idea. You'll likely have bottles explode, or at the least over carbonate and start tasting bad. You could always fill growlers with it and drink them flat. If you're going to do that, keep them in the fridge because whatever is in there will start tasting bad very soon.

while a wild yeast/bacteria fermentation can taste bad it is not automatically bad, it may taste good even in the long run. on the other hand sour beer is an acquired taste so some people might feel that all sour beer tastes bad, intentional or not.

 

[TNGabe]

2 weeks ago it had the same gravity reading that it has today.. I think im going to bottle it tonight.. since I like the flavor it has now

You need to keep the bottles in something that will help contain the shards of glass and beer when the bottles start exploding. Just because the gravity has been 1.012 for two weeks, doesn't mean it's going to stay there.

 

[TNGabe]

while a wild yeast/bacteria fermentation can taste bad it is not automatically bad, it may taste good even in the long run. on the other hand sour beer is an acquired taste so some people might feel that all sour beer tastes bad, intentional or not.

Good sour beers aren't made accidentally.

 

[eastoak]

Good sour beers aren't made accidentally.

this is decidedly not true. in fact, every good sour beer was made accidentally at some point. you can search on the wild beer forums here where people set vessels of fresh wort out in orchards, backyards and various other places to catch wild yeast. sometimes the beer turned out great and other times it was bad but there is no way to tell just by looking at a pellicle what the beer will taste like. most if not all of the wonderful sour beers that come out of europe were fermented with wild yeast that are either captured from the air each time or were at some point then reused. they certainly went through more than a few bad tasting batches but that is the only way to discover the good tasting bugs. gabe fletcher of anchorage brewing has towed barrels of wort 5 hrs north of anchorage and left them in the wild for 2 days to be inoculated with wild yeast. Russian River sours beer with wild bugs floating around sonoma county. in the original poster's case it was unintentionally soured but this does not mean it will taste bad, why would it mean that?

 

[TNGabe]

this is decidedly not true. in fact, every good sour beer was made accidentally at some point. you can search on the wild beer forums here where people set vessels of fresh wort out in orchards, backyards and various other places to catch wild yeast. sometimes the beer turned out great and other times it was bad but there is no way to tell just by looking at a pellicle what the beer will taste like. most if not all of the wonderful sour beers that come out of europe were fermented with wild yeast that are either captured from the air each time or were at some point then reused. they certainly went through more than a few bad tasting batches but that is the only way to discover the good tasting bugs. gabe fletcher of anchorage brewing has towed barrels of wort 5 hrs north of anchorage and left them in the wild for 2 days to be inoculated with wild yeast. Russian River sours beer with wild bugs floating around sonoma county. in the original poster's case it was unintentionally soured but this does not mean it will taste bad, why would it mean that?

Maybe you should look up what 'accidentally' means. There is a big difference between making an intentionally wild fermented beer and whatever is going on with op's beer.

Anyone can repeat info they've read online.

 

[eastoak]

Maybe you should look up what 'accidentally' means. There is a big difference between making an intentionally wild fermented beer and whatever is going on with op's beer.

Anyone can repeat info they've read online.

you don't know what you're talking about and are more interested in being "right" than having a reasoned discussion. in light of that i'll just unfollow this thread since it is not really doing anything useful for the original poster and his beer. have fun.

 

[day_trippr]

Fun times...Go ro your corners and wait for the bell...

Cheers!

 

[rafaeluzzi]

Just want to thank you all for the input, I sure learned a lot , hell it's not a good hobby with out a little bit of drama right.. What I decided to do, was to bottle, just did 3 gallons and dumped the rest.. It was not big a beer 1.047 and got to 1.009 in two weeks then stood there for the next 2 weeks for a 5%abv.. I put the bottles in a box and got them inside the bathtub.. so I hope I get no bombs but I guess I have to take precautions.. I'll open one in a week to see how it's in terms of carbonation and taste and go from there, unless I have bombs. Thanks all!