Layer on top of wort

[dustinthompson85]

I found a layer of clearish liquid on top of my wort today. Didn't notice it the other day. Wondering if I lost a batch or not. Has anyone ever seen this before?

 

[jtratcliff]

The cat has been peeing in it when you're not home.

signed,

The Dog

 

[jtratcliff]

How far along is the fermentation? Just pitched? in for a day? days? week?

Could be be regular clearing if fermentation is done.

What's the style?

AG or extract?

We need more info in order to give a meaningful answer...

 

[myndflyte]

Taste it. If it's gone bad, you'll know.

 

[dustinthompson85]

It's extract and 5 weeks in fermentation. Was going to bottle today. Have not tasted it yet

 

[jtratcliff]

Have you taken a gravity reading? tasted the sample? Smelled it?

Did your recipe call for late addition of LME or honey? Or addition in secondary?

Was fermentation fairly vigorous?

My 1st thought was a late addition of extract wasn't well mixed. But if it's been in a fermentor for a few weeks and fermentation was active, the yeasties would have stirred it up I would expect.

Is it a light colored beer? Could it be just regular stratification as the beer clears?
Did you cold crash at all?

test the gravity, smell and taste the sample...

See if you can get samples from the clear layer and also the darker layer below.
Do they still seem different side by side in similar glass containers?

If all seems well bottle that bad boy.

Hell, bottle it anyway. May turn out to be a tasty accidental sour.

 

[dustinthompson85]

No late additons, smells fine. Going to taste and take a gravity reading in a bit when going to bottle. I will give it a shot and see how it goes. I want to thank you for your quick responses. The beer is an Irish draught ale. This is the longest fermentation I have done (5 weeks) so I wasn't sure if this was normal or not. Only brewed 3 batches prior to this, all at 4 weeks. Thanks again!!

 

[jtratcliff]

Could just be regular clearing.... Yeast and proteins dropping out and starting to settle. As that happens a little stratification is bound to occur. With enough time (and/or cold crashing) the whole thing would look more like your "clear" layer.

I bet if you pull a sample from the "clear" part and one from the dark part and compare them side by side in juice glasses or something they'll look much more alike.

plus, once you rack to a bottling bucket things will get stirred up and made more uniform.

I regularly leave mine in primary for 3-5 weeks. That shouldn't inherently be a problem.

As long as your gravity sample tastes and smells OK, you're good to go!

 

[dustinthompson85]

Thanks again! There is definitely clear separation between the two colors. The top is cloudy. About an inch worth. I'll give it a taste and see how it goes

 

[jtratcliff]

if you're worried about the top layer, you can always try to carefully rack from underneath it and leave it behind. I'd say let taste & smell be your guide, though.

 

[dustinthompson85]

Will do. Thanks again for all the help!

 

[rockdemon]

If youre not sure about a beer, try opening a bottle a few days after bottling. I did that on a batch i thought couldve been infected and that was a life saver. All the bottles would have been grenades if I'd left them for a couple of weeks. I poured them all out right away. Or actually they pretty much poured themselves out when i opened them...

 

[PHDrunk]

Hard to tell without pics, but what you're describing reminds me of a lacto starter I made (~ 1 gallon of dark brown wort, 1 handful of uncrushed grain on a hot plate at 110F). It developed a whitish-gray layer of liquid about 1/4" deep on top of the otherwise brown wort. Stayed that way until fermentation got vigorous.

 

[dustinthompson85]

Guys, I think it was actually sanitizer. When I unhooked the blow off I noticed some sanitizer in the tube. I didn't realize it would suck it back up. I have learned that I need to put a normal airlock on once the vigorous fermentation has stopped. Did not think that mattered but I was apparently wrong.