Mold? Beer ruined?

[tslugmo]

I've got this extract brew sitting in a kegerator that's controlled by an inkbird to stay at 68°, and I left on a trip and when I came back there was mildew on the inside of the fridge and I'm not sure if the surface of the beer is showing mold and it's ruined? Thoughts?

The condenser plate at the back of the fridge is wet at that temperature and it seems like I'll have to maybe but some silica in there and wipe down the plate daily or something going forward. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[Spundit]

Hmmm.. the beer should be fine since the airlock looks to be doing its job. I think the krausen is just falling. If so, those mats floating on the surface should get smaller over the next few days. If they grow than it may indeed be an infection.

I would bleach all the surfaces. When you transfer the wort during packaging you will have to use an auto siphon or something as I don't think there is anyway to adequately clean that spigot while still attached.

People have success using Damp Rid and those small dehumidifiers sold at Amazon in their keezers. A lot of condensation is ussually a sign of a leaky lid seal that lets in a lot of humid air from the outside so check that as well. A little caulk or weatherstripping may help minimize the problem.

 

[DannyBoy270]

I 2nd everything said above. Beer is probably fine; what you have just looks like settling yeast rafts to me. But I also would advise against using the spigot for transfer until you can take it apart and clean it. Mold outside the fermenter doesn't necessarily translate to mold inside the fermenter. I've had this happen before and just wiped the outside down with a clorox wipe and carried on lol RDWAHAH

 

[seatazzz]

I 3rd what's said above. Those are yeast rafts, perfectly normal. I will say, however, that spigot does NOT look good. I too would not transfer from it. You're pretty much SOL right now for transferring through the spigot, so if I were you I would invest in an autosiphon; not super expensive, easy to keep clean and sanitize, and as the name suggests you siphon out from the top. Get the longest one you can afford (mine is 24") and do NOT lose the little red cap on the bottom; it helps keep the trub and hop goo from getting into your bottling bucket or keg. I have lost one to the porcelain god (don't ask) and got lucky when my LHBS had one lying around that he let me have for free. If you can't get an autosiphon, a decent length of tubing will do as well, although you'll have to make sure the end in the fermenter stays above the trub, and stop it before it starts sucking that up.

 

[IslandLizard]

As said above, the floating brown blobs are yeast rafts, not mold.

If you can thoroughly clean and sanitize that spigot, inside and out, using an alkaline cleaner (Oxiclean free or homemade PBW), followed by a good rinse, then bleach, another rinse then Starsan or an Iodine sanitizer to finish it, I doubt any mold from the outside of the fermenter and spigot will end up in your beer. Just be thorough.

 

[bracconiere]

(don't ask)

i agree with above....and following orders, ...will say wipe that spigot good, use some q-tips soaked in something cleaning wise, and clean it out....the beer looks like yeast...

 

[tslugmo]

Thanks for all the feedback, I've actually got an auto siphon from before i got the carboy with a spigot so I'll likely clean everything as suggested but also auto siphon for safety. And cleaning everything inside the keezer is top of the list too. Thanks again!

 

[Dr_Jeff]

Also consider turning the spigot about 45 degrees, so that it doesn't sit on the bottom of the keezer.
It will drain just fine.

 

[jtratcliff]

if it's not clear from the all the above advice, once you've racked out *not* using the spigot, take that sucker off... The spigot that is... you can pretty much completely disassemble it... clean it well... scrub where you can, then bleach or vinegar soak (or both) to kill mold... rinse welll...oxiclean or pbw soak, rinse well...

 

[Falstaff]

I used to get this on the outside of my plastic buckets, but never on my glass. Don't know why. I'd use isopropyl alcohol to wipe it off, along with whatever sticky stuff it grew on. It's safe as long as you don't get it in your beer. It evaporates in seconds.

 

[GoodTruble]

I agree with above, except maybe just spend $5 on a new spigot. Lots of effort and cleaner just to maybe get it decontaminated.

 

[seatazzz]

What @GoodTruble said...spigots are cheap. Beer ingredients are NOT.

 

[mabrungard]

Mold spores can easily get into a fermenter between cleaning and filling operations. So having spots of mold can be common. I haven’t found that mold appreciably degrades beer.