moldy mess

[sashurlow]

I had a gallon of plums waiting for the yeast to get going and now that the yeast are ready, the primary has a nice layer of mold on top of it.
Is it possible to do anything with this? Can I scoop off the top layer and put in two cambden tabs to kill everything off?
Lesson learned of get the yeast ready before you prepair the primary...

 

[DoctorCAD]

Did they mold with campden tabs already in the pail?

Oh, and it only takes like an hour to get a yeast starter going...

 

[david_42]

Not a good idea. Many molds put out toxins and what you see on the surface is just a small part of the mold. Campden won't impact the mycotoxins, if present.

 

[sashurlow]

The recipe was from jack keller and used boiling water but no cambden. Another mistake not to be made again. After pulling it out, it was not moldy as much as filmy. I realize it was still infected but it wasn't horrible. Unfortunately the plums were off my plum trees that only produce every other year and they are done producing. I'm going to take the risk but if the tasting is really funky the experiment will end.
My yeast was from my own slants and because my stir plate did not work for a day, it took three days for enough yeast to put in.
A couple mistakes I will learn from later this year...

 

[saramc]

If you read Jack's website in the Basics or some other section he says that he does not list Campden because that is a GIVEN when making wine. The only time I do not use Campden, actually prefer k-meta, initially is if I use canned or shelf-stable products.