My first Batch

[cereel]

I just brewed my first batch of Hefeweizen last week. I did not listen to the wife and racked it off of the primary fermenter early. In the secondary fermenter the fermentation was vigorous to say the least. It blew the cap off of the air lock. My wife thinks that the beer may have an infection, but I tasted it and it taste fine to me. I think that all it needs is alittle more time in the carboy and it will be fine. I would need some advice.

 

[homebrewer_99]

Yeah, you are in too much of a hurry. I don't think it's infected, although sometimes the yeast cake will make it look like it is.

If you ever read some of my posts you'll see I've repeated that "you can't
rush a natural process" several times.

Just let it ferment. In you case I would wait at least a week then transfer it to another carboy/bucket for another week or so.

 

[Janx]

Why does your wife think it's infected? If it's fermenting vigorously, that's a good thing. Just sounds like you racked a bit early. That's no big deal at all.

 

[harleysilo]

What are the signs for an infected brew that one would look for?

 

[Janx]

It'll taste absolutely horrible and undrinkable. No danger to your health. It's just nasty. There are varying degrees of infection, but it usually affects taste/smell. Sometimes there are visual cues, but those are easy to mix up with normal yeast looks.

I don't see any reason to think yours is infected. Racking early in no way increases your risk of infection.