My Triple Has Mold?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

TheBreweryUnderground

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 25, 2011
Messages
335
Reaction score
19
Location
Nelsonville
So I brewed up a triple a month and a half ago with Rochefort yeast and it has been sitting in primary since. It burped up some yeast on the first night but I closed it back up and it seemed as though everything was doing fine. I just opened it up for the first time and it appears to have a white film on top and the krausen ring definitely is growing mold. I've had a blow off happen a few times before with no issues so I'm not sure what went wrong here. I was hoping to bottle today but wasn't exactly sure how to deal with this, pretty disappointed as this is my first unintended infection. It still smells like beer, pretty fruity but definitely funky. Any suggestions on what to do?

Photo on 7-28-12 at 12.54 PM.jpg
 
That doesn't look like mold- it looks like a pellicle from bacteria possibly pediococcus or lactobacillus.

I think maybe it was too much headspace for too long.
 
yea im no expect on baterias but deff dont look like mold. have you tryed it? does it have a sour milk or buttery taste? siphon from underneath and bottle as much as you could. no sense in dumping perfectly good soured beer!
 
That doesn't look like mold- it looks like a pellicle from bacteria possibly pediococcus or lactobacillus.

I think maybe it was too much headspace for too long.

Thanks Yooper but the krausen ring on the side not touching the liquid definitely has mold, I was suspecting the white film on top of being a bacteria pellicle as it looks a lot different than the stuff on the sides. It could have gotten an infection when I had simultaneous rochefort yeast starter and wild yeast starter going. The picture isn't the greatest so it's hard to pick out the stuff on the sides. I'll probably just rack it carefully to the bottling bucket. Will the bacteria just hang out on top after it's done? Is it safe to bottle now without the chance of bottle bombs? I'm moving tomorrow and need to get it into bottles.
 
Thanks Yooper but the krausen ring on the side not touching the liquid definitely has mold, I was suspecting the white film on top of being a bacteria pellicle as it looks a lot different than the stuff on the sides. It could have gotten an infection when I had simultaneous rochefort yeast starter and wild yeast starter going. The picture isn't the greatest so it's hard to pick out the stuff on the sides. I'll probably just rack it carefully to the bottling bucket. Will the bacteria just hang out on top after it's done? Is it safe to bottle now without the chance of bottle bombs? I'm moving tomorrow and need to get it into bottles.

No, it's not safe to bottle as whatever "bugs" are in there may continue to ferment after it's bottled.
 
It looks like a scum mold (kahm yeast) familiar to picklers and sauerkraut makers (I could be wrong). It needs oxygen to grow and is consequently associated with loss of the CO2 layer during, or after, active fermentation. As a previous poster said, you likely had too much head space and disruptions during fermentation. Attached is an internet photo (not mine) of a kahm yeast on top of a batch of sauerkraut. Since sauerkraut has a strong flavor, the yeast is really just a nuisance. In beer, it may contribute more to the flavor—I doubt to the good, but other posters may have more to say.

Harsch w-Kahm Yeast, small.jpg
 
If it tastes good, bottle it. Nothing can grow in beer than can harm you.

Bottle to about 2 to 2.5 volumes, so that if there is anything in there, there is some capacity to take extra carbonation.

Bugs grow and ferment slowly, so there should be no real worry of bottle bombs unless you store the bottles for a long time (6 months to a year). Just note how the carbonation is going, and if you start getting gushers, fridge the rest of the batch and drink quickly.

Good luck.
 
So I just tasted my beers, I brewed 4 belgians all around the same time and just realized my Triple is fine, this was the second runnings from it that I meant to infect. I bottled those into my EZ cap bottles that tend to leak CO2 since the gravity seemed low enough and they're doing just fine but definitely well carbed. I finally tried all of the beer and realized I had just mixed them up. Now the real problem is the second runnings from my Rochefort batch fermented with all Brett, the thing tastes like the mustiest suit from the back of my grandfathers closet. To the point where its pretty disgusting. I used a starter from the dregs of a Matilda bottle and fermented it only with that. Im going to let it sit in the basement for a few months and see if anything happens.
 
Back
Top