Oily sheen on fresh wort surface

[catalanotte]

Anyone else ever get a slight oily iridescent sheen on the top of wort right of the kettle? Noticed this yesterday on the top of both fermentors. All grain amber ale, pumped through counterflow chiller. No unusual ingredients, just barley malt, hops, and some Irish moss. Only source of oils I can think of is would be the possibility of grease from the pump if it has a bad seal. See picture of film. Any ideas?

 

[day_trippr]

Picture is waaay too small to be helpful. Is the "sheen" perhaps due to late hopping?
What kind of pump are you using?

Cheers!

 

[catalanotte]

Hopefully this one comes through better. Hop schedule was 60/15/5/0. Only an ounce at flameout. Pump is the basic Northern Brewer transfer pump.

 

[Dland]

It is pretty normal to get a little sheen from late hop oils, an ounce at flame out would do it. I don't ever recall seeing them with colors, akin to petroleum sheen, but it may just be the picture. It is probably just the hops, but perhaps check pump and make sure seals are OK.

I would not worry about it too much in any case.

 

[passedpawn]

normal.

 

[jpakstis]

Yeah if I were to guess (and I am!), it’s the oils from the hips. That’s a good thing!

 

[day_trippr]

Well...I've also never seen any colors from hop oils like that shown in the picture. Does not look "normal" from here to me.
Does that pump use oil?

Cheers!

btw, that pump is only rated up to 140°F.

 

[catalanotte]

Well...I've also never seen any colors from hop oils like that shown in the picture. Does not look "normal" from here to me.
Does that pump use oil?

Cheers!

btw, that pump is only rated up to 140°F.

Pump is rated to 240 deg. Doesn’t require any added lubrication, only source could be internal grease from a blown seal, but looks fine to me.

I did find a couple old threads that report similar sheens from StarSan. The fermenters were sanitized with the same, no rinse. Could be??Northern Brewer Stainless Steel Wort Pump

 

[day_trippr]

Ok, that's not the "basic Northern Brewer transfer pump" stated earlier. Which is A Good Thing
Like all mag pumps, there is no path from the oiled section into the fluid section on that model.
So, as hinky as that "oil" looks in the picture, maybe it's just an imaging thing...

Cheers!

 

[catalanotte]

Ok, that's not the "basic Northern Brewer transfer pump" stated earlier. Which is A Good Thing
Like all mag pumps, there is no path from the oiled section into the fluid section on that model.
So, as hinky as that "oil" looks in the picture, maybe it's just an imaging thing...

Cheers!

Noticed it on the prior batch then again yesterday. Could be something I just never noticed. No issues with smell, taste, or head retention, so I’ll let it go. Thanks for the comments everyone.

 

[Kee]

Deleted.