Pellicle Problems!

[docubus]

Alright, folks, I need some direction.

This July, I brewed my first Flanders Red using Roselare. Everything was off to a great start, at first. I had a wicked pellicle that just kept getting bigger and badder (I named him Gerald), and I had added dregs from some of my favorite sours, just to spice things up a bit.

Then, last month, my mother-in-law came for a visit to help my wife with a small remodeling project. For some reason, she needed to move the bucket containing the Flanders Red, and when she did, she tripped and dropped it.

Fortunately, the lid stayed on, but it sustained a huge crack right down the middle and Gerald was nowhere to be found. Because I was worried about oxygen getting in through the crack, I racked it out of the bucket into a carboy, transferring some of the lees along with it.

That's my attempt to save it. I suspect the pellicle will never return, right? Right now, I guess I'm just left with questions: Does this mean that my beer will no longer continue to develop over the coming months? Right now, the gravity is about where I want it (1.006), but I was hoping for a bit more tartness to develop over time. Is that a lost cause?

 

[youreanimpulse]

The pellicle doesn't contribute anything meaningful to the beer. Some say it protects from oxidation, but others have good reason to doubt it (all those pellicle creatures are breathing!). The souring microbes are all throughout the liquid and will continue to be even after you bottle it, assuming you don't pasteurize. I wouldn't worry, racking was the right thing to do and a carboy with as little headspace as possible is better than a bucket any day.

 

[finsfan]

Exactly what this guy said ^. The pellicle is not what is developing your sour, its the bacteria that is throughout the entirety of the beer. I have some sour beers going right now that dont have a pellicle and they are just as sour as ones that do have a pellicle. Sometimes you will never see a pellicle, sometimes you will have a thick nasty looking one haha. I wouldnt worry one bit about Gerald! Cheers.