Please tell me i have not screwed up this batch :(

[Kunal Vanjare]

Opened the lid of my Fermenting bucket where this IPA has been fermenting for 13 days. I don't know what those bubbles are but they sure don't look too nice.

The FG has come down to 1.008 but I am not sure if it is done fermenting. The bucket lid doesn't seal too well so I have not seen any airlock activity.

I had pitched 2 6g packets of Muntons Ale yeast in this 5Litre batch as the OG turned out quite a bit higher than planned.

Please tell me this isn't infected?! I tried drinking the sample I took out for checking the FG and it tastes bitter but not too funky or maybe I don't know that yet.

Would love some suggestions!

 

[GilSwillBasementBrews]

Looks like it should be ok. Kinda suspect of the two larger bubbles in the upper right of the image, however. Only time I saw bubbles that large in my finished beer, it did pick up an infection. Drank it fast and it was fine. Didn’t want to let it sit around to see if/how it would go “bad”.

 

[Jag75]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but that looks like the start of pellicle to me . If you've checked the gravity and its stable package it . @RPh_Guy will be able to tell better and how to go about it .

 

[RPh_Guy]

Definitely a pellicle, which means it has wild microbes.

I suggest to treat it as normal.
If you bottle, monitor carbonation level at least weekly. I'd suggest to refrigerate the bottles after they carbonate.

I can tell by the photo and 13-day time-frame that it's finished and ready for packaging.

Clean your equipment thoroughly.

 

[Kunal Vanjare]

Definitely a pellicle, which means it has wild microbes.

I suggest to treat it as normal.
If you bottle, monitor carbonation level at least weekly. I'd suggest to refrigerate the bottles after they carbonate.

I can tell by the photo and 13-day time-frame that it's finished and ready for packaging.

Clean your equipment thoroughly.

I really don't know how this must have happened. I clean and sanitize everything thoroughly. Since I have dry hopped the beer today, is it okay if I wait another 3-4 days before bottling or is it a lost cause seeing how you feel this is infected.

 

[Kunal Vanjare]

And regarding the priming sugar calculations, should i underpitch just to be safe?

 

[RPh_Guy]

Most contaminated beer turns out fine. If it continues to taste OK, I wouldn't worry too much about it besides monitoring carbonation.

I would not reduce the priming sugar.

 

[Kunal Vanjare]

Opened the lid one last time before bottling (I promise ). The bubbles and weird gunk floating on the surface seems to havd disappeared. I don't know why. Hope the experts can shed some light.

Checked the FG and it hasn't changed from 3 days ago which is at 1.008. So I guess fermentation is complete. So I am good to go for bottling right?

One last query... I checked the gravity on my refractometer as well, and the reading was way off. Came around 7 brix which is approx 1.028!!

Do I need to recalibrate? Or is there something wrong here.

P. S - the bag floating in the bucket is my hop bag for dry hopping.

 

[Jag75]

If you've bumped or swirled the bucket the bubbles will burst. They come right back after a while. I found this out on my mead. If your FG is stable for 3 days your good. A calculation will be needed if your using a refractometer for FG

 

[RPh_Guy]

Refractometers do not accurately read FG because of the alcohol.

 

[VikeMan]

One last query... I checked the gravity on my refractometer as well, and the reading was way off. Came around 7 brix which is approx 1.028!!

When using a refractometer, both the OG and FG readings have to be adjusted.

The OG reading has to be adjusted because refractometers are calibrated for Sucrose solutions, which beer wort mostly isn't. In the case of OG, the error is fairly small.

The FG reading has to be adjusted, for the same reason as OG, -plus- the presence of alcohol severely skews the reading (alcohol has a refractive index that's different from water). The FG error is quite large.

A refractometer calculator takes both readings as input (it can't figure out FG without the OG) and corrects them.

I like Sean Terrill's refractometer calculator. I think it's best one out there, and I incorporated his model with permission (and slight enhancement) in BrewCipher.

 

[Kunal Vanjare]

If you've bumped or swirled the bucket the bubbles will burst. They come right back after a while. I found this out on my mead. If your FG is stable for 3 days your good. A calculation will be needed if your using a refractometer for FG

Nope did not swirl or even move the bucket since the last time i removed a sample for checking the gravity.

I use this link to convert Brix into SG - https://www.winning-homebrew.com/specific-gravity-to-brix.html

 

[Kunal Vanjare]

Refractometers do not accurately read FG because of the alcohol.

Even with a calculator / converter?

 

[Kunal Vanjare]

When using a refractometer, both the OG and FG readings have to be adjusted.

The OG reading has to be adjusted because refractometers are calibrated for Sucrose solutions, which beer wort mostly isn't. In the case of OG, the error is fairly small.

The FG reading has to be adjusted, for the same reason as OG, -plus- the presence of alcohol severely skews the reading (alcohol has a refractive index that's different from water). The FG error is quite large.

A refractometer calculator takes both readings as input (it can't figure out FG without the OG) and corrects them.

I like Sean Terrill's refractometer calculator. I think it's best one out there, and I incorporated his model with permission (and slight enhancement) in BrewCipher.

Didn't know both readings needed to be adjusted. I just put in the OG and FG in Sean Terrill's calculator. 7 Brix roughly converts to 1.011 and the reading on the Hydrometer was 1.008. So still there is some error in there.

 

[jrgtr42]

If you have Campden tablets, you might want to crush a couple of those and toss it in - that should get rid of any bugs hanging around. It will also kill the yeast you have in there, so you would need to add some more along with the sugar for bottling, unless you keg, in which case you'd likely force-carbonate anyway. If you do this quickly, you may be able to head off any off-flavors.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Even with a calculator / converter?

A conversion calculator will get you close, but if you want to be certain, then a hydrometer is needed. However, certainty is overrated in this case.

If you have Campden tablets, you might want to crush a couple of those and toss it in - that should get rid of any bugs hanging around. It will also kill the yeast you have in there, so you would need to add some more along with the sugar for bottling, unless you keg, in which case you'd likely force-carbonate anyway. If you do this quickly, you may be able to head off any off-flavors.

No. Sulfite does not affect microbes in beer, and it may cause off-flavors.

https://***************.com/wiki/Sulfite#Microbial_Effects_in_Beer

 

[jrgtr42]

No. Sulfite does not affect microbes in beer, and it may cause off-flavors.

https://***************.com/wiki/Sulfite#Microbial_Effects_in_Beer

I stand corrected. Interesting, though, I had the beginnings of an infection in some cider I was making a few years ago and that was the consensus best thing to do - I did and it seemed to work.

 

[RPh_Guy]

I stand corrected. Interesting, though, I had the beginnings of an infection in some cider I was making a few years ago and that was the consensus best thing to do - I did and it seemed to work.

Sulfite is usually an effective anti-microbial in cider and wine because of the lower pH.

 

[Kunal Vanjare]

Alright guys I have bottled this beer. Please see the attached photo. It has been around 4 hours since bottling and I am seeing these bubbles. What does that mean?

I primed using some dextrose sugar powder. Had a few niggles with mixing the sugar in the bottlign bucket also spilled some so added a little more sugar as the beer was being racked. So I am not 100% sure if it's mixed well.

Do not worry about the transparent bottles as they are inside a fridge which is in one corner of the house. No light ever reaches the bottle unless I open the fridge door.

Should I be worried about the bottles?

 

[RPh_Guy]

I primed using some dextrose sugar powder. Had a few niggles with mixing the sugar in the bottlign bucket also spilled some so added a little more sugar as the beer was being racked. So I am not 100% sure if it's mixed well.

You should dissolve the sugar in an equal amount of water. Heat it and stir until it's clear.

I wouldn't worry about the bubbles.

The fridge isn't cold, right? The bottles need to be warm to carbonate.

 

[Kunal Vanjare]

You should dissolve the sugar in an equal amount of water. Heat it and stir until it's clear.

I wouldn't worry about the bubbles.

The fridge isn't cold, right? The bottles need to be warm to carbonate.

I used about 3/4 cup of water for about 20gms of sugar. Boiled it, stirred it. Then let it cool. Then added into the beer.

Yes yes. The fridge is maintained between 20-21 deg C

 

[Kunal Vanjare]

Are you sure about the bubbles being normal? I am only reading bad things about this.. Stuff like Leakage in the seal leading to co2 escaping or potential bottle bombs.

BTW the beer had cleared up quite well when I opened the lid for bottling. All the bubbles and gunk had disappeared.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Are you sure about the bubbles being normal?

Not 100% of course, but it seems less likely than all four of your bottles leaking.

A simple explanation is that CO2 is coming out of solution to equalize the partial pressure.

 

[VikeMan]

Are you sure about the bubbles being normal?

You added sugar to yeast. They are making CO2.

 

[Kunal Vanjare]

You added sugar to yeast. They are making CO2.

I know that!

But thought you didn't see bubbles during bottle carbonation.

 

[VikeMan]

But thought you didn't see bubbles during bottle carbonation.

A few bubbles around the edge of the beer's surface is nothing to worry about.

 

[Kunal Vanjare]

A few bubbles around the edge of the beer's surface is nothing to worry about.

Felt like these were a lot more than a few bubbles honestly.

I have another beer carbing right now, which was bottled on the 18th. I haven't seen these many bubbles on it so far. Pic attached

 

[Kunal Vanjare]

Just an update guys, the beer is carbing pretty well. The plastic bottles used for checking carbonation have become quite hard right now (4 days in).

Only problem being different bottles are showing different levels of carbonation. Maybe the priming sugar wasn't mixed well enough. I will take care of that the next time.

Planning to brew one last beer in this lockdown, a Cucumber Cream Ale. Need some help with the recipe, hence posting a new thread for this. Would love it if you guys could help. Thanks

 

[VikeMan]

Only problem being different bottles are showing different levels of carbonation. Maybe the priming sugar wasn't mixed well enough.

How do you know this? Is it that the plastic bottles, that have different shapes and different proportions of head space feel a little different from each other when you squeeze them? If so, there may not be any issue with priming sugar.

 

[Kunal Vanjare]

How do you know this? Is it that the plastic bottles, that have different shapes and different proportions of head space feel a little different from each other when you squeeze them? If so, there may not be any issue with priming sugar.

Yes that is the reason. Plus I did have some trouble while priming as some beer had spilled out of the Fermenter ( I used a 1gal Fermenter as the bottling bucket). I then went ahead and added some more priming sugar mixed with hot water of course while the beer was being transferred into the bottles.

Rookie mistake I know.