Possible contamination in secondary fermentator

[BrianRobo]

This is my second home brew and based on the look i suspect I may have had some contamination in the secondary fermentator. I've attached the picture but there is a white film that is sitting on top of the beer. Everything was cleaned with a Starsan solution before primary and before the transfer. Thoughts?

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Starsan should be used after cleaning... Seems odd- cleaners "don't sanitize" and sanitizers "don't clean" some microorganisms are tough survivors. You may want to dedicate this one to sours only.

 

[kh54s10]

Not sure, others will chime in. But eliminate the step of secondary and reduce your chances for contamination. It is pretty much an unneeded step unless you are adding fruit or something.

 

[BrianRobo]

My guess would be contamination from the transfer hose or siphon? The carboy was thoroughly cleaned but maybe a soak in PBW for the hoses to clean prior to sanitize?

 

[RM-MN]

My guess would be contamination from the transfer hose or siphon? The carboy was thoroughly cleaned but maybe a soak in PBW for the hoses to clean prior to sanitize?

My guess would be contamination from the air in the space above the beer. If you plan to secondary (and secondary is rarely needed) you need to minimize the air space above the beer. Most spoilage organisms that can infect beer need oxygen. They cannot infect in the primary because you have trapped CO2 under the airlock. When you transfer to secondary you lose that trapped CO2 and have only a limited amount dissolved in the beer that can outgas to fill the space above the beer.

The best solution is to forget secondary for nearly all beers. If you do need to secondary, make sure the secondary is filled all the way to the neck of the vessel you secondary in.

Do thoroughly clean and sanitize all equipment you used for this batch before using again just in case the culprit is lurking in there, ready to infect the next batch.

 

[jalc6927]

When I secondary (all the time), I soak my siphon in sanitizer then I use it to fill my carboy with the sanitizer to make sure the inside of Jose and siphon are good before I transfer over

Proper sanitizing is as important if not more than any other step in the process

Without a good solid cleaning though, you can never get good sanitizing.

I use oxiclean and scrub the crap out of everything once it's empty and before I reuse it

It's not fun but absolutely necessary

 

[jalc6927]

Actually I never sanitized the inside of Jose... meant to say hose

 

[Ayerate]

It's hard to tell with all the glare and condensation, but this doesn't really look like an infection to me. It might just be yeast rafts, CO2 bubbles, residual Starsan foam, or a combination of all.

I say leave it be for a week or two. If it's got one of the more common beer-infecting bacteria (lactobacillus or pediococcus) it will develop a very noticeable bubbly white "skin", also known as a pellicle. If it doesn't worsen noticeably, give it a taste. If it tastes fine and the gravity is stable, it's probably fine. If it tastes off or looks noticeably worse, you've still got some options before you decide to dump it, but whatever you do, DO NOT bottle it if the gravity is not stable.

 

[ncbrewer]

Do thoroughly clean and sanitize all equipment you used for this batch before using again just in case the culprit is lurking in there, ready to infect the next batch.

+1. But this is a whole subject by itself. If it turns out to be an infection, I'd bleach the carboy if it's glass. If plastic it's questionable whether it can be saved IMO. I think small plastic items should be replaced.

And I tend to agree with Ayerate - it might not be infected.

 

[Calder]

I think it looks OK. Nothing to see there.

If you really think it is contmination, drink it fairly quickly. Once alcohol is present, lacto, pedio, and Brett take a long time to creat their flavors, and if drunk quickly, you wouldn't notice it. Now if it is actobacter, you are screwed .... but you would notice that from tasting it immediatly.