Possible Infection

[Carnage1371]

My guts telling me it's infected. I had it in the primary for 4 weeks and transferred to this secondary a week ago. Just want a second opinion before I scrap it

 

[IslandLizard]

Your pix don't show...

 

[Carnage1371]

Bump. I fixed the images.

 

[IslandLizard]

Bump. I fixed the images.

OK, they're here now.

That doesn't look good indeed. Something seems to be growing in there. Maybe encouraged by too much headspace, which should be kept to a minimum for various reasons.

 

[Carnage1371]

Do you think it may be worth salvaging what I can into a new carboy, topping off with honey and water and repitching?

 

[Carnage1371]

Any suggestions on trying to salvage?

 

[IslandLizard]

If it's a bacterial or wild yeast infection, it's in the mead and it will sour over time. What you see maybe the beginning of a pellicle forming, which will grow with time. You could bottle now or definitely soon, and chill all of it to slow down the infection process. Drink fairly quickly to prevent bottle bombs from developing and the taste going downhill. Bottle pasteurization is another method to stop the bugs.

If it's mold, you can usually salvage the batch without any problems by racking from underneath into another vessel, not disturbing the surface and leaving all the floaters behind in an inch or 2 of mead. Tip the carboy a bit to maximize your racked yield. The new vessel(s) should have minimal headspace though, about 1-1.5 inches below the bung. Those 1 gallon jugs (or those 3 liter jugs cheap wine comes in) are easier to manage odd volumes. Keep an eye on them for new development.

Regardless, you really should taste it before doing anything.

Use extremely good sanitation of course. Hope you can still enjoy this.

 

[Carnage1371]

I've been researching and read something about dropping campden tabs. Do you think they'll help? Should I repitching yeast after 24 hours?

 

[IslandLizard]

I've been researching and read something about dropping campden tabs. Do you think they'll help? Should I repitching yeast after 24 hours?

Your mead should be done, fermented out, that's the reason you racked to secondary to condition and clear, right? So additional yeast will have no effect.

I'll defer to the mead experts here on the Campden.