Post your infection

[James_32]

Hi, new to the forum and home brewing. This is my first brew, it’s an AG Pale Ale. It’s been in the primary for a week now since pitching the yeast. There’s this weird build up on the sides of the fermenter, any ideas what it could be? It doesn’t seem to be in suspension, just on the sides. Picture doesn’t show it that well.



Regards

James

 

[RPh_Guy]

any ideas what it could be?

Yeast stuck to the sides. No worries!

Welcome to HBT

 

[James_32]

Yeast stuck to the sides. No worries!

Welcome to HBT

Thanks! Read this thread on infections and you start thinking the worst. Will it settle off the sides eventually? If not will it affect bottling?

Thanks again, seems like a great forum here.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Will it settle off the sides eventually? If not will it affect bottling?

Probably not, to both questions.

Cheers

 

[DrGarbonzo]

Hey, posted elsewhere but then saw this thread. Here's one for you all:

 

[Wuggly Ump]

Sorry, I’m an idiot and posted twice. Post with pics below:

 

[Wuggly Ump]

First time poster, here.
This is my 27th batch, and maybe I’m paranoid but does this look suspicious to any of you?
It’s a 1.082 OG doppelbock I brewed 2 days ago and pitched with a pint slurry of s-23. The ferm chamber is set to keep it around 53 degrees. Yesterday there was a pretty good krausen, but it’s disappeared this morning and I’m getting these giant bubbles that are forming and popping from the obviously active yeasties flying around below the surface.
Could this be the start of an infection? I’ll probably just leave it for 2+ weeks anyway, but it would be good if I could have reason not to despair about this batch! It’s just not comforting to see such massive bubbles.

 

[RPh_Guy]

does this look suspicious to any of you?

Yes, it does look suspicious in my opinion.

Don't despair! I recommend to continue as normal.
If it tastes & smells fine, go ahead and package.
If you bottle, monitor for the possibility of over-carbonation.

Repitching yeast greatly increases risk of contamination. Obviously you might want to reconsider your pitching and sanitation processes.

Welcome to HBT!

 

[seatazzz]

View attachment 632118 View attachment 632119
Could this be the start of an infection? I’ll probably just leave it for 2+ weeks anyway, but it would be good if I could have reason not to despair about this batch! It’s just not comforting to see such massive bubbles.

Big slimy bubbles are never a good sign. What was your method for repitching? Did you wash the slurry, or just dump it in a jar? Sanitized? Did the batch the yeast come out of turn out okay? I repitch slurry all the time and have never had an infection from it. Could be something wild got in there as well. Like Rphguy said, let it go and see what happens. Not all infections will ruin your beer, but you will want to be careful to watch your gravity to prevent bottle bombs.

 

[Wuggly Ump]

Big slimy bubbles are never a good sign. What was your method for repitching? Did you wash the slurry, or just dump it in a jar? Sanitized? Did the batch the yeast come out of turn out okay? I repitch slurry all the time and have never had an infection from it. Could be something wild got in there as well. Like Rphguy said, let it go and see what happens. Not all infections will ruin your beer, but you will want to be careful to watch your gravity to prevent bottle bombs.

The previous batch seems fine to me, normal krausen (in my limited lager experience), no off flavors detected at bottling or 1 week after.

My method was to re-suspend all the trub/yeast cake in the last inch of beer and pour into sanitized jars. A few days later, I let the slurry jar come to room temp before I pitched the whole jar. I’ve repitched washed yeast from ales and a couple lagers before. But I’ve only seen this weird bubbling once before, in a batch that was probably infected - but that was a refrigerated starter of saved US-05. It’s probably something with my process for saving yeast. Strange, because my MO has been to boil-sanitize the jars.

 

[seatazzz]

The previous batch seems fine to me, normal krausen (in my limited lager experience), no off flavors detected at bottling or 1 week after.

My method was to re-suspend all the trub/yeast cake in the last inch of beer and pour into sanitized jars. A few days later, I let the slurry jar come to room temp before I pitched the whole jar. I’ve repitched washed yeast from ales and a couple lagers before. But I’ve only seen this weird bubbling once before, in a batch that was probably infected - but that was a refrigerated starter of saved US-05. It’s probably something with my process for saving yeast. Strange, because my MO has been to boil-sanitize the jars.

That sounds fine; more than likely something wild got into your fermenter, or you may have missed something when cleaning. When this batch is finished, make sure you completely dismantle the spigot and clean it, then give it a good soak in starsan; spigots are notorious for harboring nasties. Also give the bucket itself a good soak in hot water (some use bleach, I don't care for it because of potential off-flavor issues) and clean thoroughly with a soft sponge; don't use anything that can scratch the plastic, as bugs can harbor in those scratches as well. Anything that touches your beer post-boil needs a good cleaning as well. Good luck.

 

[maninthehighcastle]

I just dry hopped my neipa which has been in the Brewbucket for 9 days. Yeast us US-5. The surface of the beer looks good but I have this black edge/border all around. What do you think?

 

[RPh_Guy]

I have this black edge/border all around.

That's from the stainless or oils on it.
Definitely not a contamination and nothing to worry about.

Cheers

 

[maninthehighcastle]

Hmm. Does that mean that the stainless steel has not been cleaned enough? I was scrubbing and sanatising alot before filling the Brewbucket. Thx

 

[RPh_Guy]

Hmm. Does that mean that the stainless steel has not been cleaned enough? I was scrubbing and sanatising alot before filling the Brewbucket. Thx

Possibly.
I've only had that with new stainless, but others have said they get it sometimes even with previously used stainless.

The next time you use it I bet it'll be fine.

 

[maninthehighcastle]

But it's not harmful or has a lot of impact in taste?

 

[RPh_Guy]

Probably won't kill you.

 

[maninthehighcastle]

Thats not the answer i was looking for...

 

[brewNYC]

But it's not harmful or has a lot of impact in taste?

Ss Brewtech does recommend cleaning their brew buckets with TSP before use. Probably for this reason. If it were my brew, I would shoot them an e-mail and ask what the dark residue is, then decide if it’s something you are willing to drink.

 

[Darlynius]

I just dry hopped my neipa which has been in the Brewbucket for 9 days. Yeast us US-5. The surface of the beer looks good but I have this black edge/border all around. What do you think?

View attachment 633131 View attachment 633132

How did you clean you equipment prior to using it?

The black residue that's ringed around the beer is a product of fermentation at times. Did you use TSP or cleaned your fermenter w/ warm water and soap?

If you didn't do either, and just rinse it w/ water, I'd be worries that residual oils from the manufacturing process has something to do w/ it?

Also, how does the beer smell? Have you taken a final gravity sample yet? If so, did you taste a small amount of the beer? How's it taste? Also, be sure to purge w/ CO2 when you close that up, you don't want oxidation to kill your hard brewed beer as well.

 

[maninthehighcastle]

I cleaned it with soapy water and a sponge and after that with Chemipro OXI. It smells good and tatstes good aswell. A little sour but thats normal i guess for a beer that young. I can't purge with co2. I don't have that equiptment. It must be possible to open the lid without ruining it instantly. Never had problem with that before.

 

[Darlynius]

Then if it tastes and smells good, you're good to go! More than likely due to fermentation. It is okay to open, but there is always a risk of oxidation. If you've had success in the past, keep it rolling

 

[medic4070]

Hi all- I brewed a brown ale last night and pitched a pack of Notty into it as soon as it cooled. 18 hrs later it’s got a nice krausen on it. The krausen is a nice even cream color, but it has a darker 2” brown spot as a part of it. It might be normal, but just looks strange. Thoughts?

 

[Darlynius]

Hi all- I brewed a brown ale last night and pitched a pack of Notty into it as soon as it cooled. 18 hrs later it’s got a nice krausen on it. The krausen is a nice even cream color, but it has a darker 2” brown spot as a part of it. It might be normal, but just looks strange. Thoughts?

Post a pic. Sounds normal, but post a pic just to be sure.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Hi all- I brewed a brown ale last night and pitched a pack of Notty into it as soon as it cooled. 18 hrs later it’s got a nice krausen on it. The krausen is a nice even cream color, but it has a darker 2” brown spot as a part of it. It might be normal, but just looks strange. Thoughts?

The chance of any visual signs of contamination at this point is next to impossible.

 

[medic4070]

Post a pic. Sounds normal, but post a pic just to be sure.

Here’s what I’ve got. It’s rocking away through the blowoff tube.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Normal kräusen. No worries!

 

[Stu Alp]

I don't think it's infected but just some co2 coming up through a thick, cocoa infused crausen.

Thoughts?

 

[RPh_Guy]

Looks ok to me. I presume the blobs are oil (cocoa butter).

 

[Gary Baker]

Looks fine to me