Post your infection

[Weaves]

Used a vintners best hemp wine base, made half by itself and put the other half into a cider house kit. Both of those had this oily kinda film on top that when I put my wine thief in broke apart. Could this be something from the hemp (the base contains cbd) or something starting??

 

[RPh_Guy]

Used a vintners best hemp wine base, made half by itself and put the other half into a cider house kit. Both of those had this oily kinda film on top that when I put my wine thief in broke apart. Could this be something from the hemp (the base contains cbd) or something starting??

View attachment 688710View attachment 688711

The photos are inconclusive. Though, it sounds more likely to be caused by the ingredients.

Try a "forced pellicle test":
https://modernbrewhouse.com/wiki/Pellicle

 

[OwenConwayBrewingCo]

To keep or not to keep? That is the question (it's a raspberry, black and red currant wine, one week on and 'infected' but still smells amazing)

 

[RPh_Guy]

To keep or not to keep? That is the question (it's a raspberry, black and red currant wine, one week on and 'infected' but still smells amazing)View attachment 688929

Assuming that's mold...
It needs to be dumped. Mold is dangerous.
Sorry.

 

[Sbe2]

... looks like mold to me. Drink at your own peril...

 

[BWS]

Greetings. Safe or bin??

SMaSH , Pilsen/Tettnanger - S-04. Day 6 of fermentation

 

[RPh_Guy]

Greetings. Safe or bin??

SMaSH , Pilsen/Tettnanger - S-04. Day 6 of fermentation

Have you been keeping an eye on it from the beginning? That looks to me like you had a pellicle form before fermentation started.
That yeast strain is also known to form some weird-looking flocculations, so that may also be a possibility.

In my opinion there's no reason to dump a contaminated beer. Just check for the presence of off-flavors before packaging.

If you bottle, monitor them careful because if it is contamination, then there's a risk of over-carbonation.

 

[BWS]

Cheers! I did wait for fermentation to start so yes I did keep an eye on it daily. I started with a blow off tube as I filled to carboy to fill I suspect. There was quite a bit of blow off. I changed the blow off tube after day 3 and fitted a bung and airlock.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Cheers! I did wait for fermentation to start so yes I did keep an eye on it daily. I started with a blow off tube as I filled to carboy to fill I suspect. There was quite a bit of blow off. I changed the blow off tube after day 3 and fitted a bung and airlock.

Just make sure it's not hairy or fuzzy.

 

[BWS]

Just make sure it's not hairy or fuzzy.

No actually, it's quite clear around them and no fuzziness or hairiness

 

[DasBaldDog]

So this is my Triple-Berry Berliner Weisse that we kettle soured.

Did the mash, let sit with lacto for 4 days, finished up with a boil and a 9ish day primary using K-97 yeast (read that it was good for Berliners.... since I HATE US-05).

Anyways, primary went fine, tasted nice and tart, etc.... added the fruit puree (made from frozen then thawed and blended fresh fruit)..... had a brainfart and didn't pasteurize the puree. Put the puree in a fine-mesh nylon bag an added to the beer. About a week later I noticed the pellicle on the surface of the liquid and bag, removed the bag last night and I have the below picture this morning.

Still smells good, and if its Brett or Lacto it seems very unlikely to hurt the style (more likely to improve it) but I was looking for a minimal variable base as this is the first Berliner I've ever made. Oh well. Live and learn.

 

[Mac MacFarlane]

These bubbles look ok?

 

[RPh_Guy]

These bubbles look ok?

Totally normal.

 

[hyperspacey]

I has a perfectly fine batch- my second ever BIAB- that I bottled. I’ve determined I missed sanitising the jug I prepared the priming solution in, and I only ran the bottles on a 60C wash in the dishwasher- although they’d been thoroughly cleaned before this, and sanitised with StarSan before bottling.

I encountered this infection in the bottles four days later- it appeared “strand like”, with lots of “particles” suspended in the “strands” that stayed in place when I turned the bottles. Opened one and it was fine, with no sign of sour flavour or sliminess, but decided it was probably best to dump everything as it all looked suspect. One bottle had a “fluffy” foam when I popped it- not like usual head.

I figure this is probably pediococcus, but I’ve looked at every possible photo I could find and can’t see anything quite like this. Is my hunch correct? Would pediococcus manifest in as little as four days, or could I have an infection further up my process chain to check for?

I immediately cleaned and sanitised everything I have- from 3mm grommets to 30L buckets- first in soapy water, then in oxiclean for 30 mins, then StarSan overnight, then rinsed in water and air dried. However, I’d feel a bit more confident that my current two brews are going to turn out okay if I knew what it might have been and whether it turned up at bottling time.

Thanks in advance.

 

[brewNYC]

It’s possible to have a visible infection in 4 days, but not likely unless you have really dirty equipment or unwashed fruit or something. If it was an infection, I’m guessing it started during fermentation. Given that the bottles didn’t gush, smell or taste funny I think it’s possible this was just the yeast munching on your bottling sugar. What kind of yeast did you use? What did you use to prime?

 

[hyperspacey]

It’s possible to have a visible infection in 4 days, but not likely unless you have really dirty equipment or unwashed fruit or something. If it was an infection, I’m guessing it started during fermentation. Given that the bottles didn’t gush, smell or taste funny I think it’s possible this was just the yeast munching on your bottling sugar. What kind of yeast did you use? What did you use to prime?

US-05, with table sugar and boiled water for priming solution. I had a US-05 batch I’d just bottled a few days prior (completely different recipe, mind you) and it didn’t exhibit the same weird “flecks of tiny dandruff floating in watery snot” appearance.

I’d have let them ride out and see but I’ve got a toddler running around who I wouldn’t want to have around bottle bombs.

I’ve two batches going right now made with the same equipment to the same process, so we’ll see how they turn out...

 

[brewNYC]

I hear you - I have a couple of those myself, and it definitely makes you a careful brewer! I actually keep my bottles in a Rubbermaid tote until the are ready to refrigerate for the same reason.

I’ve seen some funky stuff in re-fermenting bottles and never had a bottle bomb (except the one time -but that’s a long story)

Good news is, the process for cleaning an infection out of anything glass or metal is the same process you should use before every brew day - scrub, PBW and Star-San (Star-San does kill infections, as long as the surface is clean). Plastic is another story. If you are worried, toss your airlock, tubing and carboy bung- they are cheap. If you are brewing in plastic buckets, this might be a good excuse to upgrade to glass or steelPersonally, I’m not sure you had an infection, but since the beer is gone, we may never know..

 

[bracconiere]

i thought PBW wasn't good for glass? i tried homemade pbw with glass and now it has a permanent white coating?

 

[brewNYC]

Hmm, I’ve never heard that. What was in your homemade PBW? I’ve heard of TSP etching glass, but I don’t use it because it terrifies me.. I’ve definitely had residue from oxi-clean that was hard to get off, so I gave up and just use PBW.

 

[bracconiere]

Hmm, I’ve never heard that. What was in your homemade PBW? I’ve heard of TSP etching glass, but I don’t use it because it terrifies me.. I’ve definitely had residue from oxi-clean that was hard to get off, so I gave up and just use PBW.

it was the recipe posted here....

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/homemade-pbw-recipe.467655/page-21#post-8917304

 

[hyperspacey]

Good news is, the process for cleaning an infection out of anything glass or metal is the same process you should use before every brew day - scrub, PBW and Star-San (Star-San does kill infections, as long as the surface is clean). Plastic is another story. If you are worried, toss your airlock, tubing and carboy bung- they are cheap. If you are brewing in plastic buckets, this might be a good excuse to upgrade to glass or steelPersonally, I’m not sure you had an infection, but since the beer is gone, we may never know..

Yeah, I've scrubbed it all, and I'm now using VWP (a popular food and drink industry cleanser that every homebrew shop stocks) along with StarSan whenever I pack up. The advice from everywhere is "chuck all your plastic", which I probably will if this reoccurs. I'm already using glass (one gallon carboys) for fermenting, so shifting to a steel bottling stick, getting new tubing, and buying a new bottling bucket isn't going to break the bank.

If I think it has reoccurred in the fermenter I'll let it sit a week longer to see if it becomes detectable. If it's in the bottle, I'm going to pop a few caps, cover with foil and monitor it for increasing weirdness. And maybe hide the rest under a sturdy tub outside my front door...

 

[brewNYC]

Yeah, I've scrubbed it all, and I'm now using VWP (a popular food and drink industry cleanser that every homebrew shop stocks) along with StarSan whenever I pack up. The advice from everywhere is "chuck all your plastic", which I probably will if this reoccurs. I'm already using glass (one gallon carboys) for fermenting, so shifting to a steel bottling stick, getting new tubing, and buying a new bottling bucket isn't going to break the bank.

If I think it has reoccurred in the fermenter I'll let it sit a week longer to see if it becomes detectable. If it's in the bottle, I'm going to pop a few caps, cover with foil and monitor it for increasing weirdness. And maybe hide the rest under a sturdy tub outside my front door...

Sounds like a plan! Just keep those bottles at a reasonable temperature. FYI, if you really want to go anti-plastic, you can get silicon tubing and carboy bungs, and glass airlocks. Handy, as you can boil the crap out of them instead of tossing em’ every time you get worried about an infection.

 

[RigorHillRyan]

Hey y'all. Think this might be my first ever infection. Belgian dubbel. About a month ago, there were little balls on top, looked like yeast. Now, they've formed filmy rafts. Definitely tasted a little sour and off on the back end, and though not terrible, not what I enjoy in a dubbel. What do you think? Is it a chuck?

 

[Unslaven]

Hi all!
First timer here. Thanks for all the previous posters and the treasure trove of knowledge this forum contains.

I am unsure of if I have an infection. Amber ale in a plastic carboy. Been in primary for about 2.5 weeks. Not 100% on pre ferment gravity as my refractometer was way out of calibration. Maybe 1045-1050? Sitting at 1011 now.
Still getting a couple of intermittent bubbles. I dry hopped (pellets unbagged) about 5 days ago. Sanitation was ok, but it was a windy day. Fermenter was brand new. Airlocked. Im going away for the weekend anyway but was hoping to keg today so my landlord could do some work under our house. Noticed some strange residue on the top.
So is it infected or is it just still going?

Thanks in advance!
(Ps: my phone did something wierd and somehow put this in another Necro thread. Sorry for the double post)

 

[Danam]

Maple wine. 2 months in the secondary.

I keep reading that I should replace equipment used to make an infected batch. Does this include glass?

 

[hyperspacey]

View attachment 702675
Maple wine. 2 months in the secondary.

I keep reading that I should replace equipment used to make an infected batch. Does this include glass?

I'd give everything a deep, thorough clean and do another small batch first, might be fine with a proper scrub.

Glass you shouldn't bin- if you're cleaning it properly there's nowhere for the infection to hide.

 

[IslandLizard]

View attachment 702675
Maple wine. 2 months in the secondary.

I keep reading that I should replace equipment used to make an infected batch. Does this include glass?

The wine looks great, so does the picture!
Maybe it isn't so bad, taste it! the pellicle (white floaty islands) are harmless.
Chances are the infection (and its flavor profile) will increase, so drink it while you still can and it being enjoyable.

Secondaries really should be filled to 1" under the bung, to reduce headspace (and thus oxygen).
Is this a gallon jug?

Just clean your equipment thoroughly (generic Oxiclean, or homemade PBW). Either can be fortified with a small amount of lye (drain opener), and use suitable brushes where it's safe, such as glass, some plastics, then sanitizing well (Iodophor or Starsan).
I've been using non scratching nylon "scouring pads" (Dollar Store, 10/$1) tacked onto a stiff nylon hand brush (same source, $1) to clean equipment, including inside plastic buckets. Works like a charm, and no scratches.
You could then place stuff in your yard, exposed to bright direct sunlight for a few days. UV kills a lot of stuff sanitizers may not, or quite. I've saved a few brew buckets that way that looked beyond recovery. Make sure the sun reaches the inside surfaces directly.

Any vinyl tubing I would replace if you don't have the patience, dedication, and (long) tubing brushes, to clean them thoroughly. It's a lot cheaper than a new batch of wine.
I still use the same 3' of vinyl racking tubing from my first brew, almost 11 years ago. It's tinted yellow/greenish from the hops oils that have gone through it over the years.

 

[Gresco]

ESB... not sure if this is remnants of a pellicle or not.... as I lifted it out of the freezer, I knocked it around a bunch so it may have broken up whatever it is...

 

[IslandLizard]

ESB... not sure if this is remnants of a pellicle or not.... as I lifted it out of the freezer, I knocked it around a bunch so it may have broken up whatever it is...
View attachment 702861

That does look like a stirred up pellicle, by the way bits cling to the sides. Definitely caused by an invader.
Is this in your primary fermenter?

I would taste it and if palatable, rack from underneath and keg it. Keep the keg cold in the kegerator/keezer to slow down or halt further activity. If bottling, be careful, the infection could cause bottle bombs, so keep a few filled 12-22 oz plastic soda bottles around to gauge carbonation level (becoming hard) and progression of the infection.

 

[Gresco]

That does look like a stirred up pellicle, by the way bits cling to the sides. Definitely caused by an invader.
Is this in your primary fermenter?

I would taste it and if palatable, rack from underneath and keg it. Keep the keg cold in the kegerator/keezer to slow down or halt further activity. If bottling, be careful, the infection could cause bottle bombs, so keep a few filled 12-22 oz plastic soda bottles around to gauge carbonation level (becoming hard) and progression of the infection.

It was about 4-5 wks in primary. Used a brew bucket for the first time. This is my 8th AG batch and first infection. About two weeks ago, I tasted it and it was good but had some fusel alcohols, also didn’t have room in my fermentation chamber so it’s the first one to ferment in ambient room temperature air, which was quite swingy....

didn’t realize that something could take hold after it fermented out. So it could still have continue? Perhaps it happened when I swiped a sample...

as for taste, it’s mildly sour and still has some malty characteristics. Just put it in the keg so we’ll see in a week or so.