Post your infection
- Thread starter jcarson83
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Could be something, only time will tell. If it is an infection it's likely due to all that headspace. your secondary should be filled all the way to the neck in order to minimize oxygen and outside air exposure.
I don't know about having to fill your carboy all the way to the neck. To me that just causes more issues during your active fermentation. The CO2 will push out any oxygen.
Anyways to me this looks like a thin layer of CO2 bubbles hanging around. It really is hard to tell in this dark photo. I have a very similar looking deal on the top of mine. What I like to do is tilt the carboy and see at what rate, if any, bubbles are rising. Check it out and get back to us.
He was referring to secondary, which the op's pic is. you definitely want to minimize head space in secondary to help prevent infections when little or no Co2 is being produced.
bransona
Well-Known Member
Looks like the start of a pellicile from all the headspace. I think you can just siphon from below it, but correct me if I'm wrong, guys
The problem is, you can't just siphon from below the visible pellicle. The infection runs all through the beer. What's on top is just the main colony.
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bransona
Well-Known Member
Ah, ok. How unfortunate :/
In that case, truly agreed. I don't transfer to secondary so I never even think of that as an option.
Edit: I was barely awake and didn't catch that part about it being the 6th day in secondary.
The airlick had the activity since the 1st day in secondary until now, I want to believe that is pushing oxegen out from it but now that layer cover all the surface and really look like infection, if it is this will be my first infected batch damn!
The question I have now is, once fermentation started did you transfer from one container to another one? That to me would be going from primary to secondary. And if this is Pedio then it might give it some good funk if you let it age. Also make a note of all equipment that has touched it since you pitched the yeast. You may need to get rid of it, or set it aside for funky beers. I had an infection that carried along for 4-5 batches and once I changed out a few pieces of gear it stopped.
Hi JosephN
Yes I think it might be the tube that quite old and lot of reason make it infected, really pissed for the first time infected beer so I will dump it all soon as it is become like this picture now, this is the good experience.
What beer style did you brew? I would seriously keep it for now and maybe let it age at room temp, if possible for you. Give it some time and just taste it to see what you have. People pay good money for what you might have. Keep in mind anything that touches it will be dirty, and might be able to be cleaned, but also might not.
What about the attached?
Warning, total amateur talking: We used DME in the recipe with a lot of boil over management needed so I thought maybe we didn't cook things long enough, the sugars weren't fully broken down, and crystallized on the surface.
I also ferment in a bottling bucket with spigot and the initial draw of beer (from just above the yeast layer) at time of bottling had a gravity reading of 1.040. Compare with a FG of 1.010 for the rest of the batch and OG of 1.056. I thought the 1.040 was very odd and of course, the initial draw tasted very sweet! The FG reading calmed me a bit but then I saw what was inside the bottles and now I'm sure it's ruined.
Thanks for any insight!
Warning, total amateur talking: We used DME in the recipe with a lot of boil over management needed so I thought maybe we didn't cook things long enough, the sugars weren't fully broken down, and crystallized on the surface.
I also ferment in a bottling bucket with spigot and the initial draw of beer (from just above the yeast layer) at time of bottling had a gravity reading of 1.040. Compare with a FG of 1.010 for the rest of the batch and OG of 1.056. I thought the 1.040 was very odd and of course, the initial draw tasted very sweet! The FG reading calmed me a bit but then I saw what was inside the bottles and now I'm sure it's ruined.
Thanks for any insight!
Oh yeah, that looks really good!
Why dump it now? Let it ride and you may have a great sour in a few months.
Did you add any priming sugar or tabs to the bottles? I would also be very careful because if this is an infection and pressure builds up too high then your bottles will explode at random times.
As for fermenting in a bottling bucket that you're gonna bottle out of, well unless you use carb tabs it seems like you'd have a tough time adding that without another chance of infection. Also DME I would think would eventually break down and wouldn't cause any kind of oily layer at the top. I think this is possibly an infection and one that I would most likely dump. It kind of reminds me of the one I had that carried on for 4-5 batches. You could let it ride for now and check a bottle at least after a week and see if it volcanos or has an acid taste.
I'm not sure what you're saying or asking. What sugars weren't fully broken down and crystallized? All the malt powder needs to be dissolved, keep stirring, turn the heat off while doing that.
Fermenting in a bottling bucket can have some drawbacks. The spigot and its rubber washers need to be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized or an infection will travel into your beer, sooner or later. Those plastic spigots that turn sideways have to be pulled apart. That crevice between the 2 rotating 3/4" barrels is a bug trap!
Why did you draw off and try to bottle 1.040 beer? No surprise it got infected, all that sugar and almost no alcohol to prevent "bugs" to have a feast.
Your beer in the bucket looks fine. Those tan floaters are probably yeast rafts.
Did you taste it yet? Is it indeed at 1.010?
This is actually very helpful. I dumped my first batch because I was sure it was infected. I didn't have any of these visible signs and I really thought I took care to sanitize. My first batch, infected or not, was a failure in terms of drinkability but I have taken something away from every batch I've done (three). That first batch taught me if you think its sanitized, sanitize again. But also be patient. I rushed through so many steps. I've since slowed down and the results have been good (not great but come on, I'm not a phenom
First of all, we as brewers are not breaking down long chain sugars into the short chain ones the yeasties can eat. We are mashing the grains to allow the enzymes in the kernels to convert starches into sugars. Both long chain (unfermentables for color & flavor) & short chain (fermentable). It is the yeasties that can only convert short chain sugar molecules into alcohol & Co2.
And remember, fermentation is a nasty, foul smelling business sometimes. So don't freak out & dump it because you're just sure it should smell like an angel's arse & doesn't.
And remember, fermentation is a nasty, foul smelling business sometimes. So don't freak out & dump it because you're just sure it should smell like an angel's arse & doesn't.
Priming sugar (boiled to sterilize) was added when I transferred the beer to a second bottling bucket. And thanks for the heads up about the bottles. I bottled about 10 days ago so I just checked one and it's only slightly carbonated.
I tasted one bottle and it wasn't acidic but perhaps, silky? It left a weird coating in my mouth, although it still had the usual aroma for a Belgian Ale
The flavour wasn't quite right although I haven't done this recipe before.I think this was the issue. I pulled the spigot off a few days ago and noticed how dirty it was. The weirdness of the 1.040 initial draw vs the 1.010 of the rest of the beer (see below) suggests to me that bacteria took over at the bottom of the fermenter.... thoughts?
It was only the initial draw from the spigot (perhaps 500 ml) that measured 1.040. It came out very cloudy so I stopped the flow from the spigot and measured the gravity, getting 1.040. However, when I started the flow from the spigot again, the beer came out clear. The gravity of the rest of the batch was 1.010.
I tasted both the initial volume that was 1.040 and the final volume that was 1.010. The 1.040 was definitely sweet, supporting the 1.040 reading. The 1.010 tasted normal, at least when it was straight out of the fermenter.
See above, but I just tasted one bottle and it tasted silky and just not right, I think I'm going to dump this batch :/
Can you describe the silkiness a bit more? Is it sheer mouthfeel or flavor? Does it taste like butter or that sauce they pour over your popcorn at the movies?
How does the beer look when you pour it? Does it look thick?
How does the beer look when you pour it? Does it look thick?
Sorry, I'm going to have a hard to describing the flavour. But...
For the silkiness, it's just mouthfeel. I want to say there's a slight slight slight grit like the coffee-grounds at the bottom of the pot. The flavour isn't actually that bad as the Belgian yeast did it's job and the beer smells fine, but something is off. I'd say it has more bitterness than I'd expect for a Belgian but it's also only been in the bottles for a week.
No movie popcorn flavour, the beer pours OK, and might be the clearest I've made yet. Who knows.
It's pale ale style but less bitter.
My own style, i've done last batch with all same things and same process without any issue and i left the head space in secondary same as this current batch, it was turn out awesome.
It looks good. It might be fine, but sometimes an infection takes a while to really raise its ugly head. Example, my bottles took nearly 3-4 months to really start popping. So drink it fast, haha.
Having only been in the bottles one week, it could be a lil green yet. No head or carbonation in the pic, so I think it could be a lil green yet & not fully carbed.
BaldApe
Well-Known Member
Looks like Hafnia protea. Drops with flocculating yeast, grows during lag phase. Common if you save yeast. I found out the hard way.
Off flavor like cooked turnips.
Off flavor like cooked turnips.
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1455778243.417078.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1455778262.299809.jpg
First two are of a 2nd Flanders red pitched onto an 18 month old roselare cake. Edit:* I brewed this one in late December.
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1455778471.631868.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1455778489.533608.jpg
2nd 2 are of the 18month old beer racked to secondary which later developed another pellicle. Both have undergone a hardcore change since i last checked on them 3 weeks ago. Wish I still had the pics I took 3 weeks ago for comparison. What do you think? Look like a normal roselare cake? Why are they so different looking?
First two are of a 2nd Flanders red pitched onto an 18 month old roselare cake. Edit:* I brewed this one in late December.
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1455778471.631868.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1455778489.533608.jpg
2nd 2 are of the 18month old beer racked to secondary which later developed another pellicle. Both have undergone a hardcore change since i last checked on them 3 weeks ago. Wish I still had the pics I took 3 weeks ago for comparison. What do you think? Look like a normal roselare cake? Why are they so different looking?
I've noticed that " secondary" pellicles don't look as aggressive as the original. At least, not for awhile. It'll likely take a while to get as full looking as the original. Even though it runs all through the beer, the part on top is the colony.
beergolf
Well-Known Member
Each and every pellicle is different. They are formed to protect against oxygen. If there is little oxygen then sometimes a pellicle may not even form. I have several sours going and have a couple that barely have a pellicle at all, because I have not opened up the carboy to even test them yet. One was brewed last May (9months ago) and it barely has any pellicle. They have plenty of bugs in them, so once I open the carboy to take a sample there is a good chance that a pellicle will form.
Not really true. It is just the reaction to oxygen. The colony is always there but if O2 is not present then a pellicle may not even form.
