Slow fermentation + Mold spores = Lost Batch?

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Hi everyone. I put together a Golden Ale batch last Wednesday and nothing has happened at all until this morning when I looked at it. There is a little Krausen beginning to form finally, but on top of that in several places I see some small moldy growths beginning to form. They're about 1/4 inch diameter. This is bad, right?

Should I pitch it?

For what its worth, I used a California Yeast, its in a dark area and the temperature has been perfect, in between 60-70 degrees.

How could mold have gotten in? Does that come from not cleaning well enough?

Thanks for any help.
 
There is no way for us to know exactly how mold could have gotten in. There are a large number of possibilities on the best days. The question is, why did my yeast not grow? Did you take a hydrometer sample to see what, if anything has happened?

It might be possible to pitch more yeast and try to salvage the batch. I've never done it, but I think you could kill the stuff that's in there by boiling or adding chemicals to kill it, then later adding more yeast. It's a small price to pay to try and save the cost of the whole batch. (plus I'm curious to see how it turns out).

It helps to clean well with damp sponges or bleach water before brewing. Also keep the windows closed.
 
Certainly LOOKS like mold, though I have heard of green colours being formed in the krausen.
 
It looks like mold, but it's not enough to be sure. You can either dump it now, and guarantee the batch is ruined, or you can wait a few weeks and have a pretty good shot at tasty beer. I know which one I would do. :mug:
 
I know I wouldnt want something that looked like that in my beer, BUT I would still let it ride for a few weeks and then taste it at bottling. Only if its terrible then, would I toss it
 
That is mold, but it might not affect the beer in any significant way. Why not let it go and see what happens. The yeast is likely to take over in a short time and build up the alcohol.

I'd sanitized a large spoon and gather up all the stuff on top though. no sense in keepin gin there if you can get it out.
 
Yep certainly looks like little green fuzzy men to me. The thing is that a lot of molds will die off in the presents of an active fermentation. The yeast specialize in bio-weaponry and their bi products will often kill a majority of infection. There or some other issues going on here though. The mold spores could have just floated in on the air, but may have come from an unclean surface. If any dirt or leftover gunk of any sort made it in post boil you might have co-infections to worry about.

But don't dump it. It could just be a rouge bit of mold that will go away during active fermentation.

Good luck
 
Looks like mold to me, but if it were my batch I'd scoop the offending bits out and just proceed as normal.
 
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