Spongy Trub or Infection?

[HowardRoark]

Spongy trub that was an iceberg like mass before I swirled it around. Now it looks like the attached pictures.

I dumped a bunch of trub in to the fermenter which I don't normally do but have done in the past and it just settled out immediately.

I've been brewing for a while and have never seen anything like this. Is it normal? It's been about two days and still no real Krausen formation which is also kind of odd since I almost always get Krausen immediately. There is blowoff valve activity but it all just seems really odd.

 

[GPP33]

How quickly did it form? I put my money on it just being trub. Fermenting beer never ceases to amaze me with how disgusting it can look.

 

[dallasdb]

Curious, why did you dump a bunch of trub in the fermenter?

 

[porterpounder]

Looks like a good amount of happy clumpy yeast.

 

[tracyk]

What type of yeast did you use? And did you use irish moss at the end of your boil? I can actually see clumps floating throughout your wort.

 

[TexasDroughtBrewery]

I am also curious why you dumped trub in there...

 

[dwhite60]

As it's floating and it's been two days since pitching I'm going to say it has CO2 bubbles helping it float so it is fermenting it just hasn't gotten started well yet.

I wouldn't worry about it. It will most likely settle out in a few weeks.

There is argument that dumping the whole kettle into your fermenter is NOT harmful and has been shown to be beneficial sometimes. Do a search on the forum.

All the Best,
D. White

 

[lewandowski46]

Looks normal.

 

[Konadog]

To me, it looks like cold break (trub) material. I wouldn't worry about it, it will all settle out during a cold crash.

As for dumping trub into your fermenter, I've never had a problem with it This all compacted down into a 2 inch slurry in the end.

 

[petrolSpice]

Curious, why did you dump a bunch of trub in the fermenter?

I am also curious why you dumped trub in there...

I think he's just saying that he dumped in everything from the kettle including all the crap (trub) that settles to the bottom during cooling.

If he poured in trub from another batch or something then that doens't make a whole lot of sense.

OP, I'd give it a swirl every day or so until it all sinks to the bottom. But it does not look like an infection. What yeast?

 

[dallasdb]

I think he's just saying that he dumped in everything from the kettle including all the crap (trub) that settles to the bottom during cooling.

That makes more sense now!

I thought he was referring to trub, the term used for the lees, or layer of sediment, left at the bottom of the fermenter after the yeast has completed the bulk of the fermentation.

I thought maybe he used the sediment from a previously fermented beer and dumped it into this wort or something instead of or in conjunction with his yeast.

 

[beergolf]

It is just coagulated proteins. No worry. It happens sometimes.

Here is a good pic. They will float. Just rack from underneath them when you bottle.

 

[HowardRoark]

A bunch of questions to answer:

-I used hop-bursting which is somewhat of a first for me. 5 ounces of hops at ~5 minutes left in the boil.
-I used whirlflock tab 10 minutes before the end of the boil which is normal for me.
-Chilled to 70 degrees with immersion chiller. I didn't whirlpool which I usually do but I did let it sit in the kitchen for about 30 minutes before racking.
-At rack time it was really really cloudy which is not normal for me. Usually the trub and everything settles out really well for me in the kettle.
-When I say trub i was talking about the matter in the kettle after cooling. Might not be the correct terminology.
-US-05 yeast.

When I got home today it seems to have started to form some Krausen. Probably should have just RDWHAHB. I guess what is odd about the coagulation is that I've never seen anything like it before in the 5 years since I started brewing and I'm trying to get this beer out in time for Thanksgiving so was getting nervous.

 

[HowardRoark]

It is just coagulated proteins. No worry. It happens sometimes.

Here is a good pic. They will float. Just rack from underneath them when you bottle.

Thanks beergolf and everyone. Looks like I was worried for nothing.

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

Did you have wheat in the grain bill? I get some very funky protein clumping when I use wheat.

 

[HowardRoark]

Did you have wheat in the grain bill? I get some very funky protein clumping when I use wheat.

Actually. I did have a pound of wheat in the grain bill.

 

[dallasdb]

Getting it done by Thanksgiving?!?!? You're pushing it and force carbing I would guess.

BTW these pics are why I don't let SWMBO see the product before it's finished

 

[HowardRoark]

Getting it done by Thanksgiving?!?!? You're pushing it and force carbing I would guess.

BTW these pics are why I don't let SWMBO see the product before it's finished

I figure it has on OG of 1.040 so it has a shot. And yes, I will be force carbing it. It's a short turn around but I'm a procrastinator. Fingers crossed it turns out to be tasty.