Strange pink foam in boil kettle, brown/pink stain on metal

[Horseflesh]

I am having a weird new issue and I am stumped!

The last few brews I have done, I have seen an unusual pink hue in the foam on the boil kettle. I have also found a light brown/pink stain on some of the metal parts.

This happened really intensely on one batch, then I scrubbed the gear with BKF for the next batch that same day. I did notice staining around the bottom of the mash basket, but it did clean off. Batch 2, right after cleaning that say day, seemed fine. For batch 3 weeks later, it was back, though the equipment looked spotless. In fact, I had just re-passivated it, too.

I thought it might be rust-related but I can't think of anyplace rust is hiding, plus it's not really rust-colored once I compared them.

The beer tastes fine. I think the wort color is unaffected, too, but the pink hue is present in the dense bits that sink to the bottom of your hydrometer tube.

Other info... Ball valves had some crud in them, but nothing this color. Recipes had no grains in common either which was disappointing!

Any ideas??

 

[Sparkncode]

Any other metals than stainless steel in your system?

 

[mongoose33]

This just a wild thought, but are you using keg lube on any parts internal to the kettle?

 

[beersk]

Are you using Brewtan B?

 

[Horseflesh]

Other metals: Nope. Well, there is a copper chiller but the pink foam becomes faintly visible during the mash, long before the chiller is added.

Keg lube: Nope

Brewtan B: Yes! I use it in the mash at, oh I forget, it comes out to just less than a gram for a 5-gallon batch. The boil addition is also about a gram. But, I have been using it for a while and had not seen the weird color before.

 

[divrack]

have you spoken to a priest?

 

[Horseflesh]

I should put it on my list. This is really peculiar... and it is the first time I have ever had a homebrew issue where I didn't immediately find a relevant discussion somewhere online.

I think I am going to get some of the same grain from the LHBS, prep mash water as I normally do, and do a stovetop mini-mash & boil to see if the same thing happens.

Has anyone ever brewed with a rusty part? While I do not think this looks like rust discoloration, I can't rule it out yet. It is possible that some of the hidden areas in my mash basket have concealed rust. It seems very unlikely as I don't see any rusty water drips during cleaning etc.

 

[kh54s10]

Just saw a Brulosophy article that says a slight pink to the foam. Though I don't think it was clumped like yours.
http://brulosophy.com/2018/02/12/th...ious-beer-characteristics-exbeeriment-results

How much Pepto Bismol was in the recipe?

 

[Horseflesh]

That is a great lead, thanks. I'll be sure to do a batch without any BtB if I haven't figured out some other cause first.

The most puzzling thing is that nothing has really changed. I was doing similar beers very recently and this didn't happen. No new gear, techniques, or ingredients! I do use tap water but when I did the lab report I went so far as to contact the water district and ask if they had any regular seasonal changes in water parameters--the answer was no.

 

[Dog House Brew]

It is from the BTB and will cause no harm. There is a thread at the AHA talking about this.

 

[brewbama]

Are you using Brewtan B?

+1. I also had a slightly pink break in my last brew.

View attachment 572972

 

[bleme]

Seems like I don't have permission to look at brewbama's "attachment"

 

[Horseflesh]

Same problem with the attachment.

Glad this is figured out, but it's weird how it just happened recently. Something changed, I wonder what?

 

[brewbama]

Seems like I don't have permission to look at brewbama's "attachment"

Lol. Neither do I! Not the first time I haven’t been able to see my own #$*@ photos.

It’s a photo of my hot break from last weekend. There’s a pinkish hue to it I’ve never seen before. I was told it was the Brewtan pulling something out of the mash. Who knows.

 

[Lefou]

BrewTan is advertised to preciptate proteins more easily and binds metals. It supposedly reduces oxidation and helps preserve beer through better filtration of protein compounds susceptible to oxidation.
Three metal ions that return pinkish color reactions are manganese, cobalt, and iron(+3) compounds.

Do I use it at the homebrew level? No.
Pro brewers use it and some have seen selective improvements depending on their style choices and brewing methods.

 

[Lefou]

That is a great lead, thanks. I'll be sure to do a batch without any BtB if I haven't figured out some other cause first.

The most puzzling thing is that nothing has really changed. I was doing similar beers very recently and this didn't happen. No new gear, techniques, or ingredients! I do use tap water but when I did the lab report I went so far as to contact the water district and ask if they had any regular seasonal changes in water parameters--the answer was no.

A wee bit of iron in the tap water might be a cause. Try brewing an all barley malt lighter style beer (Pils, blonde - no wheats) with a soft bottled water easily treated with calcium salts to compare.

 

[Horseflesh]

A wee bit of iron in the tap water might be a cause.

If it is iron(iii) that causes the reaction, I guess it is possible that there is rust hiding in my stainless system. I wonder what PPM iron you need to get a visible reaction.

My tap water is extremely soft and iron isn't even listed on the water report. I did email my water district to see if anything has changed.

I think the next thing I will do is a pils micro-mash and boil in the kitchen, just to eliminate my equipment from the equation.

 

[Horseflesh]

My water district confirmed that at this time of year there may be more iron and manganese in the water. And I found a similar "what's this color" thread over at the AHA forum, where the consensus was also "don't worry about it." So I won't!

 

[brewbama]

I believe the Brewtan B is pulling undesirable elements out of the wort and this coloration is the evidence. When I begin the boil I skim it off.