Thick white foam on perry, 3 weeks into fermentation?

[TripleC223]

Hey all, I checked my perry today and noticed a very thick white foam sitting on top. It has been for fermenting for about three weeks. I have attached a photo. Infection?

This is my first perry, but I’ve done many beers in the past. Normally I would say it’s krausen, but I used a champagne yeast for this perry, and I’ve never had a krausen last this long on any beer. My only other thought is that it’s something akin to the “cap” I’ve read about that winemakers have to push down during fermentation.

I made this from ~50 pounds of washed, diced and cored pears straight from a friend of mine’s tree. I froze it all in ziploc bags for 48 hours, thawed and hand-juiced them into a bucket using a colander and paint strainer bags. It yielded 2 gallons of juice, to which I then added two crushed campden tablets and let it sit for another 36 hours.

I lowered the pH to 3.8 and pitched 3/4 of a packet of EC-1118.

For what it’s worth, it smells great, very much like sweet pears.

 

[ten80]

This is not a "cap" that you would push down, that would be more applicable when fruits or fruit skins are present. This is possibly a combination of fruit pectins and yeasts. Akin to a "chapeau brun" which happens on apple juice, but in this case perhaps a different color due to the pears. If you are really concerned, rack from the bottom to a clear carboy with minimal headspace.

I would caution against opening the fermenter too often as you may allow in contamination and oxygen.

 

[TripleC223]

Thanks for that. FWIW, I did not peel the pears before juicing, but is no whole fruit in the fermenter.

Also I did use pectic enzyme, which was a first.

 

[theinterneti]

This looks exactly like the layer I had on my wild perry. I threw some campden in (not the addl. 50% suggested for pears) and two or three days later when I came to pitch the yeast I saw this. Albeit not quite as thick and luscious as what you are seeing.

My first ferment in August was a perry on MA33 yeast (without correcting PH, adding nutrients, or properly freezing/mashing the fruit, or even doing secondary fermentation ) and it was super! Once it was bone-dry, I stabilized and sweetened with a dose of FCAJ -- Wish that I had froze some of the base pear juice for that.

 

[dmtaylor]

That looks just like Lactobacillus. Might turn out tart but clean. Only one way to find out -- taste it.