what in the world took over my kettle sour?

[jaysquared2]

What in the world kind of infection is this? Kettle sour. Goodbelly. Religiously sanitized and pre-soured to 4.4 so guessing the goodbelly had some kind of wild strain that made it’s way. I’ve never seen this. It’s like a floating fuzz ball. Looks like one large as hell mold spore possibly?

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• jaysquared2
• Feb 5, 2019

Uh, what?!

 

[Andrew Hodgson]

When you say fuzz ball, is it actually fuzzy like mold or do the white lines in the pellicle make it look like its fuzzy?

 

[jaysquared2]

When you say fuzz ball, is it actually fuzzy like mold or do the white lines in the pellicle make it look like its fuzzy?

I have no idea if it’s actually fuzzy haha i’m not jumping at the chance to go touching it right now. I’ve just never seen a lacto pellice condensed into one huge ball like that. It could be. Took a wort sample and the pH is 3.42 but doesn’t taste sour at all. It’s definitely a first for me.

 

[Andrew Hodgson]

Yeah I agree, haven't seen a pellicle like that before, just flipped through a couple pages of the pellicle photo collection and couldn't find anything that looked like yours either.

 

[jaysquared2]

Yeah I agree, haven't seen a pellicle like that before, just flipped through a couple pages of the pellicle photo collection and couldn't find anything that looked like yours either.

Yeah, it’s likely getting dumped. It has no sour characteristics and not worth trying to save (was 6 whole lbs of grain that cost me like $10 tops). Chalk it up as a learning experience and I guess get even more religious with sanitation. If it’s mold, I know bleach sucks for stainless steel, so vinegar soak and scrub followed by good boiling soak and then a sanitizer soak and rinse to kill it good?

 

[day_trippr]

Looks like mold but I suppose these things are rarely that simple to resolve.
Sorry about your loss...

Cheers!

 

[isomerization]

How long was it in the kettle? I always thought molds took awhile to grow, although maybe not at Lacto souring temps...

 

[jaysquared2]

How long was it in the kettle? I always thought molds took awhile to grow, although maybe not at Lacto souring temps...

Roughly 26 hours.

 

[Homergah]

Roughly 26 hours.

Dayam! That's quick! At least for the wild ferms I've done.

 

[jaysquared2]

So, I dumped the batch. The giant ball was solid on the bottom side. Was basically like a circular brillo pad on the bottom side. Best way to describe it was a giant lint ball on top, brillo pad on the bottom.

 

[isomerization]

I think you made the right choice!

https://www.kombuchakamp.com/kombuc...y-kombucha-scobys-mold-formations-on-top-brew

Kinda looks like the spherical mold pics here

 

[RPh_Guy]

Definitely mold. Bummer.
You pre-boiled it?

 

[jaysquared2]

Definitely mold. Bummer.
You pre-boiled it?

Yup, 15 minute full temp boil.