What is this?

[robc311]

I bottled my hefeweizen today and saw these brown clumps in the bucket...some floating and some towards the bottom. I used Irish moss...is that what this is?? Beer tastes great and I was able to keep it out of the bottles...just curious what it is. Oh I also included a pic taken from under a glass of the beer that I collected at the very bottom of the bucket...also looks kind of like Irish moss.View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1479086177.315664.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1479086193.488904.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1479086205.139198.jpg

 

[Gavin C]

My guess is that it was an extract batch and this is scorched LME/DME.

 

[robc311]

Ah ok...I added the DME off the flame but when I poured it in the steam coming off the pot created some chunks in the bag of DME which ended up falling into the beer. They didn't dissolve right away so maybe they survived the boil in chunk form.

 

[dallasdb]

That steam can be a b***h when adding DME.

That's why I put DME in a stainless bowl instead of dumping from the bag. I also use a wine degasser hooked up to the drill when adding extract. It gets it mixed in really well and fast.

 

[shortyz]

mouseturds, definatly turds.

 

[dallasdb]

Give it a taste... slurp it down

 

[frankdontsurf]

What recipe or kit did you use?

 

[robc311]

Recipe:

5lbs Wheat DME
1/2lb flaked wheat and 1/2lb flaked oats steeped for 20 min
1oz Liberty hops (60min)
Wyeast 3068

5 gallon batch, 60 min boil

 

[shortyz]

why did you only steep for 20 min?

 

[robc311]

That's what the directions said to do.

 

[davisc1513]

Had the same happen in my dunkelweizen I just made. It was all grain. I didn't even pay attention to what it was or why it was there. It was in a ring in the fermentation bucket from early on in the fermentation process. Great beer came from it!

 

[GHBWNY]

If you enlarge the photo by 3 to 4 times, it appears to be nodules of undissolved (perhaps scorched) DME. Steam from the wort causes the DME to form into hardened clumps as it leaves the bag, which can be difficult if not impossible to dissolve. Even if they're not scorched, the DME color has been darkened by the wort just like wood darkens when it gets wet. Irish moss helps proteins coagulate and fall out of suspension, but I wouldn't expect them to coagulate in such a fashion. No harm done. As long as the beer looks and tastes good, mission accomplished.