White substance on cider

[roxbob]

Hi all,

I've been barrel aging a cider for about 6 weeks, and today I racked into the keg. When I pulled the racking cane out, it had a solid white substance on it. I'm guessing the stuff was floating on the top, and stuck to the cane as the level dropped. I don't detect any obvious off flavors. Anyone know what this is, and whether it's anything to worry about?

Thanks!

 

[Yooper]

Its obviously some sort of infection, but it's hard to say what. It could be mold, acetobacter (vinegar), lactobacillus, brettanamyces, etc.

 

[roxbob]

Thanks. Would heat pasteurization arrest such infections? I plan to backsweeten and pasteurize once it's carbonated. Any other tips for saving the batch before off flavors develop?

Here's a pic of the cane when it came out of the barrel...

 

[roxbob]

Also, does this mean my bourbon barrel is now kaput for anything but sours?

 

[Yooper]

That "stuff" looks more like yeast to me than a mold or infection. Can it be?

 

[roxbob]

anything's possible, but the way it was stuck to the cane I think it had been floating on the surface - I'd racked it into the barrel after primary fermentation was complete, so I'm sure there was a bit of yeast at the bottom, but probably not much. it also looked more chalky that yeast-y.

Anyway, if it's floating, I'm hoping I can bottle from the keg and avoid most or all of it, and then halt any off flavor development once I pasteurize. It probably is an infection of some sort, as there were only 4 gallons of it in a 5-gallon barrel, so plenty of headspace to allow bad things to happen...