Whoa, what is this? Contamination question

[gypsyhead]

Basically, what is this growing on top of all of my brews?

See the pics attached (I think I did that right), but basically it looks like a dry, white, flaky/granular substance floating on top of all my brews. It's not yeast, I know that much because the same thing happened on 6 different brews made with 5 different yeasts, though they were all stored in close proximity.

I made these 6 brews back in August, then had to leave to go out to sea for a few months. I came back in October, found the layer on top of my red rye and just racked from underneath it and bottled. Just got back and the bottles taste fine, but the other 4 brews are still in carboys and I'm wondering if I should be racking underneath again or if these should be imbibed with caution. While I was gone, SHMBO looked in on the brews, but I think the airlocks may have run dry at some point and that may be my issue, though the issue was present in October, and the airlocks looked okay at that point. All the brews were stashed in her closet, and have a slight layer of dust on the carboys now.

One additional note, the mead is the only carboy that seems to be unaffected. It has a thick brown chunky layer at the top that more closely resembled yeast, but not the white flaky layer like all the other batches.

The 6 brews were as follows:
-Red Rye Ale brewed with WLP 530 Abbey ale
-Saison brewed with WLP 568 Belgian Saison
-Sour Mash Bier De Garde with WLP 568 Belgian Saison
-Flemish Red with Wyeast 3763 Roselare blend
-Blackberry Mead with WLP 727 Steinberg-Geisenheim wine yeast (this is the only one not affected)
-Kombucha brewed with bottle dregs

Like I said, had the first bottle of the Red Rye ale last night, tasted great but no carbonation (which could be expected on a rush job that was left for 4 months). No digestive distress yet, but if I end up dying, I'll let you all know.

Thanks!

 

[tochsner]

I don't have the slightest idea what that is but I just made the last picture my desktop wallpaper.

 

[gypsyhead]

At least this infection has the good sense to be artsy.

 

[mobilecabinworks]

How do the beers taste?

 

[gypsyhead]

-Bottled Red Rye tastes great, no noticeable off flavors. Little to no carbonation (which may have just been a priming issue)
-Bottled Kombucha not quite as acetic as I would like, but a little funky. Nicely carbonated
-Carboys:
-Blackberry mead: fantastic, though a bit hot. Will let it age a bit longer and see what happens before bottling.
-Flemish red is phenomenal. Much better than I would have expected at only 4 months. No noticeable off flavors, though maybe the acid hides them a bit better than the rest.
-Saison: Not a bad base, but a definite cheesy flavor that makes it tough to swallow.
-Biere de garde: A bit weak, with a definite cheesy overtone that again makes it hard to swallow.

I'm thinking mold at this point, damn, though maybe the cheesiness may be oxidized hops due to too great a headspace or autolysis?

 

[j1rubin]

take a look at the sour beer pictures - it looks very similar to the ones posted there.

 

[Seven]

Definitely infected. Probably Brettanomyces. Rack from underneath it and drink 'em fast if they are still good.

 

[Sulli]

Looks a little bit like Brettanomyces.

 

[kpr121]

Subscribed. I've seen this happen in a couple half-glasses of beer that were accidently left out for a couple days in my bar. Its been worrying me that this bug is floating around somewhere, and I am hoping it is just something in the air and not my tap lines or something.

 

[Dok]

At least this infection has the good sense to be artsy.

+1. Looks Van Goghish

 

[rorygilmore]

You have pellicle(s), a normal part of the of the brettanomyces fermentation process. The rosellare blend, which contains two different strains of brett, probably infected the other batches either by being stored in close proximity or through your equipment.

Fortunately the styles that are infected might actually turn out really well with the brett infection, but it'll take a long time for the flavor to develop and/or be safe to bottle. I'd spend a lot of time reading up on sour/funky beer now that you have a really nice sour beer program up and running.

 

[gypsyhead]

Aha, well glad to hear its just Brett, it looks exactly like those last few pics, just had never seen a pellicle in person before. I can work with that in these beers, and glad to have it actually, though we'll see what it does to the Red Rye ale over time, and I still don't see it in the mead luckily. Thanks guys!

 

[jessup]

looks like lactobacillus. brettanomyces itself won't start for a few months yet, but you're well on your way!!