whoops. pellicle in a suppose to be clean Pale Ale.

[hopbrad]

I have an infection going in a pale ale(not on purpose) and am wondering what wild yeast it could be. Its a 60 IBU pale ale. and i have ALOT of it. close to 25 gallons in a blue 35 gallon drum. I will be tossing the drum or using it to store grains. but in the meantime, me and my brew buddy are thinking of letting it ride out.

It smells of harsh nail polish/solvent-like. a little sour lacto-ness to it but id be suprised since the IBUs are so high.
here are some pics. its about 3-4 weeks old. what do you think it is?

 

[DrKnow]

I have an infection going in a pale ale(not on purpose) and am wondering what wild yeast it could be. Its a 60 IBU pale ale. and i have ALOT of it. close to 25 gallons in a blue 35 gallon drum. I will be tossing the drum or using it to store grains. but in the meantime, me and my brew buddy are thinking of letting it ride out.

It smells of harsh nail polish/solvent-like. a little sour lacto-ness to it but id be suprised since the IBUs are so high.
here are some pics. its about 3-4 weeks old. what do you think it is?

You're probably hosed if it tastes like acetone. Nothing good usually comes from that. It's not a flavor that will "age out."

 

[hopbrad]

You're probably hosed if it tastes like acetone. Nothing good usually comes from that. It's not a flavor that will "age out."

would brett do anything to clean/funk up those flavors? i don't have any on hand, but have a friend coming to visit in 3 weeks.

i havent tasted it yet. that was only a smell.

 

[DrKnow]

First off you'll need to taste it. Chances are if it has a solvent aroma, it's going to have a solvent flavor. This will only intensify with aging. Judging from the gnarly pellicle, it looks like that beer had a ton of oxygen exposure. Too much oxygen is what can actually cause Brett and other microbes to produce acetone and solvent like aromas and flavors. A lot of people who don't make sour and funky beers on a regular basis believe if they have an infected nasty batch you can just pitch Brett and that will magically make the beer good. This pretty much never works. There's an ancient piece of wisdom that states: "You can't polish a turd." So my advice would be to taste the beer. If it's decent maybe pitch some Brett and let it ride for a couple months and taste it again. Package when gravity is stable and it tastes good. If not dump it and fill your new "sour/funky fermentation vessel" with another batch of sour beer. I would not recommend attempting a clean beer in that fermentor. Whatever you decide, double check the seal and headspace on that fermentor. Oxygen is your enemy when aging these types of beers and exposure should be kept to an absolute minimum. Ultimately it's your beer and your decision. Good luck and let us know how it comes out.

 

[mitchard]

I'll second what DrKnow said. Too much ethyl acetate can cause the acetone/solvent flavors and aromas, which is probably your issue. Small amounts will give off pineapple/pear, but overexposure to oxygen will boost it right into the nail polish realm pretty quick. With the amount of head space present coupled with a possible bad seal, lots of oxygen was probably getting in.

Fusel alcohols can produce the similar aromas, and can diminish over time. However, ethyl acetate won't.

As you said, most lacto wouldn't perform well due to the higher IBUs. Probably acetic acid produced what sounds and looks like a brett contamination.

 

[hopbrad]

thanks! all good info. i think its a bad seal. I have a silicone gasket ring around it and a metal clamp that closes it but still didnt see any bubbles from the airlock.
we'll retire it or use it for grain storage/intial funky ferment then into glass carboys to age sours. the headspace and it being plastic is a tough one to get around. the krausen hit the lid during active ferment and aging long term in plastic is usually no bueno.

ill give it a taste and update if its not gross.

 

[secondbase]

Nail polish remover = dumper

It will only get worse.