Wild Yeast Infection

[d_striker]

Crap, I think I may have a wild yeast infection.

I used S-04 in a 1.060 brown ale. It's been 7 days and I just checked the gravity at 1.010. That's 83% attenuation so far when I was only expecting around 75% tops.

The other thing is that the yeast hasn't really dropped out like S-04 typically does.

The third thing that has me concerned is that the surface of the wort is still bubbling away; more than the typical "CO2 trapped in the yeast cake bubbles."

It was pretty windy out when I was brewing this batch. I don't have a lid for my keggle yet and my wort was exposed while chilling with my IC. Do you guys cover your wort while chilling when brewing outside?

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

What made you think you would only get 75% attenuation?

CO2 will come out if it is experiencing temperature swings. Is this beer in a temperature-controlled area or somewhere the temperature can swing five or more degrees?

Taste it. Does it taste like bandaids and feet? If it does then yes, it's infected. If not then it's probably ok.

 

[d_striker]

What made you think you would only get 75% attenuation?

-Two reasons...1.) The manufacturers rating of 70-75% and 2.) I mashed at 154 degrees with 10% Crystal Malt

CO2 will come out if it is experiencing temperature swings. Is this beer in a temperature-controlled area or somewhere the temperature can swing five or more degrees?

Temp controlled. 66 degrees through active fermentation and then 70 once activity slowed.

Taste it. Does it taste like bandaids and feet? If it does then yes, it's infected. If not then it's probably ok.

-I took a quick sample this morning for a gravity reading...I didn't taste it though....I'll give it taste later.

 

[DPBISME]

What made you think you would only get 75% attenuation?

CO2 will come out if it is experiencing temperature swings. Is this beer in a temperature-controlled area or somewhere the temperature can swing five or more degrees?

Taste it. Does it taste like bandaids and feet? If it does then yes, it's infected. If not then it's probably ok.

I like this comment: I just did my first Kolsch with a Fermentatipon Chamber...

It was at 60 degreee and I took it out in to a room that was 72-74 degrees for a Diacetyl Rest.... it started bubbling about 4 hours later and bubbled for more than a day... I am pretty sure it was not fermenting...

Good luck,

DPB

 

[kingwood-kid]

Taste it. Does it taste like bandaids and feet? If it does then yes, it's infected. If not then it's probably ok.

You forgot goat scrotum and wet-dog-in-a-phone-booth! I've gotten 90%+ attenuation in uninfected batches with no added sugars. I don't think there's any cause for alarm here, at least not until a taste test is administered. If it was infected, it probably would have smelled off.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

You forgot goat scrotum and wet-dog-in-a-phone-booth! I've gotten 90%+ attenuation in uninfected batches with no added sugars. I don't think there's any cause for alarm here, at least not until a taste test is administered. If it was infected, it probably would have smelled off.

Goat pre-fermentation becomes delicious juicy fruit-like flavors afterwards. That would be a good candidate to let brett make some magic out of it. Don't hate the goat.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

What made you think you would only get 75% attenuation?

-Two reasons...1.) The manufacturers rating of 70-75% and 2.) I mashed at 154 degrees with 10% Crystal Malt

CO2 will come out if it is experiencing temperature swings. Is this beer in a temperature-controlled area or somewhere the temperature can swing five or more degrees?

Temp controlled. 66 degrees through active fermentation and then 70 once activity slowed.

Taste it. Does it taste like bandaids and feet? If it does then yes, it's infected. If not then it's probably ok.

-I took a quick sample this morning for a gravity reading...I didn't taste it though....I'll give it taste later.

The manufacturer's attentuation rating is not absolute. They are giving you general guidelines but depending on the recipe, the specifics of the malt, mash temps, etc. it can really vary. Is your thermometer calibrated? Your 154F mash could have been 144F, resulting in a very dry beer. Also, attenuation is driven substantially by yeast health and pitching rate. If you underpitched, underaerated, etc. then it could just be fermenting slowly. On the otherhand, great yeast health can sometimes push attenuation higher than normal.

Taste will definitely let you know. There is no missing the medicinal, bandaid, smokey, chemical phenols wild yeast will give you. You can also check for floating yeast clumps. Many wild strains will clump and you'll see small but visible pebble-like clumps towards the top of the beer.

 

[kingwood-kid]

Don't hate the goat.

Surely there's a sour brewery that can make this their slogan.

 

[Pilgarlic]

The off flavors of a wild yeast infection may not manifest themselves for quite some time after the appearance of the other symptoms you've mentioned: a failure of flocculation and overattenuation. This from unfortunate personal experience. Of course we don't want to jump to conclusions about infection, but your assessment looks pretty sound to me. Bulletproof? No. But pretty sound. Don't be surprised if the taste isn't bad now and it suddenly turns later. In my case it was nearly two weeks after bottling, and that after I gave it, easily, an extra month to clear in the fermentor. It never did clear, by the way, and I had to drop that (wild, non-flocculant) yeast with gelatin.

 

[Pilgarlic]

Also, you might not get much plastic, or bandaid, unless the phenols encountered chlorine or chloramine. The phenolic (as opposed to chlorophenolic) flavor is more often a dirty, unpleasant, spicy flavor. You WILL know it's wrong, if it's there.

 

[day_trippr]

Was this a full mash, or at least a partial mash, by any chance?

You say it was windy, and you have what looks like "well attenuated" beer.
I'm left wondering if your mash temp was running low due to the wind factor.

'Course, if it was a full extract batch, nevermind...

Cheers!

 

[d_striker]

Was this a full mash, or at least a partial mash, by any chance?

You say it was windy, and you have what looks like "well attenuated" beer.
I'm left wondering if your mash temp was running low due to the wind factor.

'Course, if it was a full extract batch, nevermind...

Cheers!

All grain....Brew day was 95 degrees out...Mash only dropped 1 degree after one hour.