First possible infection? Help!

[KRASHED]

Cream ale that is well past minimum fermentation. Practiced pretty stringent cleaning and sterilizing.

This happened after I siphoned into my bottling bucket from secondary. Unfortunately once in the bottling bucket I was unable to bottle right away so I didn't add any corn sugar and sealed the bottle with an air lock. Less than a week later i'm looking at this.

Can it be saved?

 

[Toga]

if you racked to a bottling bucket and let it sit long enough to get infected you should either taste it and bottle if not too bad or dump. If it were mine I would dump it and get a new bottling bucket. If you do bottle once the bottles are carbed get them in a fridge and drink fast to avoid bottle bombs.

 

[KRASHED]

Well I tasted it using a beer thief. Tastes the same as the sample I took when I transfered it.

Just used the bottling spout to transfer into another container for bottling and left 5 litres behind . Hope it saves it

 

[ericbw]

Why did you rack to a bottling bucket if you weren't ready to bottle?

I think that looks like the start of an infection of some kind. Is it like a skin covering the surface? If yes, then I say it is infected.

If it is infected, it's not just in the bucket, but also in the beer. You see it on the surface because that's where it has contact with the air. If it's some bacteria, it will create the same film in another container and maybe in bottles.

You should replace the bottling bucket, but might get by with bleach bombing - fill with a heavy solution of bleach & hot water. Let it sit for a week, then rinse it very well. But you still run the risk of infecting the next batch, which will cost as much or more than a new bucket. It sucks to have to replace, but might be worth it in the end.

 

[kev211]

Looks infected. Ditch the bucket and get a new one. Also, no need to secondary a cream ale (unless aging on something). Just adding to the potential problem. I probably wouldnt bottle it if it were me (even if it does taste fine). If you do, keep them in a box during carbing and drink them fast

 

[VladOfTrub]

"Also, no need to secondary a cream ale (unless aging on something). Just adding to the potential problem."

In one way you are right and in another way you are wrong and neither have anything to do with aging on something.
It depends on the brewing procedure whether beer is second fermented. When wort is drawn from the single temperature, grain soaking method there is no need to use a second fermentation vessel. The wort is sugar imbalanced being primarily made up of sweet tasting, non-fermenting sugar and glucose (saccharification), and yeast rips through glucose during first fermentation. For that reason home made beer is primed.
When a more advanced brewing method is used, maltose and malto-triose are released (conversion). Beta converts glucose into maltose and malto-triose during the maltose rest and those types of sugar ferment in a different fashion than glucose. During second fermentation another type of conversion takes place. Yeast absorbs maltose through the cell walls and from within, yeast converts the sugar into glucose. The sugar is expelled, fermented and gravity decreases. During aging the same thing occurs with malto-triose and natural carbonation takes place. Since, the beer is void of oxygen, the oxidizer is bound within the molecular structure of the sugar.
When the grain soaking method is used, temperatures indicated on the recipes are not high enough to burst amylo-pectin. The starch is left in the lautertun and it becomes bird feed or dog biscuits. The starch is responsible for body. During dextrinization temperature limit dextrin is released and body forms. Limit dextrin is tasteless, non-fermenting sugar much different than sweet sugar released when Alpha liquefies amylose. Beer produced from the single temperature method lacks body.

 

[kh54s10]

"Also, no need to secondary a cream ale (unless aging on something). Just adding to the potential problem."

In one way you are right and in another way you are wrong and neither have anything to do with aging on something.
It depends on the brewing procedure whether beer is second fermented. When wort is drawn from the single temperature, grain soaking method there is no need to use a second fermentation vessel. The wort is sugar imbalanced being primarily made up of sweet tasting, non-fermenting sugar and glucose (saccharification), and yeast rips through glucose during first fermentation. For that reason home made beer is primed.
When a more advanced brewing method is used, maltose and malto-triose are released (conversion). Beta converts glucose into maltose and malto-triose during the maltose rest and those types of sugar ferment in a different fashion than glucose. During second fermentation another type of conversion takes place. Yeast absorbs maltose through the cell walls and from within, yeast converts the sugar into glucose. The sugar is expelled, fermented and gravity decreases. During aging the same thing occurs with malto-triose and natural carbonation takes place. Since, the beer is void of oxygen, the oxidizer is bound within the molecular structure of the sugar.
When the grain soaking method is used, temperatures indicated on the recipes are not high enough to burst amylo-pectin. The starch is left in the lautertun and it becomes bird feed or dog biscuits. The starch is responsible for body. During dextrinization temperature limit dextrin is released and body forms. Limit dextrin is tasteless, non-fermenting sugar much different than sweet sugar released when Alpha liquefies amylose. Beer produced from the single temperature method lacks body.

You totally lost me on that one.

But it seems you are describing a process that very few homebrewers use or even know about.

In normal brewing a secondary fermentation is a misnomer. No fermentation occurs in secondary. It is just a settling tank. A very little more sediment will fall out of suspension. So it is quite common for brewers to skip the largely unnecessary step to reduce the chance of infection or oxidation.

 

[kev211]

"Also, no need to secondary a cream ale (unless aging on something). Just adding to the potential problem."

In one way you are right and in another way you are wrong and neither have anything to do with aging on something.
It depends on the brewing procedure whether beer is second fermented. When wort is drawn from the single temperature, grain soaking method there is no need to use a second fermentation vessel. The wort is sugar imbalanced being primarily made up of sweet tasting, non-fermenting sugar and glucose (saccharification), and yeast rips through glucose during first fermentation. For that reason home made beer is primed.
When a more advanced brewing method is used, maltose and malto-triose are released (conversion). Beta converts glucose into maltose and malto-triose during the maltose rest and those types of sugar ferment in a different fashion than glucose. During second fermentation another type of conversion takes place. Yeast absorbs maltose through the cell walls and from within, yeast converts the sugar into glucose. The sugar is expelled, fermented and gravity decreases. During aging the same thing occurs with malto-triose and natural carbonation takes place. Since, the beer is void of oxygen, the oxidizer is bound within the molecular structure of the sugar.
When the grain soaking method is used, temperatures indicated on the recipes are not high enough to burst amylo-pectin. The starch is left in the lautertun and it becomes bird feed or dog biscuits. The starch is responsible for body. During dextrinization temperature limit dextrin is released and body forms. Limit dextrin is tasteless, non-fermenting sugar much different than sweet sugar released when Alpha liquefies amylose. Beer produced from the single temperature method lacks body.

Gonna have to agree with kh54s10 on this one. Got about 4 sentences in and got bored with the Wikipedia lesson. Anywho I stand by my secondary comment. It is not needed in this application and very well could have contributed to the reason for infection while offering no potential benefits.

 

[KepowOb]

Also, next time rack to your bottling bucket when you are ready to bottle. Not ready, then don't rack there. You don't need to move onto the next step if you don't have the time to go through with it.