Is this mold?
- Thread starter jespinet
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- fermentation infection lambic mold
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RPh_Guy
Bringing Sour Back
Photos are too blurry to actually tell, but it's probably a pellicle.
A pellicle is [usually] a thin white powdery film formed by wild yeast and/or bacteria. In this case, probably the Brettanomyces possibly in combination the bacteria (e.g. Pediococcus).
Mold looks different; it's fuzzy or hairy.
Could be the lighting, but it looks pretty dark for a Lambic.
A pellicle is [usually] a thin white powdery film formed by wild yeast and/or bacteria. In this case, probably the Brettanomyces possibly in combination the bacteria (e.g. Pediococcus).
Mold looks different; it's fuzzy or hairy.
Could be the lighting, but it looks pretty dark for a Lambic.
OP
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jespinet
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So, you're saying that it probably isn't an "external infection." It is from the bacteria that was in my yeast blend that I pitched (wyeast 3763)?
I'm inclined to believe there are aliens involved here but the proffered images are just shy of definitive.
Can we get just one high-res pic? Even a cell phone can do better than these...
Cheers!
Can we get just one high-res pic? Even a cell phone can do better than these...
Cheers!
OP
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jespinet
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I took these with my Google Pixel which is supposed to have a really great camera.
The carboy is in a dark corner of an unfinished room in my basement so the lighting stinks. Do you know what the size requirements are on this forum for images? I reduced the size of the pics to 200 x 300 to upload them.
Ok, that 'splains it.
fwiw, I routinely post rather large images (like, 1920x1080) when I'm lazy and the forum never seems to mind.
Anyway, my old eyes are a bit sharper now than last night and I have to agree with @RPh_Guy: there's definitely an unintended biological species involved. No idea what particular critter is involved.
About all one could do is pull a sample from under the pellicle and give the smell test, and if that passes give it a taste. If the beer seems ok from those respects, you'll be confronted with the question of what to do next. Bottling could be hella risky if the critters are capable of chomping things that brewers yeast won't, so keeping an eye on the current SG over a few days per check to look for a downwards slope is important. Once it's flattened over the course of a few days, then bottling could be reasonably safe.
Good luck with it!
Cheers!
fwiw, I routinely post rather large images (like, 1920x1080) when I'm lazy and the forum never seems to mind.
Anyway, my old eyes are a bit sharper now than last night and I have to agree with @RPh_Guy: there's definitely an unintended biological species involved. No idea what particular critter is involved.
About all one could do is pull a sample from under the pellicle and give the smell test, and if that passes give it a taste. If the beer seems ok from those respects, you'll be confronted with the question of what to do next. Bottling could be hella risky if the critters are capable of chomping things that brewers yeast won't, so keeping an eye on the current SG over a few days per check to look for a downwards slope is important. Once it's flattened over the course of a few days, then bottling could be reasonably safe.
Good luck with it!
Cheers!
Point taken, and my selection of words wasn't precise wrt "unexpected aliens".
But it does look like there's something "different" riding atop the pellicle, yes? Or no?
Cheers!
But it does look like there's something "different" riding atop the pellicle, yes? Or no?
Cheers!
The OP baked the shots down to uber low resolution...
