My first infection

[Jonkl]

I've been brewing for four years now, with dozens of batches, and I finally got my first real infection.

We just moved, so it took a while to get everything organized in the new place. I built a starter for some saved yeast, and it eventually got to work. With living yeast, I got to brewing.

Everything went fairly well on brew day. I secured the carboy full of wort to cool in a closet under the stairs in the new place. When I pulled it out this morning to pitch my yeast starter, it looked like it was already fermenting. Bubbles/krausen on top, little colony clumps of *something* floating around. It wasn't a pellicle - it looked like full-on saccharomyces fermentation.

It was the weirdest thing.

It doesn't smell bad, but doesn't really smell *good,* either. So I pitched my starter anyway, and now I wait. It's probably going to be a dumper, but I have to see this through, just to try to figure it out. I'm already making mental notes to improve my process. It's fairly redneck and kluged together, but that hasn't bitten me before. Until now.

Has anyone else had an infection that behaved like a normal brewing yeast? Any theories as to what it might be? Will it kill me if I try it after it's done?

 

[TexasDroughtBrewery]

An infection post with no pictures...im disappointed honestly.

 

[Jonkl]

Yeah, sorry. I didn't think about taking pictures until after I'd already pitched the starter. I'll try to do better next time.

 

[Pizzamaker]

If your sanitation is a bit off, perhaps the source of contamination could be the yeast from a previous batch or maybe a current batch?

You might be lucky.

 

[Jonkl]

That's sort of what I'm banking on, but I don't think it's very likely, since there have been a few months and a few hundred miles between brews on my equipment.

 

[Jonkl]

Picture, through the top of the carboy. The big, greenish bubbles are on top of white foam that's not quite gone, with the slowing fermentation. It smells somewhere between beer and whatever funk the infection smells like.

I'm asking folks nearby if they know anyone with a decent microscope, but no luck yet.

When the time comes to rack under the green bubbles, I have to ask: will it kill me?

 

[JJack887]

Pitch some brett.

 

[Stillraining]

Picture, through the top of the carboy. The big, greenish bubbles are on top of white foam that's not quite gone, with the slowing fermentation. It smells somewhere between beer and whatever funk the infection smells like.

I'm asking folks nearby if they know anyone with a decent microscope, but no luck yet.

When the time comes to rack under the green bubbles, I have to ask: will it kill me?

it looks like a full blown Floralcontainer infection to me...I would not dump it but instead enjoy the show however long it lasts.

 

[Jonkl]

Stillraining - Floralcontainer? Was that an autocorrect, or is that a thing?

JJack, I may do that. Brett is always fun.

Whatever this bug is, it's impressing me. Whether it's IBUs in the 60s or rising alcohol, nothing is slowing it down. It's some kind of superbug.

 

[Jonkl]

Pulled a sample off my mystery/infected batch. I managed to learn something about the numbers and efficiency of my batch, so that was good. The OG was probably pretty close to what I read when the infection had already begun to take hold. Then came the sampling...

The aroma was actually pretty good. Slightly hoppy and ale yeasty in the background, with an interesting, but still pleasant, barnyard funk. It was hopeful. Then, the taste...

Not so good. There was almost no flavor to speak of. It was hollow, thin, and a whole lot of not much going on, except a weird bitter-paper flavor towards the end. It's like all of the worst parts of infamously bad regional light beers combined and ended up in my carboy.

I'll think for a couple days about how I might bring back some life. But it's probably a dumper.

 

[JJack887]

Sorry to hear, dude. I lost my second-to-last batch to wild yeast. You live and learn.

 

[DurtyChemist]

I had something similar occur. Brewed up a batch of wort to keep as a 5 gallon batch of starter wort. Boiled for 15 minutes and if I remember correctly I went no chill...this might have been my mistake. When I went to make a starter and pull from the keg I had this in it seemed to be really pressurized. I checked the gravity and it was still 1.040 like I planned so I wasn't worried. Well over the course of a few days the keg starts leaking. I pull the pressure release valve and beer goes everywhere. Keep venting pressure thinking it was because I put it in my kegerator with 15 lbs of CO2. I pulled a SECOND sample for a brew for yesterday and when I checked the gravity it was 1.015. I labeled it so I know it wasn't a beer I'd kegged and the inside of the keg looked just like fermentation with the krausen and everything.

I dumped the keg and it's soaking in a fresh batch of star san right now. I'll try to make the starter wort again but I may boil it longer than 15 minutes and chill it like a regular batch instead of making it a 15 minute batch that's not chilled. I don't think the keg was infected since my SOP has been to seal it with Star San then transfer using CO2 to keep the keg sealed.

 

[MaryB]

Star San is not a cleaner, it is just a sanitizer. Do a Hot water PBW soak...

 

[DurtyChemist]

Star San is not a cleaner, it is just a sanitizer. Do a Hot water PBW soak...

Doesn't sanitary mean free of bacteria, pathogens, and contaminants where as clean is more removing big chunks of trub/krausen ring and other things you can see attached to the bucket?

 

[Jonkl]

I brewed another batch yesterday, and while it was going, I think I figured out what caused my problem. Top off water. I had gotten lazy, using chlorinated city water run through an RO, which got rid of most issues. I don't get the same luxury with well water. So I used "holy top off water" with my latest batch - I boiled the heck out of it. Should hopefully be good now.

 

[day_trippr]

Doesn't sanitary mean free of bacteria, pathogens, and contaminants where as clean is more removing big chunks of trub/krausen ring and other things you can see attached to the bucket?

Well, yes. But trying to sanitize something that isn't "clean" is a dubious prospect at best...

Cheers!