Possible fungii contamination?

[Gratton]

Hey guys!

I am at my 5th brew, i used muntons kit for the 4th previous one and this time i used brew canada's can.

I know, can are not the best, but as a beginner... i do what i can!

However, this time my air lock stopped making bubbles after 5 days, and my foam on the top is far not like the others i've had. Is that fungus?

I sterilisez with starsan.... as usual. I'd just be disapointed to have failled my brew.

Here is a pic :

 

[drainbamage]

Edit: nevermind, I couldn't see the pic at first, but then it showed up. That looks like a pellicle.

In the meantime, don't let the airlock alone be a gauge of fermentation progress. It is pretty reasonable for bubbling activity to slow down considerably after 5 days, but that doesn't necessarily mean fermentation has stalled.

 

[BrewingGunner]

Looks bacterial to me.

 

[IslandLizard]

Looks like a pellicle forming on top of the yeast and krausen. Those "connectors" are a dead give-away.
It may still taste good or turn slowly into a yummy sour. It's not a mold/fungus, probably bacteria, like lacto.

You could siphon some off below the surface and taste it. I doubt it is fermented out after 5 days, so it will still be sweet.

How do you clean and sanitize that cooler? And the spigot?

 

[Gratton]

I clean it using soft soap (in the bath as its king huge for the sink)

Then i spray star san all around, drain it trough the spigot, then spray more inside, and sponge it.

Aint it the good way do it? i though 5 min contact was enough.

 

[JonM]

I think the sponging after the starsan application is the prime suspect. Just leave the starsan where it is. Don't touch anything else to the sanitized surface once you've sprayed it.

 

[McCoy]

I think the sponging after the starsan application is the prime suspect. Just leave the starsan where it is. Don't touch anything else to the sanitized surface once you've sprayed it.

I agree with this. It looks like a lactobacillus pellicle to me, meaning that there is a bacteria in your beer producing lactic acid, making the beer sour. If you're feeling brave then you can wait it out and see if the beer turns out good anyway (it might -- I really like sour beers). You could also take a sample now, find out what the specific gravity is, taste it, and decide if you want to try rescuing it by dosing it with campden or heat pasteurization, and then repitching yeast.

What style is the beer supposed to be?

 

[IslandLizard]

^ this and your spigot and/or spigot seal may harbor bugs too. Can you take it apart? Then clean with a (tube) brush, Starsan it, and assemble wet. The silicone spigot seal may hold onto bacteria too, on both sides.

When you spray with StarSan, does it stick to the walls? I know my mashtun cooler doesn't hold onto any liquid film, it just beads up.

You may be better off pouring a gallon of Starsan in the cooler, put the lid on, and swish/tumble it around for a minute or so. Then drain the Starsan. And don't touch the insides after that treatment.

Soft soap may not get everything, and could leave a residue that prevents your beer from forming a head later. Try using washing soda, Oxyclean, or PBW for cleaning, even after your soft soap treatment.

How do you airlock that thing? Those lids are very thick.

 

[IslandLizard]

I agree with this. It looks like a lactobacillus pellicle to me, meaning that there is a bacteria in your beer producing lactic acid, making the beer sour. If you're feeling brave then you can wait it out and see if the beer turns out good anyway (it might -- I really like sour beers). You could also take a sample now, find out what the specific gravity is, taste it, and decide if you want to try rescuing it by dosing it with campden or heat pasteurization, and then repitching yeast.

What style is the beer supposed to be?

Campden will stop the yeast but not the lacto. They maybe living in good harmony now and create a fantastic sour. Deactivate the yeast and lacto will have a real feast.

 

[Gratton]

Hmm k, i'll give a shot to oxyclean as i've some here and disassemble the spigot next time.

I drilled a hole trough my lid and put my lock in it, sealing it with heat glue. Works like a charm.

I will flush the beer, it's supposed to be a standard red ale, as my familly do not like too-much-tasting beer. Next batch will be a blonde pale ale, hope to have more luck

^ this and your spigot and/or spigot seal may harbor bugs too. Can you take it apart? Then clean with a (tube) brush, Starsan it, and assemble wet. The silicone spigot seal may hold onto bacteria too, on both sides.

When you spray with StarSan, does it stick to the walls? I know my mashtun cooler doesn't hold onto any liquid film, it just beads up.

You may be better off pouring a gallon of Starsan in the cooler, put the lid on, and swish/tumble it around for a minute or so. Then drain the Starsan. And don't touch the insides after that treatment.

Soft soap may not get everything, and could leave a residue that prevents your beer from forming a head later. Try using washing soda, Oxyclean, or PBW for cleaning, even after your soft soap treatment.

How do you airlock that thing? Those lids are very thick.

 

[IslandLizard]

I would take the sour from you Sorry you're dumping it, they can be very yummy, alas an acquired taste, alike well-aged beef.

It won't hurt to soak the whole shebang in bleach for a couple of days. Pay special attention to the spigot and surrounding area. They're nasty bug traps. Double check that airlock area too, so nothing bad can grow there or leech out of the foam. Bacteria are really small and can hide in very small seams and scratches, where the hairs of a brush can't go.

I've never seen anyone use a cooler for fermentor, so we're new to your method.
The screw areas of the tank and lid also need to be cleaned and sanitized, don't forget.

On to your next brew....

 

[McCoy]

Campden will stop the yeast but not the lacto. They maybe living in good harmony now and create a fantastic sour. Deactivate the yeast and lacto will have a real feast.

Campden doesn't kill lacto? I've never heard one way or the other, so I just assumed it does since it kills many other spoiling bacteria. Do you have a source?

 

[McCoy]

I would take the sour from you Sorry you're dumping it, they can be very yummy, alas an acquired taste, alike well-aged beef.

It is sort of a shame to dump it, but I understand if you've only got one fermenter. While some sours are an acquired taste, they also come very naturally to some people. I know several people who do not typically enjoy most beers who really get into the more vinous or acidic sours.

 

[neosapien]

I'm gonna join the "shame to dump it camp" Sour red sounds like it could be delicious. I'd let it ride out for a while longer and rack a bit from under it, just to see what it tastes like.

 

[ChefRex]

+1, where are you located, maybe someone close could take it off your hands and let it run it's course.

 

[Gratton]

i'm in montreal, as registered tech lab, i know bacillus produces methanol, which i would like to drink XD

 

[McCoy]

i'm in montreal, as registered tech lab, i know bacillus produces methanol, which i would like to drink XD

Lactobacillus, the genus I think is likely to have infected your wort, does not produce methanol. In fact, some species/strains of lactobacillus are homofermentive and only produce lactic acid, and even in heterofermentive strains my understanding is that lactic acid is the dominant metabolic byproduct.

I don't have too much experience in sour beers, but many people here do. What I do know, for certain, is that when I have read about people getting injured from homebrewing, it's always from burns, cuts, etc. from equipment. I have not yet once read of someone brewing a beer that made them ill or was in some way toxic.

 

[MindenMan]

There are no known pathogens that live in beer, that can cause illness in humans.