is this cyser ruined like my apfelwein was?

[A50SNAKE]

hey there, I ruined an apfelwein that was ageing for over a year in my carboy, still haven't dumped it yet...I can't bring myself to, but I might need that carboy soon...because I had too much head space and there was nice layer or some wrinkly skin on top...pretty sure we concluded awhile ago via some nice folks that helped me out, that it was some sort of infection...well, now I have something similar on my cyser and I have hardly any head space, I think anyways...can someone please help me out with this?

#1) is it ruined? or can I salvage it by racking from underneath of it?
#2) how come I keep getting this on all my cider/cysers?

I'm just using very basic steps I thought, 5-6 gallons of juice depending on which carboy I'm using, 1.5KG of honey and add yeast

I have some pics, as you can see, the bubble formed under the skin and looks like a bubble gum bubble there.

I have a wine filter, would filtering it and maybe adding some sulfites help at all? or is it too late?

 

[LeBreton]

If it still tastes good, you can rack out from underneath the pellicle, leaving it behind. Since you have a filter, go ahead and use it for added peace of mind, I suggest adding ~ 50ppm sulfites too.

Prevention-wise, I suggest keep an eye on the pH and SO2 levels, and manage them appropriately. Here is a useful table for that http://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/FS/FS-52-W.pdf

If you have a kegging setup, consider occasionally adding a burst of CO2 into the carboys to flush out the air in the headspace. Pellicles are formed by aerobic bacteria, so no oxygen, no growth. Alternatively, one can age things in the bottle as opposed to in bulk.

 

[A50SNAKE]

...

thanks soo much for your info and tips...so, I think I'll try to save it then...I don't know what it tastes like, because I was worried about disturbing the "blanket" covering the top.

so, the ~50ppm, what would that equal to, in campden tablet wise? or are campdens not the same thing?

thanks soo much again.

update, ok so it looks like 1/G is the 50ppm, so for my 6 G I would crush and add 6 tablets of campden then, correct?

 

[LeBreton]

Unless otherwise indicated, the general rule of thumb is that 1 campden tablet = 50ppm SO2 in one gallon.

 

[A50SNAKE]

ok, perfect thanks for your help...I feel much better now, since I didn't even know what it was, it was hard for me to "google it".

I'm wondering now how much honey to add to it, to backsweeten to make it a little sweeter. any suggestions? and if I should wait to add the honey, until the campden does it thing for a few days...what do you think?

 

[ICWiener]

I make a lot of sour beers...That's definitely the beginning of an infection. The other posters are correct, you can rack from under it if it still tastes good. I will say that while the pellicle does form in the presence of 02, even if you purge with CO2 the lacto/pedio/brett/whatever is still moving along, so get it bottled or kegged as soon as you can (if it tastes good).

As for future batches, do a thorough cleaning of all your gear and double check your sanitation. If your juice or honey is unpasteurized, it might also be coming from there.

 

[A50SNAKE]

ICWiener, ok thanks soo much for your help and info on my questions as well...I'm going to be racking it onto the campden tabs today, and then I will try my first attempt at kegging it...