this isn't infected, is it?

[philipCT]

American Rye, fermenting now for 40 days.

i know it's probably fine - that's perfectly normal RDWHAHB, right?

 

[stpug]

Definite infection, and looking good BTW!

edit: assuming you didn't intentionally use brett or sacc trois.

 

[day_trippr]

Yup, there's bugs in that thar beer.

And what's with the forty days?

 

[beergolf]

Looks infected to me.

Looks great. I do a lot of infected brews, on purpose of course.

Here are some good pics of infected beers.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=174033

 

[Transamguy77]

I had that same white film before, it's a mold infection, I found it was coming from my basement where I was making my starters and pitching yeast. Wash all your stuff with a strong bleach solution and start pitching and fermenting in a different place.

Did you taste it? Is it sour? Mine had a moldy sour taste.

 

[philipCT]

First infected batch ever. I can already smell the bleach... (but not on my SS! - guess I'll use TSP for that).

Yeah, 40 days is a bit excessive. Just thought I would let it condition there for a while and guess I lost track. It's been a brutal month. This batch also misbehaved during the brew session - turned in some inexplicable gravities - so I think subconsciously I have something against it.

I didn't taste it. Yet. Can I do that? I'm not going to get some wild sickness, am I?

Is there some chance this might be drinkable or should I just dump it (ooph, I hate that word)?

 

[beergolf]

Go ahead and taste it.

it won't hurt you. A lot of us infect our brews on purpose and they can look way worse than that.

 

[brew_ny]

And what's with the forty days?

Noah's Rye?

 

[Hello]

It's so beautiful.

 

[Happydad1689]

Go ahead and taste it.

it won't hurt you. A lot of us infect our brews on purpose and they can look way worse than that.

I'm new so forgive me if this is a dumb question. Why would you infect on purpose?

 

[beergolf]

We brew sours and brett beers. so those are considered infected to many. The infections add some very interesting flavors. I put brett in all of my saisons now. Love the extra layer of complexity that it adds. The sours get a whole mix of bacteria.... mmmmm love the sours.

 

[BrewSRQ]

Sour beers. Some use lacto, brett, pedio, or blends for a different flavor. All have their own flavor qualities, but none look too appealing during fermentation.

 

[Happydad1689]

We brew sours and brett beers. so those are considered infected to many. The infections add some very interesting flavors. I put brett in all of my saisons now. Love the extra layer of complexity that it adds. The sours get a whole mix of bacteria.... mmmmm love the sours.

Cool. Didn't know.

 

[beergolf]

Here is a pic of one from earlier today. A sour that has been sitting for about 6 months.

 

[secondbase]

Taste it! It could turn out to be an awesome mistake.

 

[philipCT]

Taste it! It could turn out to be an awesome mistake.

Okay, so it's currently still off-gassing through the airlock. That was the first indication that something was wrong. But if I'm going to go with it, what now? Do I let it ferment out even more? Do I just let it sit for a few months?

This is a random infection. There was no brett added.

I'm open to suggestions.

 

[Yooper]

Okay, so it's currently still off-gassing through the airlock. That was the first indication that something was wrong. But if I'm going to go with it, what now? Do I let it ferment out even more? Do I just let it sit for a few months?

This is a random infection. There was no brett added.

I'm open to suggestions.

Usually, unintended sours don't taste very good in the end. If it tastes good now, you could keg it and drink it. If you're bottling, I wouldn't bottle since it could keep fermenting in the bottle.

You could let it sit, if you don't have a kegging set up. I wouldn't even keg it if it was me- that could contaminate your kegging equipment for a beer that probably won't turn out well. But others do, so that's just my opinion.

 

[philipCT]

So I tasted it this afternoon with a fellow homebrewer. It's watery and bland with a hint of that wheat profile that you'd expect. Tiny bit of funk aroma. It doesn't taste really off or weird, but it's unremarkable in almost every way. I think I'll dump it and clean the equipment really well and call it a day.

I really think there is something wrong with the wheat I used in this recipe. We pulled out a sample and smelled it and ate a few kernels. Nothing seemed amiss.

 

[naturebrew]

This is the 2nd thread I have read today about accidental infection, both were in SS fermenters like this one. I have a friend who had a SS 15 gal conical built for him and he had 5 sour batches in a row, he's been brewing for years and knows how to clean his gear. He tried everything to remove the infection, the latest was to remove any threaded connections and replace with something easier to clean. I am fermenting in sankes ATM. I have no holes drilled into them, just the stock opening on top, makes me think there might be an issue with bugs getting into places that are difficult to clean like the drain opening, temp probe thermowell etc.

 

[ColoHox]

I had that same white film before, it's a mold infection, I found it was coming from my basement where I was making my starters and pitching yeast. Wash all your stuff with a strong bleach solution and start pitching and fermenting in a different place.

Did you taste it? Is it sour? Mine had a moldy sour taste.

I agree, a moldy batch is a dumper. However, that pellicle looks mold free and pretty standard for a contaminated (or purposefully sour) batch.

 

[wilserbrewer]

I think the seal on your fermenter is less than perfect, as I think that is an aerobic infection requiring oxygen. I would rack from underneath the pellicle on. Top and bottle or keg it. And once carbed I would store cold. I think you will be surprised how much better it tastes cold and carbed.

Fwiw, I don't advise chucking it out.

 

[Yooper]

This is the 2nd thread I have read today about accidental infection, both were in SS fermenters like this one. I have a friend who had a SS 15 gal conical built for him and he had 5 sour batches in a row, he's been brewing for years and knows how to clean his gear. He tried everything to remove the infection, the latest was to remove any threaded connections and replace with something easier to clean. I am fermenting in sankes ATM. I have no holes drilled into them, just the stock opening on top, makes me think there might be an issue with bugs getting into places that are difficult to clean like the drain opening, temp probe thermowell etc.

It's not the stainless. It's the WIDE headspace with a non-airtight seal.

For short term, it's fine. You won't see an infection in a fermenter like this in 7 days, for example. It's when fermentation slows, and ends when headspace and not being airtight become an issue.

This beer appears to have been in such a fermenter for 6 weeks. That's about 4.5 weeks longer than I would have left it.

 

[stpug]

So I tasted it this afternoon with a fellow homebrewer. It's watery and bland with a hint of that wheat profile that you'd expect. Tiny bit of funk aroma. It doesn't taste really off or weird, but it's unremarkable in almost every way. I think I'll dump it and clean the equipment really well and call it a day.

I really think there is something wrong with the wheat I used in this recipe. We pulled out a sample and smelled it and ate a few kernels. Nothing seemed amiss.

IMO, this sounds like a favorable batch to sour. A bland, wheaty beer that is not very bitter is an excellent choice. However, you want to introduce strong sour bugs and the dregs from jolly pumpkin should do it. Bottling it up when it's gravity is stable and is plenty sour is a good alternative to kegging. Just my opinion though. Of course, if you're like yooper and don't like sour beers then scrap it while you're ahead.

 

[wilserbrewer]

It's likely not sour yet, drink it ASAP

 

[philipCT]

This is the 2nd thread I have read today about accidental infection, both were in SS fermenters like this one. ...

It ain't the bucket, I confess. I did not handle this brew carefully. At one point early in the fermentation, I had a total brain fart episode and dipped an unsanitized thermometer into it. And leaving it on the trub for 40 days? That's just mean. I'm not particular about leaving beer on the trub for 10, 15, even 20 days but 40 is just stoopid.

I've done several other batches in this SS Brewbucket and it's wonderful to use and I plan on continuing to use it - after a solid TSP cleaning.

Also, I will say that the seal on the SS Bucket seems to be pretty airtight. The fit is good and the silicone gasket seats well, and when it's closed up it blows all the CO2 out of the blowoff tube or airlock - even late in the fermentation when the off-gassing is at very low volumes.

And for those keeping track at home, I did end up going with the calm voice of experience (Thank you, Yooper) and dumped that batch. Didn't want to contaminate any more equipment. I even took it out of the brewery area to slop sink in the laundry to make sure I didn't air that out in the brew studio.

 

[naturebrew]

I only secondary if I am adding fruit to a beer, otherwise they stay on the yeast cake until I am ready to keg or bottle. I have left beer on yeast for 3 months with no problem, mind you my brew room is dark and cool. I ferment 5 gal batches in 6 gal glass carboys and 10 gal in 15 gal sanke kegs, I always have lots of head space to allow for active primary fermentation without blow off. For the sanke kegs, I boil 1 gal of water in them at the start of the brew day to sterilize and have pitched 3 consecutive batches on the same yeast without cleaning in between, in fact this is now my standard process. In the 2 years I have been brewing, no infections to date. Hopefully you find the cause of your infection.