Vinegar mother?

[DisplacedSailor]

I can only describe this as a large jellyfish like substance. Two days ago it was nonexistent and I was going to bottle it. Can I rack off from underneath, top up with juice and let sit for 3 weeks to make sure it's still good or wasting time? If it makes a difference, this is a blueberry cider that sat on the fruit for 30 days. It's been aged another 30 since and is approximately 90 days old.

I leave this weekend for 3 weeks and won't have time to bottle.

 

[Yooper]

I can't see anything in the picture!

It sure sounds like vinegar from your description, though. Racking off, treating with campden, and letting it sit, topped up, is a good plan for now.

 

[Albionwood]

If that's a vinegar mother, there should already be enough acetic acid to ruin the cider - you should be able to smell and taste it.

If it's not already acetified, then it's probably not an Acetobacter colony, but something else. Possibly a different colony-former, in which case it will likely have some other strong and unpleasant flavor; but also possibly just a pectin haze, or even a "keeve" if you're really lucky - a clot of pectin and insoluble proteins. Rack out from under it and smell/taste, if it's good, bottle immediately.

 

[kyt]

What is the pH? You may have inadvertently made kombucha! lol
If it is an acetobacter SCOBY on top, and it hasn't turned to vinegar, you could leave it and have blueberry kombucha. Probably is ruined as a "cider", but doesn't mean you have to waste it.

 

[DisplacedSailor]

So now I'm really flummoxed. The jelly substance just disintegrated when touched by my siphon. The taste isn't bad, but it isn't what it was on Monday. Today, there is more alcohol heat and less blueberry flavor.

Racked it to a new container and topped up. Can still see some floaters. Guess time will tell.

 

[DisplacedSailor]

What is the pH? You may have inadvertently made kombucha! lol
If it is an acetobacter SCOBY on top, and it hasn't turned to vinegar, you could leave it and have blueberry kombucha. Probably is ruined as a "cider", but doesn't mean you have to waste it.

No idea on pH, don't have one of those test kits.

 

[kyt]

*shrugs*
could it be that protein foam stuff that sticks to the pot when making beer?
I don't actually brew beer, but I attended an intro to brewing class just for fun, and that was something they talked about. I can't remember what it was called; maybe it's something similar?

 

[DisplacedSailor]

So a google search turned up a thread that leads me to believe its the blueberries. The pics look spot on to what I "had" in the bottle.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f32/normal-looking-cider-343552/

 

[sleepy_doggy]

Guys, hypothesize all day but you will never know until you TASTE it! Most likely it's the pectin in the must coagulating all of your blueberry junk and your yeast caused it to rise.

 

[Albionwood]

Guys, hypothesize all day but you will never know until you TASTE it! Most likely it's the pectin in the must coagulating all of your blueberry junk and your yeast caused it to rise.

Agree.