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Mold in my fermenter?
Posted: Fri Oct 25, 2019 11:56 am
by Hayzer
I hope this pic comes through. This is an Oatmeal Stout (extract) that I thought I’d toy with. I won’t explain all the extra I did, because what I want to know is, would you keg this? I have been sampling from the bottom spout daily. Planned on kegging today so I popped the top to find this. It sure tastes great, but this doesn’t look great. I’ve never seen it before.
Would you keg this and see what it tastes like carbonated?
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Re: Mold in my fermenter?
Posted: Fri Oct 25, 2019 11:57 am
by Hayzer
Another look.
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Re: Mold in my fermenter?
Posted: Fri Oct 25, 2019 2:42 pm
by mashani
Probably just yeast islands, and maybe something that likes to grown on top of them with oxygen exposure, but won't grow in the actual beer. Mold does not like beer, there isn't any mold growing *in* your beer. Some yeasts do that more then others. I often use yeasts that do it a lot, so stuff like that is just "meh" to me anymore LOL. Wort conditions can influence whether it happens as well. In any case all is good most likely.
Just bottle/keg it from under that stuff, if you have a spigot, just leave that stuff behind. That stuff will probably just gather up along the sides of your fermenter as you are draining it and be left behind anyways.
So basically RDWHAHB.
Re: Mold in my fermenter?
Posted: Fri Oct 25, 2019 4:58 pm
by John Sand
Looks a lot like a lacto infection to me.
Re: Mold in my fermenter?
Posted: Fri Oct 25, 2019 6:06 pm
by berryman
As long as it taste good in the fermenter it should be good carbed. I would really give your fermenter a good cleaning and sanitation after though. Maybe a bleach bomb too.
Re: Mold in my fermenter?
Posted: Fri Oct 25, 2019 9:07 pm
by mashani
John Sand wrote:Looks a lot like a lacto infection to me.
Nah, I doubt it. He'd be tasting some sour/tart if it's been in the fermenter long enough to be bottled/kegged and there was enough oxygen exposure and lacto presence to promote pellicle formation. I would also expect some stringy like looking connections between the islands/across the more solid parts.
I'm pretty sure those are just yeast islands. They happen.
And just to make sure he doesn't freak out - even if it is lacto it's perfectly safe to drink if it tastes good (and even better for your gut, free probiotics).
Just do Berrymans fermenter bleach bomb if you want to be totally safe before you brew the next beer if you taste any sort of tart/sour down the line.
EDIT, I looked at picture again, are those round bright areas / things I see actually big bubbles on top, or is it just because of the light/something on the fermenter? I can't tell if they are bubbles or not.
If they are, then there may actually be a pellicle film on top, so there could be an early stage lacto or other thing going on in that case. Big bubbles should not form in a yeast island scenario, it should all be "flat". Puffy/fuzzy thick looking, a mixture of small and big bubbles, and stringy connections across the surface would all point to something else.
But still it's safe to drink it if it tastes good, just bleach bomb your fermenter to be sure it doesn't happen again.
Re: Mold in my fermenter?
Posted: Sat Oct 26, 2019 12:42 am
by mashani
Hayzer, if it makes you feel better... this beer was infected with my house Brett C strain... I bottled it... drank it... and liked it. And I still live it seems.
- IMG_0163%20(002).jpg (65.23 KiB) Viewed 20281 times
Re: Mold in my fermenter?
Posted: Sat Oct 26, 2019 6:25 am
by RickBeer
Did you add anything with fat in it?
Re: Mold in my fermenter?
Posted: Sat Oct 26, 2019 7:00 am
by Hayzer
berryman wrote:As long as it taste good in the fermenter it should be good carbed. I would really give your fermenter a good cleaning and sanitation after though. Maybe a bleach bomb too.
Sort of like, "if it feels good then do it." I will be sure to bleach bomb the hail out of it....
Re: Mold in my fermenter?
Posted: Sat Oct 26, 2019 7:06 am
by Hayzer
RickBeer wrote:Did you add anything with fat in it?
No fat added at all. The extras were some spices, baked pumpkin (400 for an hour with some brown sugar) and a little cinnamon extract. I put such small amounts in this batch that it didn't change the flavor profile. To me, this tastes like the first Oatmeal Stout extract I did.
Re: Mold in my fermenter?
Posted: Sat Oct 26, 2019 7:15 am
by Hayzer
mashani wrote:John Sand wrote:Looks a lot like a lacto infection to me.
Nah, I doubt it. He'd be tasting some sour/tart
Nothing tart or off-tasting at all. It's actually one of my better tasting beers out of the fermenter. if it's been in the fermenter long enough to be bottled/kegged
Three+ weeks in the fermenter. However, the first two weeks, the fermenter was 62-64 degrees and the last 10 days it has been at 74-76 degrees.and there was enough oxygen exposure and lacto presence to promote pellicle formation. I would also expect some stringy like looking connections between the islands/across the more solid parts.
No strings whatsoever.
I'm pretty sure those are just yeast islands. They happen.
And just to make sure he doesn't freak out - even if it is lacto it's perfectly safe to drink if it tastes good (and even better for your gut, free probiotics).
I would only freak out if that beer hit my gut then came right back out, either end. 
Just do Berrymans fermenter bleach bomb if you want to be totally safe before you brew the next beer if you taste any sort of tart/sour down the line.
EDIT, I looked at picture again, are those round bright areas / things I see actually big bubbles on top, or is it just because of the light/something on the fermenter? I can't tell if they are bubbles or not.
Must be poor lighting. All the surface was flat except for a coupe fuzzy areas, but they were not bubbles. I could see them without the camera, but cannot see then in the pic.
If they are, then there may actually be a pellicle film on top, so there could be an early stage lacto or other thing going on in that case. Big bubbles should not form in a yeast island scenario, it should all be "flat". Puffy/fuzzy thick looking, a mixture of small and big bubbles, and stringy connections across the surface would all point to something else.
I ain't scared.
But still it's safe to drink it if it tastes good, just bleach bomb your fermenter to be sure it doesn't happen again.
Re: Mold in my fermenter?
Posted: Sat Oct 26, 2019 7:27 am
by Hayzer
THANK YOU ALL, for the help. I will let you know about the friend reviews once they are in. I won't show them these pictures until after they tell me they love the beer. Even thin I'm still thinking of not telling anyone.
Re: Mold in my fermenter?
Posted: Fri Nov 01, 2019 12:37 pm
by Inkleg
I’ve brewed about as many Sours on purpose as mashani has by accident in his Brett C house. Pellicles come in all shapes and sizes and that is definitely the start of one. Kegged and kept cold flavor will remain about where it is till it kicks.
Re: Mold in my fermenter?
Posted: Sat Nov 02, 2019 1:01 am
by mashani
Inkleg wrote:Kegged and kept cold flavor will remain about where it is till it kicks.
Regardless of what it is, this is very much true. Most beer bugs don't like it cold. Even most weird yeast like my house Brett C pretty much shuts down when it gets much below 60.