Infected brew ?

The Homebrew Forum

Help Support The Homebrew Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

GF21

Active Member
Joined
Dec 14, 2020
Messages
39
Reaction score
10
Hi folks , could anyone tell me if this brew is infected , it's a Wilko's lager kit with added hop pellets , it smells lovely , but looks dodgy to me , any advice ?
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20210515_091431_7.jpg
    IMG_20210515_091431_7.jpg
    76.5 KB
I was a bit worried about the back half , i thought it was green mould , i also thought the pellets would dissolve/sink to the bottom , its due to be bottled tomorrow , should I skim it off or just syphon as normal , you can probably tell ive never had this happen before
 
Just be patient. You do not have to bottle tomorrow. Give it another 48 hours at least to clear a bit more and debris on top to drop.
If you had a 2nd FV then the done thing would have been to rack off into that and wait another day or 2 before bottling.
Maybe in future go with a 2nd FV and put hop pellets into a muslin bag.
You risk contamination of brew while having the lid off and taking pictures.
I always have my brew in first FV for 2 weeks approx and then another week in secondary, this gives it loads of time to get on with the last ferment and clearing.
 
Just be patient. You do not have to bottle tomorrow. Give it another 48 hours at least to clear a bit more and debris on top to drop.
If you had a 2nd FV then the done thing would have been to rack off into that and wait another day or 2 before bottling.
Maybe in future go with a 2nd FV and put hop pellets into a muslin bag.
You risk contamination of brew while having the lid off and taking pictures.
I always have my brew in first FV for 2 weeks approx and then another week in secondary, this gives it loads of time to get on with the last ferment and clearing.
I just followed the instructions mark , I do have another bin so i may do that , its been on for 3 weeks now so not being too hasty , I just thought them green bits were mould as its the first time ive seen it on one of my brews
 
Ahh you never said in OP that it had been in for 3 weeks.
Does not look like mold to me, maybe taste it as it should taste like a flat beer after 3 weeks.
Yes best rack off into your spare then the **** on top will eventually end up with the rest of trub.
If you do that now then should be good to bottle in 24 hours.
 
I was a bit worried about the back half , i thought it was green mould , i also thought the pellets would dissolve/sink to the bottom , its due to be bottled tomorrow , should I skim it off or just syphon as normal , you can probably tell ive never had this happen before
Just syphon from under the surface and leave the dregs behind.
 
thanks for all the replies folks , i will have a taste tomorrow and let you know , btw rod , i slapped the bucket with my hand earlier and it looks like its dropping alraedy cheers
 
well folks , have had a taste of my brew and ive got to say , theres a definite after taste of what seems like dettoly , anticeptic . Am i right in thinking its gotta go down the drain or is it salvagable , ive done about 12 brews and this is the first time ive had this , but oh well , any advice folks ?
 
no m8 , have always used suresan no rinse , As i posted yesterday i was worried it was infected , there is a foto of it in the 1st post , didnt change my sanitising routine or anything , bin lid only came off to add hop pellets , and take foto of course as i was going to bottle it yesterday , thats when i noriced what i thought was mould on the surface
 
Lagers can be quite sulfury (burnt matches), this odour goes away with time, but if it is medicinal/TCP then I would guess an infection has somehow got hold of the wort. Make sure it isn't just sulfur before you tip it away.

It is fairly unusual for an infection like that in a lager because they are fermented cold. I have to say, it is not easy to see if that is just yeast and hop debris on the top or some kind of other yeast/mould. It would have to be a very large infection to take a hold during a lager fermentation, so I have my doubts!
 
it doesnt smell bad , its the taste thats not nice , its deffo antiseptic like , that doesnt seem normal to me
 
What does your water look like? I had a mate who used his city water which was heavily chlorinated and his beers all had an antiseptic taste to them until he started using RO water. Just a thought.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top