What’s this on top of my cider?

The Homebrew Forum

Help Support The Homebrew Forum:

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

SV-Ale

New Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2015
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
Location
NULL
I racked off cider into this Demi John and have now noticed this form on the surface!

Has oxygen got in?

Anyone had similar?

Kind regards

Dave

1663958869104.png
 

Attachments

  • FA879831-92B4-4A2A-97B1-D39703720370.jpeg
    FA879831-92B4-4A2A-97B1-D39703720370.jpeg
    38.1 KB
Last edited by a moderator:
Looks like an infection, some nasties may have got in. There will be oxygen in there, the demijohn is only half full.
You could rack it off, from below the surface, leaving the last bit behind, in to a clean, sanitised demijohn.
 
It's probably fine, especially if you went for a wild ferment on your apples. My brett fermenting saison has a much chunkier pellicle on it than that and I'm bottling it this weekend. But less airspace when racked is probably better unless there is a bit of active ferment going on when you rack, if so then the oxygen will get used up. Let us know when you taste it.
 
This brings up a point I was thinking about. I’m Getting to the point of needing to rack two five gallon containers of cider.
Does everybody add Campden tablets on each racking?
 
If you can put the cider into a smaller vessel, so that there is no headspace, you can probably save it. The bacteria forming that pellicle is almost certainly dependant on oxygen. Exclude the air and it'll go dormant. What does it smell like, by the way.
 
That looks like a nasty dose, after getting food poisoning on my holidays a few weeks ago I wouldn't recommend the experience!
As others have said looks like too much air in there.
 
You might want to bear in mind that the globes on the top are the fruiting body of the mycelium underneath i.e. in the liquid.

I wouldn't be tempted to drink it myself. Start again?
 

Latest posts

Back
Top