A little concerned...

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AlanManley

AlanManley

Landlord.
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So I have now done 4 brews. 1 successful. 1 with an infection (mould!) And 2 fermenting now (stout and an iPA).

The stout is about due for bottling so I checked the for the FG for the first time today. Still a way off so will check over the next few days if it's finished and may need some further yeast/restarter, however it has this on the top.

63d77129bc2593467ab18c8548d3dba4.jpg


Being my first stout I have no idea whether this is normal but after my last brews issues I am really paranoid.

Fortunately my IPA is bubbling away nicely so fingers crossed it's just me being over paranoid.

Thoughts?

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I am not always good at deciphering what these pictures show, does it smell and I dare say taste okay?

You had a mouldy brew.. is this the same fermenter??

How long has it been in the fermenter for? it could just be a krausen breaking up and dropping , if its still got a way to go and seems fine just keep the lid on and leave it, dont keep taking the lid off and sticking your head in..
 
Sadly it was this same fermenter but I gave it the scrub of its life and used Star San to sterilise so hopefully that is just coincidental and is most likely why I am paranoid.

It's 2 weeks it's been fermenting. Again I may be being paranoid but I think it has stalled. Therefore should I check readings the next few days and restart if needed?

God how can something so fun and rewarding also be so stressful! 😂

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Alan hope you meant "scrub of its life" figuratively and not literally, scrubbing soft plastic walls can leave scratches which themselves can harbor nasties between brews.

BTW that brew looks fine, yeast can clump and float on the surface due to surface tension and by trapping co2 gas underneath, so when it comes to bottling just rack off from below these yeast islands. a few whacks with the back of a wooden spoon on the fv outside wall at liquid level may help sink em, but imho simply ignore em ;)

thats not a great track record, and perhaps indicates a bit of attention needed with your cleaning procedures, personally i do most of my brewkit cleaning in the bath or on the pation.. soaking everything in a warm generic unscented laundry oxi solution, Fill a fv to the top with warm water and add 1-2 scoops drop everything in and soak for 30 mins, before rinsing off with the shower hose. if that does not shift everything including the most crusty liquid level yeast rings simply repeat ;)

soaps and detergents contain lingering head killers so are best avoided,

If you need to wipe any surface use a soft cloth or sponge , nothing that will scratch ;)
unless its glass, SS, or a similarly hard material :)

cleaning is paramount, sanitation is of secondary importance as if its not clean kit no sanitation is going to work other than an autoclave perhaps.

top marks for perseverance, its gonna pay dividends..
 
Hmmmm is that a dry powdery film atop the brew?? if so thats not looking quite so good.. if the gravity is close to target FG i would bottle it now racking off the sediment and from below the surface avoiding sucking either into a bottle. fingers crossed..
 
Another thing to point out star san will only sanitise and not steralise. If you had wild yeast and mould in there I would worry star san isn't sufficient to kill all the nasties in there
 
That does just look like the cake of trub at the bottom of the FV has broken up and risen to the surface as it produces gas bubbles.
You had one brew with what you say was mould. Was that just like a white film across the surface? I've had brews like that and bottled, drawing the beer from under the film and it has been fine. The odd bottle that got some of the white stuff in turned into `gushers', though still tasting ok, so I assume the film was just wild yeast.
Don't be so paranoid - I've had plenty of brews that have looked a bit odd at the bottling stage and in a great many years of brewing have only ever had to throw one brew away (which was because we moved to my current home which is supplied by spring water full of sheep s**t and I made a brew just like I would using ordinary chlorinated tap water and it turned into green snot/seaweed).
By the way, I sanitise just with boiling water - heat penetrates even deep scratches whereas chemicals don't.
 
Yes sorry the "scrub of its life" was a dish cloth and lots of hot water so no scratches.

Glad it seems like yeast trub. I will none the less attempt to tighten the cleaning regime. I thought I had but will try the bath/shower idea.

I didn't think the track record was too bad. Only one mouldy and it was only my second attempt. However I guess 50/50 isn't good. Hopefully I can get to 75% with my current offerings.

Appreciate the advice. I'll leave it until Monday and recheck the gravity. Cheers all!

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Covrich said:
Another thing to point out star san will only sanitise and not steralise. If you had wild yeast and mould in there I would worry star san isn't sufficient to kill all the nasties in there
Click to expand...

+1

A lot of people talk about Starsan as if it's the holy grail - it's not. I had a persistent series of infections last year which I've now got rid of, a kettle full of boiling water down the sides of the FV in addition to sanitising seems to have sorted it for me.
 
Good points @DarrellM and @Covrich. Will keep that in mind.

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That doesn't look right. But pics can be deceiving. Agree with comment above on cleaning. Plastic scratches easily. You may have ruining the fermenter.

Did you taste/smell the gravity reading you took? That will let you know quickly if there is an issue. In extreme cases the beer may even have a ropy appearance


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Other than smelling a little sweet it seemed fine. I think I also have a stalled fermentation. Upon review I may not have used enough yeast.

LBS recommended some dried beer enzyme and a repitch so fingers crossed!🙏

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