First (brewery) infection

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by thebriansmaude, Oct 31, 2017.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. thebriansmaude

    thebriansmaude Crusader (472) Dec 16, 2016 Canada (AB)
    Trader

    Well, I haven’t confirmed this with a gravity reading yet, but I am fairly certain I have an infected batch of beer in my fermentation chamber.

    I pitched a big healthy starter to the 1.059 og wort exactly 9 days ago. I fermented at 65 and then ramped to 70 after three days of vigorous fermentation.

    Well, it’s day 9 and the airlock is still bubbling away. The colour of the beer appears to have lightened somewhat, and I believe that some foreign bacteria or yeast has decided to set up shop and eat all of my leftover dextrines.

    I will check gravity and taste tonight, but I am fully expecting that it will be below projected fg. I have never had active fermentation last this long, especially under good temp control and a big yeast pitch. If it is infected, I think I know the culprit: a lazily sanitized and probably used once too many times blow off tube!!

    Has anyone ever experienced this type of over-fermentation? I have read it can make the beer relatively flavourless and pretty much dump worthy.... still holding out hope but I pretty much have myself convinced !
     
    #1 thebriansmaude, Oct 31, 2017
  2. Curmudgeon

    Curmudgeon Savant (1,110) May 29, 2014 Massachusetts
    BA4LYFE Society

    I'm not convinced you have an infection. Look forward to more details after you take a reading and smell and drink a bit of it.
     
    #2 Curmudgeon, Oct 31, 2017
    minderbender and PapaGoose03 like this.
  3. GormBrewhouse

    GormBrewhouse Pooh-Bah (2,111) Jun 24, 2015 Vermont
    Pooh-Bah

    Wait on the dump. Smell and taste first. Thought my Burton was a goner and so far it's still drinkin great. But it looked infected.

    I have had fermentation S go longer than expected, some were ok some were infected. Check and see
     
    #3 GormBrewhouse, Oct 31, 2017
    PapaGoose03 likes this.
  4. PapaGoose03

    PapaGoose03 Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,057) May 30, 2005 Michigan
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    Wait until you take your gravity reading before worrying.
     
    #4 PapaGoose03, Oct 31, 2017
    Maestro0708 and minderbender like this.
  5. thebriansmaude

    thebriansmaude Crusader (472) Dec 16, 2016 Canada (AB)
    Trader

    I am definitely going to wait before I do anything rash - but doesn’t that seem odd ? Nine days of bubbling airlock? I’m just very surprised at that. I’ll update as soon as I have hydrometer and taste test done
     
    #5 thebriansmaude, Oct 31, 2017
  6. minderbender

    minderbender Initiate (0) Jan 18, 2009 New York

    It doesn't seem that odd to me. I would also be hard pressed to name an infection that would cause the phenomenon you are observing. I guess you're thinking something like brettanomyces? I wouldn't expect it to manifest in that way (in particular, for a miniscule "pitch" of brett, I would expect it to ferment very slowly and not to produce noticeable bubbling).
     
    #6 minderbender, Oct 31, 2017
  7. invertalon

    invertalon Pooh-Bah (2,249) Jan 27, 2009 Ohio
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    No. Other influences can keep the airlock active, such as weather (barometer pressure) or temperatures rising which cause CO2 to come out of solution.

    Airlock isn't a sign of anything. Check your gravity then know for sure.
     
    #7 invertalon, Oct 31, 2017
    Mohican88, Maestro0708 and PapaGoose03 like this.
  8. thebriansmaude

    thebriansmaude Crusader (472) Dec 16, 2016 Canada (AB)
    Trader

    The reason I have jumped to this conclusion (and I know its crazy that I am saying this without hydrometer reading) Is that I cracked open How to Brew last night wondering why my airlock was still bubbling away (and we are talking like, 30 bubbles per minute sort of thing) and sure enough he has a "what if my airlock is still bubbling after a week" heading in the trouble shooting section.

    the only potential causes he lists are cold temperature fermentation taking a while, and an infection - some foreign bacteria or yeast taking over fermentation and eating all of the things that normal ale yeast leave behind (ie dextrines). The result of this (what he calls gusher contamination) is beer that is relatively flavorless and phenolic.
     
    #8 thebriansmaude, Oct 31, 2017
    PapaGoose03 likes this.
  9. minderbender

    minderbender Initiate (0) Jan 18, 2009 New York

    Well, you're doing the right thing by consulting a reputable source such as How to Brew. That said, fermentation is a natural process and there is going to be some variation. I wouldn't jump to conclusions yet. It will be easy enough to diagnose the problem when you have more information.
     
    #9 minderbender, Oct 31, 2017
  10. thebriansmaude

    thebriansmaude Crusader (472) Dec 16, 2016 Canada (AB)
    Trader

    Well the results are in - it appears there is no infection ! I am quite surprised, the gravity is currently at a robust 1.017, and the beer tastes fine . Ha!

    I was sure something was wrong by the length of this primary fermentation. I am so used to seeing beers hit FG within the week, and have never witnessed one seemingly still so active. nine days in. Fermentation is a mysterious thing!

    There is still CO2 bubbling away in the airlock, so I am going to let it ride and wait for FG. Thank you for entertaining my wandering mind while I was at work thinking about my beer :wink:
     
    #10 thebriansmaude, Nov 1, 2017
    frozyn, crcostel, GormBrewhouse and 1 other person like this.
  11. hoptualBrew

    hoptualBrew Initiate (0) May 29, 2011 Florida

    Yeast often works on its own schedule. As mentioned earlier, warming temp could be cause too in other occasions. As temp increases, retained CO2 comes out of liquid suspension and off into the environment.
     
    #11 hoptualBrew, Nov 1, 2017
    thebriansmaude likes this.
  12. GormBrewhouse

    GormBrewhouse Pooh-Bah (2,111) Jun 24, 2015 Vermont
    Pooh-Bah

    Glad to here there's more beer!!!! My longest ferment that comes to mind was around 3 weeks, but I did under pitch a huge beer , had to re pitch, add heat until I made it to FG. All part of the path.

    Have fun
     
    #12 GormBrewhouse, Nov 1, 2017
    PapaGoose03, thebriansmaude and Hogue2112 like this.
  13. MostlyNorwegian

    MostlyNorwegian Pooh-Bah (2,236) Feb 5, 2013 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah

    Not buying that your batch is infected by these observations. If anything, it sounds like there's still work being done by the current crew.
    Test it. Taste it. Leave it alone.
     
    #13 MostlyNorwegian, Nov 1, 2017
    PapaGoose03 likes this.
  14. Hogue2112

    Hogue2112 Initiate (0) Apr 7, 2016 Ohio

    What kind of yeast did you use?
     
    #14 Hogue2112, Nov 1, 2017
  15. Curmudgeon

    Curmudgeon Savant (1,110) May 29, 2014 Massachusetts
    BA4LYFE Society

    @thebriansmaude hey, good to hear! I'm curious on what yeast you're using too? What kind of beer?
     
    #15 Curmudgeon, Nov 1, 2017
  16. thebriansmaude

    thebriansmaude Crusader (472) Dec 16, 2016 Canada (AB)
    Trader

    I built up a starter to ~ 300 b cells of wyeast 1450 denny's fav 50. This is a red IPA , 1.060 OG w/ 2 row, munich, crystal 40 and a touch of black malt.
     
    #16 thebriansmaude, Nov 1, 2017
  17. Curmudgeon

    Curmudgeon Savant (1,110) May 29, 2014 Massachusetts
    BA4LYFE Society

    Sounds nice. I've never used that yeast. Be sure to let us know how it turns out!
     
    #17 Curmudgeon, Nov 1, 2017
    thebriansmaude likes this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.