Homebrewing sour beer: Need help identifying what this is

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by ttp86, Oct 19, 2015.

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  1. ttp86

    ttp86 Zealot (703) Apr 1, 2015 Missouri

    I brewed my 1st sour beer last December and I've been fermenting it in my plastic fermenting bucket since. I've checked in on it every couple months and everything was going great. It was time to bottle the beer but when I opened the fermenter I found a white layer of white film/substance on top of the beer. The beer doesn't smell foul or anything. Does anyone know what this is? Is my homebrew ruined? It's been fermenting in my freezer set at a constant 65F.

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9ws_OoMnf79QlBaTXBkZm1jcWc/view?usp=docslist_api
     
    #1 ttp86, Oct 19, 2015
    Last edited: Oct 19, 2015
  2. PortLargo

    PortLargo Pooh-Bah (1,831) Oct 19, 2012 Florida
    Pooh-Bah

    It depends. My guess is the white residue is some form of pellicle, but if you can get @jbakajust1 to look at the photo he will know for sure.

    By all means finish the beer. I've had infections that made the beer better, sometimes neutral, and sometimes worse. Just rack around the residue, and bottle. Don't push the upper carb limit 'cause there may be bacteria still working (true for all sours).

    A bigger concern is long term aging in a plastic bucket (they are air permeable). You will get overall better results aging in glass and filling the carboy all the way to the neck to minimize oxidation.

    To post a photo, paste the url into the "image" icon in the reply panel.
    [​IMG] [​IMG]
     
    #2 PortLargo, Oct 19, 2015
    Last edited: Oct 19, 2015
    ttp86 likes this.
  3. ttp86

    ttp86 Zealot (703) Apr 1, 2015 Missouri

    Thanks for the feedback. I went ahead and bottled over the weekend hoping it's nothing but wanted to make sure before I try one in a month or two when the beer has been bottled condition.

    Here is the image

    [​IMG]
     
  4. PortLargo

    PortLargo Pooh-Bah (1,831) Oct 19, 2012 Florida
    Pooh-Bah

    Looks like Google Drive has a slightly different protocol for sharing. From their FAQs:
    1. Sign in to Google Drive or a Docs, Sheets, or Slides home screen.
    2. Open the file you want to get a link for.
    3. Click Share for files or the share icon for folders in the top-right corner of the screen [​IMG].
    4. Click Get shareable link in the top-right corner of the sharing box. A link to the file will be copied to your clipboard.
    5. Paste the link into an email or chat to share it.
    6. To stop allowing people to access the file using the link, open the sharing box > click the dropdown menu below "Link sharing on" > choose OFF > click Done.
    By default, the link you share will be view only for others. To allow people with the link to comment on or edit the file, click the dropdown menu under "Link sharing on" and change the setting from "People with the link can view" to "People with the link can comment (or can edit)".

    Note:To allow anyone to be able to open the file or folder using the link, make sure to change your sharing settings to “Anyone with the link” or “Public on the web”. Click Change… when you’re in the sharing box to change this setting.

    Once you get this "shareable link", paste it into the [​IMG] icon.
     
  5. jbakajust1

    jbakajust1 Pooh-Bah (2,552) Aug 25, 2009 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah

    Looks like the remains of a broken pellicle. The only issue is that Brett, Lacto, and Acetobacter can form a white film (pellicle) on top and with it being a broken one that is dropping, it is hard to know which one it is. This late in the game would more than likely rule out Lacto. If it tastes good, drink it.
     
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  6. ttp86

    ttp86 Zealot (703) Apr 1, 2015 Missouri

    I didn't taste the beer before I bottled. I will try when it's ready. Thanks!

    BTW: Is it normal those pellicle form when you age a beer for a long time?
     
  7. WertMaker

    WertMaker Initiate (0) Jan 17, 2009 Oregon

    I aged (fermented in secondary) my first sour for over a year in a glass carboy. It formed a nice pellicle, got ropy, and still went through another fermentation after bottling. Now nearly 5 years after bottling it is drinkable. Sours take patients... :wink:
     
  8. ttp86

    ttp86 Zealot (703) Apr 1, 2015 Missouri

    5 years?!?!?! Don't think I have that kind of patient lol
     
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  9. WertMaker

    WertMaker Initiate (0) Jan 17, 2009 Oregon

    I opened a bottle early and it had the flavor of a Band-Aid (autolysis). That has dissipated over the years and dropped out into a layer of yeast sediment in the bottom of the bottle. Every year, I open a bottle and it just gets better.
     
  10. jbakajust1

    jbakajust1 Pooh-Bah (2,552) Aug 25, 2009 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah

    It is perfectly normal for a sour to form a pellicle during aging. Some will not form one at all, some will form a small one, some will form a huge bubbly one. Differences are from oxygen in the head space and strain used.
     
    WertMaker likes this.
  11. SFACRKnight

    SFACRKnight Grand Pooh-Bah (3,348) Jan 20, 2012 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I have heard of sour beers being "sick" before... :rolling_eyes:
     
  12. GeoSteve

    GeoSteve Initiate (0) Aug 11, 2014 Maryland

    Did you at least take a gravity reading before bottling? In a sour there can still be fermentable sugars left after almost a year of aging, depending on the initial fermentables profile.
     
  13. ttp86

    ttp86 Zealot (703) Apr 1, 2015 Missouri

    Joke...head...over....*cough*

    Totally forgot too :slight_frown:
     
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