Hey guys 1 So, I feel a bit bewildered cos I realized today that my 5 gals of Hefewizen is infected with wild yeast(?). Is fermenting since october 3 and has reached now FG 1012 from OG 1048. It is very visible the classisc layer(pelicle) of tiny white bubbles tied by kinda white radial rays. It was a rare fermentation from de beginning cos at 2 day of a little high karausen foam it fell down very quicly. Fermentation temp was 66 F. Today I took a sample and its flavor is still good(a subtle harshness is present), still dinkable. I would like to ask you for some advice in regards what should I do. 1- Dumping it is not an option so far. 2- Try to heat it up to pasteurize. 3- Cool it down quickly to slow down microbes metabolism, then force carb and bottle to avoid getting wild yeast in my beer lines, keeping bottles very cold. 4- Let it go as it is taking samples every once in a while to monitor flavor. 5 - Is there any product to add to kill all living creatures(methabisulfite). Thanks guys
sulfites are what winemakers use since basically all of their batches are infected and they're just trying to manage the infection…so that might be a good option to hinder it's growth. Here is a sulfite calculator you can use or you can just guesstimate roughly 1/2 camden tablet/gallon
If it is infected I'd just bottle it and drink it fairly quickly. Wild yeasts would take a while to create that much extra carbonation. Unless you're planning to age that weizen Are you 100% sure it's infected? Got a picture of the pellicle?
I've had a couple of batches become infected. In one case it made the brew measurably better. When you rack a beer with pellicle my experience is the white microbe's "break up" and no noticeable transfer, although I'm sure the little invisible guys make the trip through the racking cane. My suggestion is to stay the course. Once bottled/carb'ed you can prevent excess carbonation by fast drinking/chillin'. I've added brett to beer and let it sit for a year at room temperature with no ill results.
I would go with 4 as well. Take a sample, let it go for 1 more month and take another sample to measure the gravity drop (it will probably be subtle). If it hasn't moved much then I'd go ahead and bottle it with just a tad less priming sugar than usual. As long as you're drinking a few a week you'll be able to gauge the carbonation progression.
I vote for bottling it and drinking it once it is done fermenting. It could be Brett or wild yeast, IMHO, and both of those can have huge attenuation and bring that beer down close to 1.000. Make sure it is done fermenting before you bottle.
