White Mold? Is my first attempt a failure?

Northern Brewer General
1

Would anyone have experience with this white mold? Should I dump out this beer? how would I be able to avoid this the next time? Should I try to clean out the mold or is that too risky?

https://flic.kr/p/KmuFNw

It’s day 11 of fermentation.

Cheers and thanks for reading.

Matt

2

It is difficult to see what you may think is white mold. I see that the krausen has dropped and there are some floating yeast rafts left over.

You can upload photos directly from your computer. Resize too about 900 pixels to speed the upload. The photo can be viewed in the preview pane before submitting.

1 Like
3

Did the krausen blow off (start over flowing out of the airlock)? If so that could be a deposit of yeast.

1 Like
4

Thanks for responding so quickly. Maybe this is a better picture? There was no blow off after I pitched the yeast.

White Mold.jpg900×601 263 KB

5

I wouldn’t throw it out probably fine. I’ve seen a lot nastier looking fermentation that came out well

1 Like
6

I don’t think that’s mold, I think you spilled some yeast on the edge of the carboy when you pitched it, and it’s forming yeast colonies on the glass. I’ve done it several times, nothing to worry about. Brew on!

2 Likes
7

Thanks fellas I tend to be over cautious my first few attempts.

8

I’m the opposite, never been overly cautious. Just keep your stuff clean and temperature down and you will never have to dump a beer. Some people are anal about brewing. I figure beer has been brewed for thousands of years under the most unsanitary conditions and beer has flourished. So relax and enjoy. It ain’t rocket science. And welcome to the hobby.

3 Likes
9

Yup, keep it sanitary and it will come out beer. Unless it smells and or tastes really bad, never dump your beer until it is done. Taste it before bottling/kegging and see. Then if it’s undrinkable toss it.

Some small problems can age out. I just opened a bottle of Christmas ale that, I kid you not is from 2003. It has been in the back of the closet because it had an overpowering ginger taste. Decided I would pop one open and see if it is time to rinse the drain with it. Tasted way better warm so I stuck couple in the fridge to try cold.

1 Like