Looks like I have a mold looking substance growing on the sides of carboy while fermenting.
I see the beer and yeast churning away while a substance and on the sides not moving I hope it is not mold.
that being said when fermentation dies down could I rack into secondary and it would still be ok?
It is the fixed gear red ale I would be sad to lose it:<(
Is it white and kinda like a layer of dust? If so, I get that, and just assume it’s yeast/trub that stuck to the sides instead of falling to the bottom.
It could very well be an infection, but don’t worry so much about it. How intense are you about cleaning? Cleaning is just as important as sanitization…perhaps more important. I had that slick looking mess a long time ago and it didn’t really impact the beer too much. If you are 6 to 10 days out from initial pitching and the air lock is still throwing up bubbles, then you probably have a little wild yeast activity. All that said, if you are still in that first couple of days of fermentation, you probably are just looking at trub or break material. Don’t worry about it…let the yeast do their job.
My cleaning process involves scrubbing the carboy with the carboy brush, particularly up where the krausen deposited solids above the beer line, soaking in water, and then sanitizing. I don’t use any cleaning solutions. My thinking is, as long as there are no visible solids, the sanitizer will take care of the rest.
For some reason I’m more worried about chemicals affecting the flavor of my beer than I am about sanitizer being insufficient to kill off any bugs. Am I shooting myself in the foot in the long run? Is it unusual for pitched yeast to stick to the sides of the carboy as it flocculates?
It is very normal to have yeast flocculate to the side of the carboy. As far as cleaning goes, do yourself a huge favor and listen to the two podcasts “cleaning” and “sanitizing” from the link below. Brewstrong is an absolute amazing resource for brewers of all levels (even the know-it-alls) and is hosted by two of the most respected names in brewing (Jamil Zainasheff & John Palmer). Make the decision for yourself about whether or not you are cleaning your fermentors well enough after hearing these super important podcasts:
http://thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/Brew-Strong/Page-9Cool, I’ll check it. Thanks!
ya I soak with bleach water and scrub with carboy brush after I transfer then rinse well and dry upside down then cover with aluminum foil until i use next. I then soak in starsan before I transfer wort to carboy so I hope it is just yeast. Thanks for the replies I feel better.
Heh, you’re way cleaner than I am, and I haven’t had any infections yet (8 brews so far, 6 bottled). Either that, or they just haven’t progressed enough to become evident to my untrained palette.
