Hi. I’m new to brewing and this was my 3rd brew. The first two came out perfect however this Irish blond ale is forming white dandruff in the secondary after almost 4 weeks (8jan22 will be 4 weeks). It was in the primary for 2 weeks. Was curious if this is a byproduct of the reactions or scary mold. I did use the fast pitch starter with liquid yeast for about 30hours before pitching.
That does look problematic, but your beer with be fine. I would bottle as soon as possible. Do you know where your final gravity (FG) is supposed to be? Was this an extract brew? If yes to both you can take a hydrometer reading to check. If you don’t know your intended FG then check you gravity and check if it’s the same in 3 days and if it is you are safe to bottle. 4 weeks is usually enough time for 90% of brews.
Two weeks in primary and four weeks in secondary sounds like a lot of wasted time. The general opinion these days is that secondaries are not really recommended and just provided a way to introduce oxygen ( or other things) if not done in a way that prevents oxygen ingress.
Where these the kit instructions?
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So the first two beers done was the smashing pumpkin and caribou slobber. Both used the primary and secondary fermentation and came out great. I’m really good about sanitization and minimizing oxygen but guess something got by me. I did just purchase another secondary this last week (need/love to make more beer) and went with the no siphon option for easier transfer to bottling and less air contact.
This one was the Irish Blond Ale extract kit. Instruction have beyond brew day - secondary fermentation 2-4 weeks.
Thanks. My OG was 1.060 and it should of been 1.059. Figured the brew went as planned. I’m unsure (directions did not say FG) but my first reading two days ago was 1.012.
Think I should bottle tonight or take another FG first?
If it is not done by this time then there is a bigger issue. To be safe I would wait another day and take a gravity reading. Then bottle.
Well I was off a day and last reading was 3 days ago this morning so took a sample and it was the same so just bottled. Thanks for your help. This has reinforced the sanitizer needs.
I’ve been reading not to use bleach or other soaps but was unsure how true this might be. If washed well bleach ok to use to clean between use?
you can use soap just rinse very well and bleach is probably overkill but ive cleaned infected equipment wth bleach worked fine. there are better producrs out there than regular soap but in a pinch its fine’
Just throwing out some ideas on possible solutions to contamination in no particular order of priority
- Make sure you use either starsan soln or vodka in the bubbler. I prefer vodka. Both of these will help sanitize suckback air somewhat.
- take a look where you are brewing for sources of mold like a old frig or freezer and clean and sanitize. I personally would go on a general cleaning and sanitizing for whole work area as well as where equipment is stored. Store equipment sorta sealed from air ie put stopper on carboy and if you have the fermenter box saved, box it up again. Hint save the boxes fermenters come in and use them for covering up fermenter during fermentation to protect from light.
- clean up right away after brewing or while brewing. Roll of paper towels handy while brewing keep a few towels in pocket while brewing.
Once stuff dries its tougher to clean off. A spray bottle of sanitizer is highly recommended as it allows you to sanitize stuff easier like a thermometer etc. Clean wort spills promptly. Sanitize after use so its sanitized in storage and sanitize again before use. Avoid scratching plastic as much as possible ie use soft cloth to clean wide mouth bubblers. Oh and take that valve apart and clean it after use on the new fermenter you bought recently purchased. Make sure you sanitize the cooling coil by putting it in 10 minutes prior to end of boil. - The cleaning solution made from pbw can not be saved over a day max…less than 8 hours is better. It loses its effectiveness and can actually grow critters in it.
100 percent agree. I have found secondaries way more trouble than the supposed benefits.
