Funny White Film

What went wrong? Was this supposed to happen? Should I throw it out? What do I do now?

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trussman
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Joined: Mon Nov 17, 2008 8:52 am
Location: Alvin Texas

Funny White Film

Post by trussman »

I brewed a 10 gallon batch of all grain pumpkin ale. When I checked it after dumping the yeast I noticed a funny white film with a big bubble in it. It looked like a balloon. I shook it up hoping that the film would fall but its just floating around. My gravity has fallen but Im curious what this stuff is. I am using a conicall fermentor and did my yeast dump at 10 days then 10 more days after that. I sanitized everything well and have never had this problem. Any thoughts on what this funny white stuff is would help.
I used 20lbs Pale Malt
1 lb Carapils
1 lb Aromatic
4 oz Oats
1 lb Turbinado Sugar
15 oz Pumkin
Halleurtar Hops
Notingham Yeast

Thank You for reading and anyhelp will be greatly appreciated.
Trussman
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slothrob
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white film

Post by slothrob »

Does the beer taste okay?

If it hasn't gone sour or phenolic, I wouldn't worry about it.

Is this a yeast that you usually use? Some yeast make different looking krausen or one that doesn't dissipate well. It could be that it's something weird, like an oil, from the pumpkin, or it could be an infection of some kind. If it is an infection, but the infection doesn't make the beer taste bad, I'd ignore it.

If you bottle, watch out for the potential for gushers or bottle bombs, if it is an infection and the infection continues to ferment the remaining sugars.
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trussman
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Joined: Mon Nov 17, 2008 8:52 am
Location: Alvin Texas

Post by trussman »

Thank you for the advise. It tastes a little sour but it usually does. Its not the Yeast I allways use, but I have used it before. The krausen has fallen so I guess I will take my chances. The only opportunity for contamination would have been when I used oxygen for the first time. I do not have a filter for that system yet.
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Suthrncomfrt1884
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Post by Suthrncomfrt1884 »

Sounds like the same problem I had with my oktoberfest last month. I kegged it and added some potasium metabisulfate to hopefully take care of it. I won't be tapping it for a few more weeks, so I'm still not sure how the taste has changed since kegging. Mine was also sour at kegging time.
Primary - Belgian Dubbel, Belgian IPA
Secondary - Cherry Lambic
Bottled - Bourbon Barrel Coffee Porter, Double Chocolate Raspberry Stout, Imperial Nut Brown, Apfelwein, American Amber Ale w/Homegrown Hops, Breakfast Stout
Kegged - Bass Clone, ESB
trussman
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Location: Alvin Texas

Post by trussman »

I will skim that stuff and bottle the beer tomorrow. Thanks for the advise, I did not want to throw it all out. :P
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Suthrncomfrt1884
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Post by Suthrncomfrt1884 »

As slothrob said, you need to watch out with bottling. If you're not 100% sure it's not an infection, you could have bottle bombs on your hands. There's nothing worse than going through the trouble of bottling just to have them start breaking a week later.
Primary - Belgian Dubbel, Belgian IPA
Secondary - Cherry Lambic
Bottled - Bourbon Barrel Coffee Porter, Double Chocolate Raspberry Stout, Imperial Nut Brown, Apfelwein, American Amber Ale w/Homegrown Hops, Breakfast Stout
Kegged - Bass Clone, ESB
trussman
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Joined: Mon Nov 17, 2008 8:52 am
Location: Alvin Texas

Post by trussman »

I bottled it on Tuesday the 15th and none have broken yet. I'm using a conical fermenter so i did not have to transfer the beer. I noticed that the first bottles, acually all except the last few were clean. They look great in the bottle. But the last four or five have that same film it them. These were bottled as the level of beer got lower in the conical bringing that floating stuff with it. Also the beer was not very sour only a touch, but it did seem to be a little bitter. I'm hoping its from the large late addition of hops. I will find out next week. I'm going to try one a little early just to see. I plan on bottle conditioning them untill Thanksgiving. Thanks for all the tips. Hopefully this is just a characteristic of the pumpkin. Last year I made a batch using Wyeast European Ale 1338 and the Krausen did not fall for about a month. It was very thick and heavy. I dont know if that is from the yeast or the pumpkin. The beer was a little tart at first but after about 2 months it was GREAT. Very full bodied and smooth and alot of fun to have around during the Hoildays. I will reply and let everyone know how it tates in a week. Hopefully this help out someone will the same issues.
Thanks Again
trussman :mrgreen:
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trussman
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Post by trussman »

So far So good. The funny white film that was in there is starting to break up and become partially suspended. The Beer tastes great. No broken bottles. Everything seems to be fine. There is not ring around the inside of the neck of the bottles but you can see the little things floating around. It might not win any medals but I am very glad I did not throw it out. Thanks to everyone for the replies.
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