Is this an infection?

[rickthenewb]

Hi all, I came into today and noticed this on top of a ferment.

It is 75 percent corn and 25 percent malted barley.

I used 2 wine yeasts and pinnacle s yeast

I have not seen this before. I dont have much experience with barley either. 

PH was 4.5, this is its 5th day. Grain in fermentation .

Is this lost?

Thank you.

[Brewstilla]

That's a pellicle, wild yeasts and bacteria will form them. My guess would be lactobacillus as malted barley is loaded with it. Lacto is anaerobic, was this batch under aerated? If that is the case the lacto could have gotten a strong foothold before the yeast.

 Run it and see

 

[rickthenewb]

Hi brewstilla and thank you for the reply. We only aerate before transfer to fermentation tanks after which its left untouched.

I am ruuning it tonight, is their anything I should be looking for as far as flavors or smells?

[Brewstilla]

I'm not sure what in particular you would be looking for in the distillate. The majority of my experience with lacto is brewing kettle sour beers. Report back after you run it, I would be interested in hearing what it brings to the table, good or bad.

[Stumpy's]

Definitely looks like an infection. Brewstilla was spot on...most likely lacto from your malt, depending at what temp you added it. If you were over 160F for your malt addition, it's probably a sanitation somewhere else in your system...mash pump, hoses, mash cooler piping, etc. Will probably taste fine but you'll probably find a lower yield with more heads and tails.

[rickthenewb]

Hi guys, I ran it today it tasted fine. We added the barley at 150 which is what probably caused it.

Thank you guys

[Brewstilla]

Adding malt at 140-150 is fine, any higher and you're going to denature the enzymes in it. I think there is something else going on as I add my malt low 140s, don't sanitize my fermenters, and never see pellicle.  Still makes me wonder about lack of aeration allowing lacto to get off to a stronger start than yeast. Or perhaps a weak yeast pitch resulting in the same.

[DonMateo]

Definitely a lacto to me.  When making beer Lacto is bad, when making whiskey Lacto is great. Some of the best whiskeys I have ever made and a good lacto on them.  When I make moonshine or a charter whiskey, 80% corn and 20% wheat I wait for the wash to get a lacto and then run it.