/diy/ - Do It Yourself

I've heard tell of pellicles or some such nonsense and sour beers and such.. Might that be what it is? The fin was much more uniform, before I stuck a wine thief through it... Should I re rack this? Let it sit longer and see what happens? I'm about to be out of town for a month, so if it is a legit bad infection I don't really want to just leave it..

Should I wait this out, or just drink it all right now?

Nobody?

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>>218830
It is suspicious. Don't rack it again. Wait it out and see if it grows. Racking it again, so soon will put too much oxygen into the brew.

>>218842
That is up to you. If you like how it tastes and it has the right %ABV then go for it. You could drink half and see how the rest develops for further experience for you.

>>218865
It's sitting at just over 8%. I went ahead and "bottled" most of it in random containers I had around, intending to drink it soon. I did leave about a gallon to see what happens with it though, and bottled a few liters with some sugar to carbonate. Guess we'll see what happens in a few weeks lol.

I figured it's screwed as far as oxygenating anyway because it had quite fermenting well before I racked into the secondary (which in hindsight I shouldn't have bothered with), so when I racked it I got rid of all the C02 and the secondary got filled with oxygen anyway. Though now that I think about it, degassing is probably why it tastes significantly better now than when I racked it... Anyway, it's got a great sour apple flavor right now.

>>218865
>>218884
Why are you guys aerating your brew when you rack anyway?

>>219219
It depends on the brew really. With wine it is okay for the first rack to have extra oxygen in it, but the rest of the rackings should have as little as possible. Regardless, with any racking you are not actively trying to aerate the brew. It will occur despite your best efforts if you don't fill the second container with an inert gas such as argon or CO2.

Most beers won't need any extra kick starting when you are racking it. Wines however may not have reached the target %ABV and when the brew gets a small infusion of oxygen during racking the yeast can be revitalized, become less stressed, and produce a better brew in the long run. Fermentation will pick up as the yeast multiplies more rapidly for a short amount of time the new oxygen lasts. This larger colony of yeast will work faster in making alcohol when the O2 levels drop low enough. This can be a way to prevent a stuck fermentation.

As I said, you won't be able to prevent an infusion of new O2 unless you fill the air space with a gas prior to racking.

>>218884
With a wine, degassing is easy once the brew is bottled with corks. Simply stand them upright for a week or more prior to storing them on their sides. With a beer you'll need to degass it prior to racking, unless you are going to bottle with corks. Degassing is only needed if you want as much CO2 removed as possible to prevent a sparkling beverage.

>>219282
So how does this aeration principle apply to ciders and meads? Do you just treat them like wine in that regard?

>>219525
It really depends on the recipe, if you are using one, and/or your personal preferences and skill level. Yes, you can treat them like a wine in that regard. There are some that go as far as to aerate the brew for the first day using an aquarium aerator. Not all brews need this obviously.

>>219534
Cool, thanks. I had figured that would be the case.

I have an oatmeal braggot that got stuck after I racked it. I boiled a bit of water with a packet of bread yeast and a little honey, then I let it cool and added a packet of lalvin wine yeast, then I dropped the whole thing into the stuck braggot.

Sorry, no pics. I can't find my camera right now.

>>218842
I'd rack from under the film, add stabilizer/campden, and see what happens.

>>219573
I was unsure if I added enough yeast hulls to the original and it seems to be going fine now. I'll let it sleep for now. Thanks for the tip.

>>219582
Disregard this. I shouldn't post when I'm high.