[dublulovesbeer]

This is my first all-grain, a Kolsch from the Northern Brewer kit. Sat in primary for 10 days, seemed done, racked it to secondary. After 2 days in the secondary, I noticed these small white spots floating on the surface. Now they've multiplied. Here's some pics:



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Any advice is appreciated. Thank you.

[tschmidlin]

This is my first all-grain, a Kolsch from the Northern Brewer kit. Sat in primary for 10 days, seemed done, racked it to secondary. After 2 days in the secondary, I noticed these small white spots floating on the surface. Now they've multiplied. Here's some pics:







Any advice is appreciated. Thank you.

fixed the pics.

I can't really tell what it is, but it might just be CO2 bubbling out of the beer.  It might be mold, hard to say.  There's really no need to do a secondary for your kolsch by the way.  You could bottle it if it is at the final gravity.

[dublulovesbeer]

The reason I did it is because I don't have access to a mini fridge, chest freezer or the like at the moment, and I know you want to shoot for clarity with this beer, I figured leaving it in the secondary even at higher temps for a couple weeks might help. But now it seems like it might be doing it harm with whats appearing.

[beerprof]

Looks normal to me... I believe the little white spots are tiny collections of yeast floating on top. Taste the sample... there is nothing in there that will kill you, might taste nasty but won't hurt you. If it tastes fine, don't worry about it.

Cheers

[bluesman]

It's really hard to tell from the photos but I think it might just be some CO2 outgassing from the beer. What kind of cleaning and sanitation procedure do you use?

[cenosillica]

Its too early to tell yet. Just watch it for a while and see if it continues to multiply like mold. It may have a funky odor too. Here's a quick link to some pics of mold in beer to give you an idea what to look for.

Mold is fuzzy and pretty unmistakable. What you have there could just be what some others said... little floaties of yeast or CO₂ lava tubes  . I had a brown ale that I made that had the same appearance. Tasted great! Just be patient and wait it out.

Worst case scenario, just tell every one you made a Saison farmhouse ale with a cellar character that also cures infections with its antibiotic qualities.

[Slowbrew]

Your comments about going to the secondary and letting warm up makes me pretty sure its just CO2.  I'm betting its fine.

Paul

[Kit B]

Those are either small yeast colonies developing or co2 being release.
Nothing to worry about, at all.
I normally expect to see them.

[dublulovesbeer]

@ bluesman: I try and be as sanitary as possible (star san spraying everything coming into contact with wort), but I'm definitely not close to perfect, and around the end of my brewing night (started later than I hoped, so I was trying to bang this out at midnight), my wort chiller hose flew off and started spraying hose water everywhere, leading me to believe I had contaminated it. Right now its being held by ducktape but I know that really isn't right, I have no idea where (or what) clamp I should be using.

Thank you all for your replies, you were right, the beer tastes and smells ok, at least prior to bottling. I still would have liked to have kept it at colder temps, I didn't realize how much of an undertaking controlling brewing temp's was. I recently bought a chest freezer and am waiting for a temp controller in the mail, and I'll update if anyone's curious how this Koelsch turns out. This was also my first time cropping (and washing) my yeast, hoping to use it on an Oktoberfest Ale recipe I found on the homebrewtalk forum. Thanks again.

[bluesman]

@ bluesman: I try and be as sanitary as possible (star san spraying everything coming into contact with wort), but I'm definitely not close to perfect, and around the end of my brewing night (started later than I hoped, so I was trying to bang this out at midnight), my wort chiller hose flew off and started spraying hose water everywhere, leading me to believe I had contaminated it. Right now its being held by ducktape but I know that really isn't right, I have no idea where (or what) clamp I should be using.

Thank you all for your replies, you were right, the beer tastes and smells ok, at least prior to bottling. I still would have liked to have kept it at colder temps, I didn't realize how much of an undertaking controlling brewing temp's was. I recently bought a chest freezer and am waiting for a temp controller in the mail, and I'll update if anyone's curious how this Koelsch turns out. Thanks again.

Your welcome!

...and welcome to the AHA Forum. 

[Will's Swill]

I try and be as sanitary as possible (star san spraying everything coming into contact with wort), but I'm definitely not close to perfect, and around the end of my brewing night (started later than I hoped, so I was trying to bang this out at midnight), my wort chiller hose flew off and started spraying hose water everywhere, leading me to believe I had contaminated it. Right now its being held by ducktape but I know that really isn't right, I have no idea where (or what) clamp I should be using.

Standard hose clamps work (the kind with the screw and worm gear), but when I have used those I often had leaks at the connections.  I swear if I used the freakin' chiller twice in a row, and tested the connections thoroughly before the first batch, it would still leak on the second batch.  So always test.  I got so tired of the leaks that I switched to a counterflow chiller.  If that leaks, the coolant water doesn't spray into my kettle.  Eventually I got another immersion chiller, but this one has standard garden hose adapters soldered onto the ends of the coil.  No leaks now!

[dublulovesbeer]

Standard hose clamps work (the kind with the screw and worm gear), but when I have used those I often had leaks at the connections.  I swear if I used the freakin' chiller twice in a row, and tested the connections thoroughly before the first batch, it would still leak on the second batch.  So always test.  I got so tired of the leaks that I switched to a counterflow chiller.  If that leaks, the coolant water doesn't spray into my kettle.  Eventually I got another immersion chiller, but this one has standard garden hose adapters soldered onto the ends of the coil.  No leaks now!

That sounds like a great idea, even with a replacement clamp I found for my next brew an Oktoberfest, clamped on tight it was still leaking. With the counterflow chiller I'm concerned about the state of the inside of the coil, since I bought all of this used (some of it looking like it's been through the ringer), not sure if I want my wort passing through it.

[Slowbrew]

I use 2 clamps on input side.  With only one I always had a slow drip.  After adding a second one about an inch away form the first (rotated 45 or deg. from the first) it doesn't drip anymore.  It might help.

Paul

[1vertical]

Edit: how did this beer taste??

Looks normal to me and we spoke of these little round colonies in a past post Tom,

Ok all you followers of alien wild yeasties...updated photo. I turned off the stir plate and
now you can see those little round colonies...kind of...thru the condensate.  The chunks
around the outside periphy are pieces of hop cones. The yeast/brett is settling out and
when It does, I will try to remember post taste notes...

[dublulovesbeer]

Good news guys, the beer came out really good. Maybe a little bit 'thicker' than I'd have liked but besides that, definitely satisfied with my first all grain. Cheers.