Pelicille

[mr hoppy]

Found this on top of a gose today. It smelt of cherries. It's been in the fermenter for a month and I fermented it with repitched yeast and lacto from a berliner weisse. Tastes good in a sour, salty, cherry sort of way.

Does anyone know if this is what a lacto pelicille is supposed to look like or could there be other stuff going on here?

[mr hoppy]

I googled aceto and it certainly looks the part. 

I can't really pick up any vinegar, yet anyway, as opposed to tartness, salt and coriander, and I've bottled it now so time will tell. Could be the world's first salt and vinegar beer!

[johnrm]

@Mr H, thats not my friend Candida?
I think the fix is to bleach the crap out of it, maybe steam it.
I have heard that the miracle of Starsan does not deal with Candida so well.

[mr hoppy]

I've a bottle that's half full so I'll be checking that as a control - although I might just retire the offending fermenters and syphon - just to be on the safe side.

I don't think it's candida. When I got that on my cider last year it was more powdery and there were bubbles under the surface of it, a bit like this except no where near as gnarly. Unfortunately I couldn't snap it because it was still in the drum it came in.



This time it was more like this (which is an acetobacter infection).



God, I love pelicille porn almost as much as sour beers!

[mr hoppy]

The half full bottle grew a mini-pelicille after a couple of days but still tasted ok. Just cracked open one of the others and whatever else it definitely doesn't have any acetic character.

[mr hoppy]

I didn't test pH, but instead I did perform a sophisticated sensory test. It's acidic alright, it's a sour beer - but it's acidic in the way it was last time I made it (lactic - sharp, lemony) rather than in the way vinegar, or Rodenbach are.

[mr hoppy]

Not slagging at all, I like pickled onions as much as anyone!

[johnrm]

Off topic - did you notice White Labs address? Candida St., San Diego.

[mr hoppy]

Very suspicious!

I'll never buy their stuff again.