Yeah bugs! ..but what are they?

[monstersandpie]

Last week, I had some extra wort from the brewday and set it aside in a pot to be boiled and bottled for starter wort.
I never got around to it - thought I did boil this wort for over an hour and left the lid on afterward. Anyhow, a day or so later and it had grown an amazing pellicle. I may have peeked under the lid once or twice to make sure things looked okay, so I guess that's when the bugs got in.

It smells exactly like a sour mash, or those times when I wait a day or so before cleaning out the mash tun. That has me thinking this is a lacto fermentation, though I've heard that pedio has this 'brainy' look to its pellicle.

Any ID would be appreciated. Thanks...

[faithinchaos]

i think i remember seeing somewhere that this is acetobacter.

[Grist Licker]

Woah, that is cool looking. You better keep it and you better taste it.

[Bugeater]

I'm not positive, but you may have yourself a nice big batch of malt vinegar (result of acetobacter). Fruit flies are the biggest carrier of acetobacter.

Wayne

[edisonst]

has anyone ever made a beer vinegar on purpose? An IPA vinegar would be kick ass with some fish and chips. Does wyeast or white labs sell the acetobacter stuff.

[Bugeater]

Just as you can propagate yeast from bottle conditioned beers, you can find vinegars that have not been distilled or pasteurized. These will have the acetobacter cultures you want. Be real careful about your sanitation so you don't spread this around the rest of your brewing stuff.

Wayne

[monstersandpie]

I'm not ruling it out - but acetobacter would be giving off a strong vinegar aroma right?
So far it's smelling more like an old sour mash, so I'd guess lacto. But does that grow a pellicle?

In one of the beer and food shows they talked about doing malt vinegar. It supposed to be harder to make good malt vinegar than wine vinegar. I think it was one of the beer and BBQ shows.

[SirNixalot]

I've tried to make beer vinegar and it didn't look like that... I don't know what that is...

And I had just used a white wine vinegar mother.