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fermenting First ferment.... Please help identify mold growth

H

Heritagehd

I started this mix about a week and a half ago and has been in my Homebrew fermentation chamber at a constant 73°F from day one.

Is the white substance present the "healthy" growth? And is there any concern with the darker colored growth? I haven't really noticed any activity in the airlock or many bubbles in the mash.

I used a yogurt culture for a a starter. Just let a large scoop of natural Greek yogurt Drip through a coffee filter for a few hours.

Thanks!

I guess I can't add a photo from my phone. Will try to do so from a computer.
 
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Hard to say for sure without seeing it.  White mold is commonly Kham yeast and is not harmful.  Molds of different colors, dark colors, fuzzy growth - all bad.  If you're ~ 10 days in and don't see any activity like bubbles forming in the mash then it's possible your batch has gone bad.  
 
Pics and an ingredient list/process steps would help.
 
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yeah, it depends on what the white mold looks like. as has been said, kahm yeast is OK, but frankly, it if shows up this early, then I'd suspect you need to start over. kahm yeast generally (at least for me) shows up toward the end of a 1-2 month ferment after all the good, vigorous activity slows. if you're asking about different colored fungus, then just toss it and start anew.
 
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If you have a combination or white Kahm yeast growing and some dark areas, your going to need to open it up and let your nose be your guide. If you have any mold going in there it's going to smell like @$$. Well at least it will smell like something you wouldn't want to eat.

If it's just the white Kahm then your good and can just scrape it off when your ready to process. Don't take any chances with a mild though, pitch it. You don't want to have to go through or have anyone you might give some to go through that. Not pleasant
 
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About time I got them up.
 
The container is a one gallon glass jar with a hole drilled in the top for an airlock.
 
The black parts in the mash are some of the chared skins from roasting on my grill.
 
Any and all input is appreciated!
 
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Good job!! :) looks like fermentation is taking place. Wow that's Kahm yeast fure sure. Doesn't look like any dark scary stuff happening. Is it just the white? Do you see anything else?
 
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There was no major coloration that I could see. In the first and third picture you can see a little brownish/rust coloration on the left side and that's about it.
 
I still haven't cracked it open to smell it. Should I scrape all of the Kahm off now, or just wait until I'm done fermenting and ready to process?
 
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Heritagehd said:
There was no major coloration that I could see. In the first and third picture you can see a little brownish/rust coloration on the left side and that's about it.
 
I still haven't cracked it open to smell it. Should I scrape all of the Kahm off now, or just wait until I'm done fermenting and ready to process?
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Normally it's not recommend to open till processing!! So I'd hold off how's it smell by the airlock. Is it bubbling looks like it is take a pic of the side again
 
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I'm out of town for work so Ill have to check when I get back home. When I took that picture there wasn't much airlock activity but there are some bubbles in the mash.
 
How long do you reccomend for a fermentation period?
 
Thanks for your input Oldsalty!
 
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Heritagehd said:
I'm out of town for work so Ill have to check when I get back home. When I took that picture there wasn't much airlock activity but there are some bubbles in the mash.
 
How long do you reccomend for a fermentation period?
 
Thanks for your input Oldsalty!
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No problem that's why were here!!! :) I let mine run minimum of 45 days but most of mine run 60/90+
SmokenFire has done tons of ferments let me see if he concurs. I've never done a green chili ferment. My jalapenos don't last five minutes hahaha
 
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Might as well throw the recipe in that I used. It's a small variation to one I found on here
 
 
10 Green Jalepenos
10 Orange Habaneros
30 Serranos
4 Green Annaheims
4 large Green Pablonos
[SIZE=11pt]2 Hungarian Wax Peppers (yellowish color)
2 large green Bell Peppers
1/2 large Vidalia Onion
1 large head of Garlic

Half of the above were blackened on the grill and then run through a food processor.

Then I processed:

1 large Granny Smith Apple
3 large Tomatillos
1 small handful of CilantroI added to the top and packed in as a barrier

The Zests of 2 Limes
The Juice of 2 Limes
4.5 oz pink salt
4 Tbsp of Brown Sugar
Let a cup of Greek yogurt sit for 4 hours and used all of what dripped off through a coffee filter.

78 total ounces of peppers.[/SIZE]
 
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It's been over 90 days since I started my ferment and the mash seems to have started a new growth. From the looks of it I would say it has gone bad but I wanted to check here first. What do you think?
 
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Here are a few more pictures. All input is appreciated.
 
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The smell is kind of odd. It's not bad by any means just something different. The first thing it reminded me of was the pickles and pickled japalenos from Subway - hopefully this is a good sign.
 
OldSalty - what do you think?
 
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