BetterBottle #1 has an airlock and is bubbling happily, high krausen, etc. BetterBottle #2 has a piece of aluminum foil which I forgot to sanitize (hey, it was late…) and has what seems to be high krausen plus something that looks like slimy cloudy spiderwebs. I am guessing that #2 is infected? Beer is a Mild.
Thank God for double batches…
I never sanitize aluminum foil and always use it to “cap” primary carboys.
Are you saying there are actual spider webs in the head space or does it just look like that?
Yeah. I’d guess that foil is pretty sanitary out of the box and provides a good enough seal when the pressure inside is high. Taste it before you decide it is infected.
I gave it a whiff and it smelled a bit weird - like a tang or something. The other smells like normal ferment. I’ll post pictures when I get home this evening - perhaps that will help? And no, not actual spider webs, but definitely weird in a slimy cobweb kinda way. It’s on top of the normal krausen layer.
Acetobactor can set in fairly quickly, usually after a week or two and then eventually will turn to vinegar aroma/flavor. In time it will form a milky white layer over the beer. The bacterial cells are worm like and form web-like structures.
Can you post a pic?
I’ll bet Ron is right… acetobacter, especially if you detect a “tang.” I’ll admit, I use foil all the time without sanitizing, mostly because I’m in a hurry or forget. Maybe I’m just lucky that it hasn’t caused a problem. Post a pic if you’ve got one, and maybe taste a sample too.
Worm like? 
Like this.
I was told not to worry about weird smells coming off the fermenter. 
But, visual cues ought to help aid in the diagnosis. Can you post some pics for us Phil?
And the good old taste-test should be the best indicator of whether or not this beer is infected.
Yes, they are rod bacteria. They just don’t seem worm like to me.
More like little caterpillars.
I’ve heard that labs consider aluminum foil as sanitary off the roll. It’s a pretty hostile environment for something to try and grow on.
However, I always use a rubber band to secure foil on my starters, as fruit flies are pretty industrious.
It never came up for us - the only thing we used foil for was covering flasks that were then autoclaved.
Yes…rod like is a better descriptive. In any event they are not preferred in beer. Keeping tabs on your sanitation will prevent these little guys from rearing their ugly heads.
FWIW aluminum foil, plastic bags, paper towels are sanitary from the roll/box.
Etymology
The word bacteria is the plural of the New Latin bacterium, which is the latinisation of the Greek βακτήριον (baktērion),[10] the diminutive of βακτηρία (baktēria), meaning “staff, cane”,[11] because the first ones to be discovered were rod-shaped.
I don’t chance it. Sanitizing is EASY. It’s BEER for gosh sakes! ;D Closing in on 400 batches in 12 yrs. with one contamination(batch #2).
ETA; I posted awhile back on how I thought I had a bad batch. It turned out fine, just didn’t taste worth a s**t green…
Oh no, this is definitely infected. Both of them, I think.
Really bad
Closeup of the top of the betterbottle of the bad one…
The other fermenter, less milky but still there.
Dahmn. This is my first infected batch ever. I wonder if I got a bad yeast slant from White Labs? Ferment was pretty durn slow and when I tried some of the ‘beer’ on top of the slant (perhaps you’re not supposed to do that?) it tasted FOUL. I assumed it was yeast nutrients and other things, but I think that should have been a warning sign.
What’s the best way to make sure this doesn’t happen again? Dump, soak in bleach then soak in pbw then star san? I think it might be time to autocalve my Erlenmeyer as well…
I hope you are not declaring it infected just from what you can see. What I see in the pictures indicates a vigorous fermentation, that’s all. Have you tasted it yet?
Not yet… But I’m concerned at ‘vigorous fermentation’ because the OG on this one was 1035.