I'm a complete newbie with microscopes. SWMBO is a microbiologist, but she's too pregnant to care at the moment, so I'm left to myself to figure this thing out.
I can see plenty of yeast, but there are wee black dots jiggling about - are these bacteria? Or just trub/dust that is animated by Brownian motion?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q2BQ7MDwTE
Microscope
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Full Mental Jakey
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gregorach
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Re: Microscope
Could be bacteria, but it's hard to say for certain. Bits of trub are usually larger and fluffier.
Cheers
Dunc
Dunc
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Full Mental Jakey
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Re: Microscope
Would I have to plate it up on some selective media to be sure? I think that might be taking it a but beyond my abilities...
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gregorach
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Re: Microscope
Yeah, that's really the only way to be sure. (Short of nuking it from orbit, anyway. 
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Microscopy really isn't that good for spotting bacterial contamination unless it's very bad. Professionally, you would use selective media, but that's not really practical for hobbyists (for all sorts of reasons). The best way to spot bacterial contamination is to learn to recognise the effects it has on the end product - your senses of smell and taste are really amazingly good at this sort of thing, and get better with practice. The best way to avoid contamination when culturing yeast is to practice good handling procedures.
A low level of bacterial contamination is quite common and not necessarily the end of the world, as long as it doesn't have a noticeable effect on the finished beer.
)Microscopy really isn't that good for spotting bacterial contamination unless it's very bad. Professionally, you would use selective media, but that's not really practical for hobbyists (for all sorts of reasons). The best way to spot bacterial contamination is to learn to recognise the effects it has on the end product - your senses of smell and taste are really amazingly good at this sort of thing, and get better with practice. The best way to avoid contamination when culturing yeast is to practice good handling procedures.
A low level of bacterial contamination is quite common and not necessarily the end of the world, as long as it doesn't have a noticeable effect on the finished beer.
Cheers
Dunc
Dunc