PhD in beer blog: What is a pellicle?

[Single Malt Yinzer]

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What is a pellicle?
A pellicle is the term brewer’s use for the layer that forms on top of the wort / beer in the fermenter (liquid-air interface). It can appear to be uneven or appear to have “bubbles” in it. It can also appear ropey or like a spider web. I’ve seen ones that are slimy looking or looks like small dry patches of while floating on top of beer. I’ve included a few photos of pellicles from my own fermentations found in various places within this blog. You can use google to find all the permutations a pellicle can take.

So, what is it? In the parlance of microbiologists, it is a biofilm. A biofilm is basically a community of microorganisms that are connected to one another through the use of an extracellular matrix (material outside of the cell).

[kiwi Bruce]

Soooo...the little yeasty bastards are part of the matrix, an extracellular matrix...or is that extraterrestrial matrix!...the yeast conspiracy continues...

[Captain Pappy]

sherry flor develops a very thick pellicle, and it part of what makes it sherry rather than just a rich wine.