Mold on My Unopened Tobacco???

[olkofri]

Ahem! Not that I don't enjoy levity, but on a more serious note so as not to confuse the OP, here's a post on mold vs. plume/bloom from the past:
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/plume-vs-mold

 

[admiral]

You guys are hilarious! In any case, the smell became so headache inducing that I just tossed it. Pictures would have done no good because there wasn't really much to look at. It just didn't feel right. And again, the smell of sharp alcohol wasn't something I'd ever experienced before and since it was just a small tin, I didn't want to risk smoking anything that would make me feel ill.

So, here's another question then. This is the first I've heard of bloom. What is it and would it smell?

You should not have tossed it. Smell is from fermenting tobacco leaf (though I always associated it with stalled cabbage ) and it is a sign of aging of the content.

Arguably you threw away quite expensive tin

 

[admiral]

But got to admit Jessie is on a roll here

 

[cigrmaster]

You just tossed the rarest of the rare. Maybe 1 in 20,000 tins gets that alcohol scent. It is coveted by pipe smokers the world over. Sorry for your loss.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Ha ha, it's like when an old codger bought an old Tinderbox business in town (not The Briary), he looked as all of the dates on the tins and tossed them in the garbage. In his mind they had all expired. I asked him to sell me the really old cigars for half price. ::

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

Mold will typically appear blue or greenish in color, and/or will typically look like its growing fuzz. Plume or bloom (however, you want to reference it) will be white and sometimes look crystalized depending on the age of the tobacco/cigar. Plume/bloom is a good thing and lets you know the tobacco/cigar has aged well; whereas mold will indicate that there was a problem with the tobacco/cigar or that the tobacco/cigar was kept in poor conditions.

 

[unkleyoda]

 

[kb7get]

Maybe something like one of these would be nice to have to check out questionable tobacco.
https://www.amazon.com/Portable-Microscope-Magnification-Endoscope-Magnifier/dp/B01DHVOGMG

 

[leacha]

 

[zeedoctorae]

OK, everybody. I have listened and heard. After reading all of your enlightened comments, I walked over to the bin and took out the tin. These are the best pictures I could take. I did notice some slight fuzziness on one or two pieces but not enough to confidently identify mold. There are some definite crystals here and there but not enough to totally rule out mold. The main thing is that horrid alcohol smell, which, according to cigrmaster, is sought after by everybody... I guess I have been in the dark about that one. But, I always approach things with an open mind.

 

[zeedoctorae]

 

[zeedoctorae]

 

[olkofri]

zeedoctorae, I asked something similar recently: What is this white stuff?
Does yours look similar?
Looks like there wasn't much of a concensus on mine (though jvnshr did get a mind-easing answer from one of the tobacco sellers).

 

[lazar]

I think cigrmaster was pulling your leg.
That does not look like mold to me. And if it were it would smell like mold, not like alcohol. I think admiral is correct - it's a fermenting smell. Maybe it just needs time to air and acclimatize after so long stewing in its own environment?
On the other hand, cigars go through what's known as a "sick period" between stages of fermentation. A cigar that's ready to smoke from the B&M will go through a second fermentation if left to age, and it tastes like crap if smoked at the wrong time. Maybe the same thing happens with pipe tobacco?

 

[3rdguy]

I would smoke that all day long. Worse case....you see a unicorn.

 

[admiral]

This is quite well explained from metalhead:

Mold will typically appear blue or greenish in color, and/or will typically look like its growing fuzz. Plume or bloom (however, you want to reference it) will be white and sometimes look crystalized depending on the age of the tobacco/cigar. Plume/bloom is a good thing and lets you know the tobacco/cigar has aged well; whereas mold will indicate that there was a problem with the tobacco/cigar or that the tobacco/cigar was kept in poor conditions.

For the smell will refer to a greater authority - check Pipestud's website and see how often his descriptions on aged/vintage tins include a sentence how "" the tin's bottom/top is. This comes from tobacco fermentation and hence the smell. Last but not least means tin is not compromised and still factory sealed.

 

[rist]

It is probably just yeast, especially since there is a alcoholic smell. As long as I know, only yeast produces alcohol during anaerobic respiration. Was there a lot of pressure in the tin? The other by product is carbon dioxide which cannot escape and thus will build up some pressure in your tin (think like bottle fermented beer, champagne...). If there is that much yeast to produce a noticeable alcohol smell, you should not really worry about other potential dangerous fungi(mold) as they will most likely have been outcompeted. But still.... do not take my word on it. There are some quite dangerous molds that start their life cycle in the yeast form to get into your body(lungs more specifically) and make you sick like Valley Fever which is common in the USA I believe but these should not grow in tobacco.

 

[admiral]

It is not yeast - thats not a beer

Yeast cant be in sealed tobacco tin.

And if it was truly alcohol smell - you can only guess and rely on what was perceived when opening the tin.

 

[rist]

Why wouldn't yeast be able to be in a sealed tobacco tin? Yeast is all around us, floating in the air. In Belgium we make certain kind of beers by just exposing the sugary malt water to the open air so it gets infected by wild strains of yeast.