Contaminated?

Is this contamination or just sediment? It looks like the stuff on the sides but not 100% sure.

It’s been brewing for 3 days. This is Brewers Best Brown Ale.

Readings 1.040 when brew started and now 1.012. If this isn't contamination, when would you go to secondary?

It looks ok to me. You have a krausen ring, and some yeast clumps and the white foam looks like it could be remnants of the falling krausen.

I don't often use a secondary any more, but if I was going to, I'd do it in about a week or 10 days.

Ok, sounds good then, just wanted to make sure that wasn't bacteria forming on the right side. I wasn't so much concerned about the foam as I am the dark brown floaters on the right side.

Oh, and yes, all the white is foam, I know doesn't look like it in the picture.

It's only been brewing for three days? You need to RDWHAHB and keep the lid on that thing for another week or so. It looks fine and I'm sure it will turn out great, just gotta be patient.

I'll just echo what has been said. You are fine, that is the sign of a nice healthy fermentation. I secondary all of my beers, but I don't even think about transferring till at least a week is gone by.

Yea, I undestand about leaving it for a while. The reason I opened the lid is because the airlock seemed to have stopped bubbling and has even fallen to the bottom indicating no pressure. I wanted to make sure the seal was tight.

I thought it was premature for that to happen.

Oh and I don't know what RDWHAHB stands for, haha

Relax Dont Worry, Have A Home Brew.

I can't stress this part enough...Stopped airlock bubbling doesn't mean a stuck fermentation, or that fermentation is done. It means that there is simply not enough co2 to need to be vented by the airlock. The airlock is a VENT not a fermentation gauge.

Fermentation is not always "dynamic," just because you don't SEE anything happening, doesn't mean that any-thing's wrong,, and also doesn't mean that the yeast are still not working diligently away, doing what they've been doing for over 4,000 years..

And just because the biggest "push" of fermentation is over where the yeast aren't throwing off a ton of co2 and blipping the airlock, and even that the krausen has fallen, doesn't meant that fermentation isn't still chugging away, just slowly. Or at the minimum the yeast aren't cleaning up the byproducts.

Your hydrometer is really the only way to know for sure. If you don't take a reading then leaving it about 2 weeks before racking to secondary OR leaving it for a month primary like many of us do, will make sure the yeast have finished their jobs.

Airlock activity doesn't have any bearing on the fermentation itself. It just means that there was enough CO2 in the bucket that it had to vent out. You could still have a fine and healthy fermentation with no airlock activity at all. I'd say leave it in for at least another few days and then rack to secondary, or, if keeping in primary, another week or so.

And ps RDWHAHB stands for Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Homebrew!

Bah Revy beat me to it, haha

Well thanks for all the replies. Cheers!