Is this an infection (picture attached)

Hi,

please look at this picture. (you can see a larger version in the gallery)

this is a 6 gal batch of beer, 3.5 weeks after the beginning of primary fermentation, just before racking into secondary.
it started at 1.075, ended at 1.015, sample tastes great.
Yeast is Belgian Ardennes by Wyeast.

What are these milky white floaties?
is this yeast ? (it kinda looks like bacteria to me )

Looks good to me. If it doesnt taste bad, you dont have an infection.

SporkD2 said:

Looks good to me. If it doesnt taste bad, you dont have an infection.

Click to expand...

I tend to disagree.
Give it another week or two in primary and see if it grows.
The wispy looking lighter colored streaks look menacing.

Looks pretty common, as does the greasy film.

RDWHAHB. If it starts to stink or taste foul, then it's an infection. Put the lid on it.

Couevas said:

I tend to disagree.
Give it another week or two in primary and see if it grows.
The wispy looking lighter colored streaks look menacing.

Click to expand...

I'm talking about the round spots. the "lighter colored streaks" in the picture are caused due the the camera flash.
It already went into secondary, anyway.

Yuri_Rage said:

RDWHAHB. If it starts to stink or taste foul, then it's an infection. Put the lid on it.

Click to expand...

yeah, I know....
It does taste amazing... I guess it's good.

Looks like nothing more then suspended yeast.

Looks normal to me.

ohad said:

I'm talking about the round spots. the "lighter colored streaks" in the picture are caused due the the camera flash.
It already went into secondary, anyway.

Click to expand...

Good.
I thought those wisps might be the start of a pellicle forming.
Glad to see it should be fine.
My reccomendation.......start brewing another batch immediately.

Just looks like some krauzen curdles that haven't fallen yet.

If it is an infection, it will grow and keep fermenting. I did a chocolate stout and they started like that and grew.....it was infected. A couple of other beers I did had little specs like that that never grew and thjey turned out fine. Let it go and then check it out.

Thanks a lot everybody!

You can send it to me, it looks infected. I'll bottle it and drink it, I'm sure I'll get sick, but better me than you

I had something that looked an awful lot like that before.

Docter prescribed some antibiotics and it cleared right up though!


Looks good - just like everybody else said.

Looks like an infected batch that I had that smelt like Vinegar. It had a lactic infection or something had the same white crap at the top.

(7 months later)

BTW, I forgot to reply on this, but all of the bottles developed a white film on the surface. Annoyed, I shook them and it all went back into solution.
7 months later, it still tastes great!

I think it was some type of mold...
since this is a 8.5% alcohol beer with Belgian Ardennes yeast, a very noticeably flavored yeast, and some spices , I guess any off flavors from it were masked.

thanks again.

Damn, its an old thread. I was going to attempt to convince you it was a serious infection and get you send it to me for proper disposal

I'm sipping the last bottle.
I'll miss this beer . the last bottle is always bitter-sweet (not the flavor )
it got much drier and highly carbonated.

I think it was some type of wild yeast , since I did see clear evidence of
some microbial presence and it continued to ferment a bit in the bottle.