Is this an infection? w pics

I came home after being out of town for about a week to find these little white circles floating on top of the beer in the secondary. I dont know how well these pictures show it. Is this an infection, some kind of mold or something, or are they little yeast colonies? Do I need to scrap the whole thing or can I just leave that behind when I siphon and just lose a little bit of the total volume?

The pictures are a little fuzzy, but if this is the cream ale in the secondary, my cream ale looked the same in the secondary. The sample I took when I bottled was fine. I think someone had posted that what you are looking at is ok in a post, as I was concerned when I first say it as well.

no - it's fine

Kinda looks that way to me. I've never had an infected batch, but from photos I have seen that looks like it. Maybe someone with more experience can let you know what to do. How does it smell? Like vinegar? Have you tasted it? These might be a more reliable way of diagnosing an infection.

Spread the word: you don't "see" an infection, you TASTE it. I've had my fair share of infections, and every one of them looked just fine...until the bottles gushed and tasted sour. On the flip-side, I've had little colonies of white crap floating on top of batches before, and they turned out fine.

It smells really good, just like I expect a cream ale to smell. I havent tasted it yet. I can try to take another picture in a little bit.

Move along people... nothing to see here.

Your beer may or may not be infected, but it's not because of the white stuff in these pics.

I ferment in buckets, so I never know if I have an infection. I never open the lid till after I have racked via the spigot, so I never see any floaties if I have them. I would rather be in the dark and taste the beer worry free.

So far, so good. My sanitation practices have paid off. It's the one thing where I am anal retentive.

Relax and keep an eye on it. Most likely they're just lumps of yeast that have floated to the top. It's no big deal. It's actually a good thing.

Evan! said:

I've had my fair share of infections

Click to expand...

Three words man,

Wrap It Up

As for the beer, it's fine

Great, cause I am bottling tomorrow and I have been anticipating it since I left on like Dec. 21st. I was about to get really pissed if it was bad.