*Pics.. Ugh, is this an infection?

I am a nut about sanitation but it appears I might have an infection. I brewed this Imperial Stout from Northern Brewer (http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/imperial-stout-extract-kit.html) on 9-6-12. Starting gravity was 1.086 and it finished at 1.032. It sat in primary until 9-26 and I started noticing a thin whiteish film and I decided to move it to secondary. Now it's 10-1 and I'm seeing it again but this time it doesn't seem quite as white, maybe more brownish. Anyways what do you think it is and what should I do? I haven't tasted it since 9-26 and it tasted good then.
If it is an infection with a funky flavor (I'll check later and update you) is it worth bottling and letting it sit for a year? Or will it just never go away. Ugh. This is one a of my 3 first beers. The other two tasted amazing. Kind of discouraged because I wanted to drink it at Christmas time.


These are the best pics I could get.
Edit: Also there was a bubble in the middle but it popped when I took the stopper out. It was right in the center in the first pic.

First that is an infection for sure. I would not bottle it and let it sit for a year. That is a sure fire way to get a lot of bottle bombs. I would sample it and see how it tastes. If it is not terrible I would let it sit in the carboy for a long while and see what you end up with.

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1.032 is way to high for that beer to finish with. That's leaving a ton of fermentables available for bugs, and the alcohol content is not nearly enough to keep the bad guys at bay. What happened is that fermentation stalled out and some bugs have grabbed hold. If you can keg, you could keg it now and drink it before it gets funky. I would definitely not bottle it now, you will have bombs for sure within a week or 3. Not to be pessimistic, but Imperial Stout is not a great style to sour anyway, without a lot of skill. It could get nasty and astringent.

Wow, nasty...

Sorry dude, I would dump that.

daver77 said:

wow, nasty...

Sorry dude, i would dump that.

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Not worth the time in an ER or the amount of antibiotics you'll need to fight this bug if it takes off in your gut!

JOE_R said:

Not worth the time in an ER or the amount of antibiotics you'll need to fight this bug if it takes off in your gut!

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I'm guessing you don't make many sour beers.