Bottle or Dump?

Hey guys, I need some advice. I left this stout in secondary for about 2 months, and about 3 weeks in this stuff on top showed up. at first I though it was a bit of kruesen, but now that I opened it and took a look it looks like an infection of some sort. I used my theif to take a sample and it tastes good, but I'm not sure if it's safe to drink. should I try to siphon the beer out from under this and bottle it anyway, or dump it?

I would siphon from underneath it and bottle. If it tastes bad out of the bottle you can always dump it.

I get a similar white scum on top of some of my batches all the time. It looks like hell especially when a bubble forms underneath, but I've drank all those batches with no ill effects. I'd say bottle if it tastes good.

Fingers said:

I get a similar white scum on top of some of my batches all the time. It looks like hell especially when a bubble forms underneath, but I've drank all those batches with no ill effects. I'd say bottle if it tastes good.

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X2. You would be able to taste an infection, methinks.

I'd say that for every 1 infection that actually occurs, 9 perfectly good batches of beer get thrown out for being under suspicion.

Option 1:
Bottle it. Chill it. Drink it.

Option2:
Bottle it. Ship it to me.

that does not look good. taste it then decide. some advice is to stop using plastic fermenters, it scratches easily leaving little places for bacteria to hide.

Give every batch the benefit of the doubt. If it isn't good at first, sometimes it will get better later on. PM me, and I'll give you an address where you can ship questionable batches. I'll test them and let you know how they were.

It's better to have bottled and lost then to have never bottled at all...

when i make a chocolate stout with cocao powder i get that same scum.
i think it is the oils from the cocao.
i just syphon from underneath it.

If it tastes okay, bottle it and then wait and see. From everything I have read there are no bacteria that can survive in alcohol that are harmful to humans so the worst an infection will do is make the beer taste bad.

That which does not kill you will only make you STRONGER!!!!!

If in doubt that it is infected, bottle in some 2 liter plastic soft drink bottles. If it is infected and continues to ferment, the plastic bottles will with stand the pressure better and the tops can be cracked to relieve the pressure. Keep well chilled and drink until it's gone or just too bad. It it turns too bad to drink, use it to cook with.

Thanks guys! I did add coffee to this batch, so it could be from the oils in the coffee. I siphoned out from under it, and the majority of it stuck to the walls of the fermenter, so I think I should be OK.