Mold?

[Ryue]

Hey ya'll, haven't been on here in a while.
I started two 5 gal batches of mead just shy of a year ago (6-19-21). I had fermented them to about 7%ish ABV, cold crashed, racked and stabilized, then I let them age. Today I went to pull them out to back sweeten and found to my dismay what I fear to be mold..? They both have this thin, almost clear film(?) and small what spots floating on top.
Is it possible that it is just the remnants of the campden tablets, or is it definitely mold? And most importantly, is it salvageable? All the residue appears to just be on top, the rest of it is crystal
clear.
Both smell normal

 

[Dan O]

Hey ya'll, haven't been on here in a while.
I started two 5 gal batches of mead just shy of a year ago (6-19-21). I had fermented them to about 7%ish ABV, cold crashed, racked and stabilized, then I let them age. Today I went to pull them out to back sweeten and found to my dismay what I fear to be mold..? They both have this thin, almost clear film(?) and small what spots floating on top.
Is it possible that it is just the remnants of the campden tablets, or is it definitely mold? And most importantly, is it salvageable? All the residue appears to just be on top, the rest of it is crystal
clear.
Both smell normal
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So, the "film" looks like it could be any one of my meads. The larger spots....maybe wax? Are they blue or green, or just yellowish? Are they fuzzy @ all? If it smells fine, take a sample for a taste test. If the floaties aren't fuzzy/hairy & it tastes fine, rack to new, sanitized carboys & leave the other stuff behind.
I hope this helps.
Happy meading

 

[Kyzaboy89]

Possibly campden, I've been having this issue repeatedly lately with campden tablets, planning to try powdered Metabisulfites soon to see if issue persists. Crush a campden tablet and throw it in some water the same way you did in the carboy and see if it has a similar reaction or if it fully dissolves.

 

[Ryue]

So, the "film" looks like it could be any one of my meads. The larger spots....maybe wax? Are they blue or green, or just yellowish? Are they fuzzy @ all? If it smells fine, take a sample for a taste test. If the floaties aren't fuzzy/hairy & it tastes fine, rack to new, sanitized carboys & leave the other stuff behind.
I hope this helps.
Happy meading

I would say the spots are white, I took a taste test from each and they seemed normal, so I am going to do like you suggested and rack to a new carboy leaving the invaders behind before backsweetening.
They both had rally nice color to them in a glass!

Excited to try force carbonation on these two batches in my keezer!