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Try to skim it off before bottling. It can be done - you don't want that stuff getting sloshed around as you rack to your bottling bucket. And thoroughly sanitize everything that touched that beer, not just the fermenter, before you brew again. For the fermenter, fill it with water and add...

Agree. Your taste buds are the best test of whether it's safe to drink. Humans evolved (or, if you prefer, were created) with an innate sense of whether something is safe to eat or not: If something tastes good, chances are it's OK to consume.

If you haven't already, don't open it. The best thing you can do as a brewer is create the conditions that the yeast need to make your beer. Every time you open the lid, especially early in the process, you create an opportunity for infection. If you've done your job right, your airlock will...

Agree with Andrew. Keg, bottle, whatever, your beer is a living product that will change over time. Most often, for the better, sometimes not. The usual rule is that the best bottle of every batch is the last one (though this won't be true for Weizens in general).

I'll add my experience with dry yeast, which I use almost exclusively. There are people who will advise that you should always rehydrate it. I won't say there's anything wrong with doing this, but I will say, based on my experience, it's not necessary. I have never had a problem with simply...

You need to make something a bit lighter than normal in order to let the fruit flavor find its way through. I use a regular pale ale recipe except that I substitute rice extract for half of the barley, and I use about half the hops than I normally would. I see no reason why you could split...

Just to get back to basil, I made a batch of Basil Pale Ale last year and it was great. I bought a little bottle of organic basil at Trader Joe's - not sure, maybe a half to 3/4 of an ounce. Half went into the boil with about fifteen minutes left, and the rest went in at the end of the boil...

No idea - but having spent time there, I offer my deepest sympathies. Enjoy the weather in March and April. After that, you won't find much to enjoy for a while.

Yeah, and if anyone asks, tell them you brewed a batch of Imperial IPA. Our job as brewers is to set up conditions for the yeast to do their thing. That's it. Just keep that in mind as you brew. They do the heavy lifting. It sounds like nothing you've done so far will bother them in the...

I only use a secondary for special purposes (like a fruit beer, for example). Leave it in the primary for three weeks to a month. By then it should be OK to bottle. Good luck!

: ) I stand corrected! Cheers!

I would skim it first. I skimmed mold from a friend's batch that looked something like that and the beer was fine. It was clearly infected, even in the bottle, he ended up with whitish rings at the top, but it tasted fine and I'm still above ground.

I skimmed the mold off the top of a friend's batch one and the beer was acceptable, so if it hasn't started churning around yet, this might be a possibility. Krausen looks nothing like mold - if you see bright green or white, you've got a batch of mold growing. Dark green or brown and foamy...

Brewing for a couple of years and you ask this? You're a brave man! : )

I'm less particular than some - I like my beers to have clarity but it's definitely a secondary consideration (no pun intended...well, not exactly intended anyway). If it's something you want to have, giving a bit of extra time in the fermenter, using a secondary, careful siphoning, using Irish...

I'll just bet this was one darn clear beer!

Sometimes, your beer will taste good on bottling day, but more often, it's "an acquired taste." Don't sweat it. Bottle it up and forget about it for at least three weeks (as discussed at length in about twelve billion threads already) before you taste it again.

Ditto to what KurtB said - and you'll also get some macro-molecules that will aid in head retention.

Just seconding what others have said. Put it away, out of sight and out of mind. Mark your calendar for a month from today and don't think about it again until then. THEN open one up. I'll bet you that you love the result.

My opinion: I like a nice bitter IPA. I can't recall the last one I made with less than four ounces of hops, mostly different varieties with a high AA. If it was mine, I'd add an ounce of Amarillo at the end of the boil (but I seldom make a pale ale without Amarillo, so that's just me).