Brewing with bay leaf

[Airborneguy]

any more ideas on the speckled top

You want an educated answer you are going to have to post a picture.

 

[Brewho]

if theres stuff floating on the top still this isnt bad? As a rule is this always true?

 

[KingBrianI]

Chunks of yeast will commonly float on the top of a beer long after fermentation is complete. Having said that so do a lot of other things you may not want in your beer. If you want anything more than guesses from us you'll need to do as airborne said and post a pic.

 

[Airborneguy]

Picture? You're describing it as brown, which means it is probably just yeast that didn't get to the bottom, but it could be an infection.

Two people gave you the same answer, but we can't be more specific without a picture. Your description was pretty close to what you would see with a low-floculating yeast, but if you want to know for sure, then we have to see it.