Can anyone identify this?

[SamsDogBrewing]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1431638253.293127.jpg

I've done my fair share of batches, but I've never seen this. This was a blonde ale, mostly 2-row with a touch of biscuit. U.S. Safale 05 did the dirty work in a root cellar for three weeks at between 60-65 degrees. This was the first time I used Whirfloc, since I usually do brown ales and stouts. Is that what I'm seeing here?

Just curious, because I intended to save the slurry in some mason jars and use it for some other summery ales.

FWIW, it smelled delicious while I was transferring to the keg... almost like pizza dough, if that means anything to anyone.

 

[ColoHox]

That is a krausen ring and some floating yeast floccs. They usually sink to the bottom. Looks good to me.

 

[EJay]

Looks OK to me too. I love the smell of a little biscuit malt too. Try that grain bill with some T-58 sometime for a real spicy treat.

 

[SamsDogBrewing]

Many thanks for the reassurance. I've seen my share of rafts, but I'd never seen anything that looked like... well ... that looked like the above.

Glad to know that yeast can ride again in a few days.

 

[unionrdr]

It could be mixed with cold break as well? I've gotten cold break chunks that look rather like wet popcorn. And speaking of popcorn...
Enjoy some old school fun...

 

[chickypad]

Yeah it looks like the break material I get with whirfloc - wet popcorn is a good description.

 

[passedpawn]

Totally normal. It's cold break material that's flocculated so well due to the whirlfloc. That cold break material are mostly lipids, or fatty acids.

Lipids are mostly bad, as they screw with the head of your resulting beer, are greatly affected by O2 and thus contribute to staling, and cause chill haze (cloudiness) in your beer. But yeast loves it and can use it to build cell walls during the aerobic part of fermentation, so there's that.

Also, one of the lipids, triglyceride, is what makes tshirts shrink (the fat in your beer belly is made from this stuff).