Cotton ball looking thing in my mead

[Lodestone]

I have been making Mead for a few years and have never seen this before. This batch has been aging in the carboy since September of 2014. Just noticed the fuzz, for lack of a better term, this morning. The picture is not great but any info or thoughts would be welcome.

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[Arpolis]

That may be a protean based sediment. I made a mead from my bees' honey for the first time this last year and noticed after some extended bottle aging that they dropped even more brilliantly clear than they were and I thought they were as good as it could get. The stuff on the bottom of the bottles is a whitish looking goop. I have seen this a couple extra times but that was the most recent and if you like I can take pictures later today so you can compare. As long as you have an alcohol presence over 8-9% I would say it should be nothing bad growing at the bottom of a carboy.

 

[Lodestone]

The carboy has been sealed since September of last year. There has been no growth on the surface. So I really doubt an infection. I have just never seen this before. As far as the alcohol its at 16.4%. Just struck me as strange to see something forming this late in the game. But then again I don't pay much attention to my meads after I start bulk ageing them, so it may be something I picked up on the last racking. I just failed to notice till now.

 

[Arpolis]

Well the mead I mentioned last had been bulk aging about 6 months and after bottling and when I thought it was clear was when this formed. Here is a quick pick: