Growth on top of Apfelwein

[geneb]

Bear with me on this one, I'm new.

I just started some of Edwort's Apfelwein last night. Since this is my first fermentation of anything, I don't really know what yeast looks like while fermenting so I want to make sure of whatever this is so I can head it off if it's something bad. As far as I have been able to see, there is no activity in the air lock. Either that or it's really slow and I am just not around to see it. I followed the directions in the Apfelwein thread to a T and it has been fermenting at about 65 - 75 degrees for about 24 hours. (It's hard to maintain a constant temperature in my office. It hits around 65 at night 75 during the day if it is sunny, about 70 if it's cloudy).

So, in short, what the hell is this on top of my cider?

http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i363/jegibson0322/IMG_3311.png


Thanks in advance, everybody.

 

[strat_thru_marshall]

that would be the yeast. nothing to worry about.

 

[geneb]

Beautiful.. Thanks. I figured I was being a bit jumpy but I wanted to make sure.

 

[strat_thru_marshall]

Beautiful.. Thanks. I figured I was being a bit jumpy but I wanted to make sure.

You're going to be so happy when you finish your first pint of that stuff...and then after the second or third pint...

Welcome to the hobby!

 

[Inodoro_Pereyra]

There are 3 kinds of fermentation that can occur in cider. 2 of them are good, the third one...not so good.
First, your regular yeast fermentation. Of course, you want that one.
Second, malo-lactic fermentation. That's a different kind of bacteria, that takes the (harsh) malic acid present in the apple juice, and transforms it into the much milder tasting lactic acid. Some cider makers will go as far as to add the specific strand of bacteria to their cider, to get a fuller, more pleasant taste.
Third, the nasty one: acetobacter. That's the SOB that will turn your cider into vinegar. You do not want that puppy in your cider.

As far as I know, the only way you can say is by taste. If your batch starts to turn sour, you can kill the bacteria with some potassium sorbate, and a campden tablet. From then on, depending on how sour it is, you might get lucky, and it may get milder after aging...?