Possible infection, or off gassing into spices?

[fat_astronaut]

Hey, sorry to ask "that" question, but I am mildly worried about an infection. I brewed a pumpkin ale, and after fermentation finished, last night I dumped in about 1.25 g of spices, as well as some vanilla beans, that had been sitting in vodka for about 3 days in sealed containers. When I dumped the spices in, they had soaked up most of the vodka, and glooped out in one solid mass. It has been about 24 hours, and the spices still haven't settled, and there are some big bubbles that have formed in the carboy on top of the beer. The bubbles are only formed under the mass of spices that haven't sunk. How long will it take to really know if this is infection, ie. white layer, bubbles, spider webs, etc.?

Or am I worrying too much, and off gas is just making bubbles? I am just worried about the surface tension of the bubbles, and why they haven't popped. Also, the white in the photos is just glare from the flash. I am just getting back into the hobby, and I am pretty paranoid about an infection right now.

Here are my pictures: http://imgur.com/a/2DWUe

 

[billl]

Looks like you've got some spice paste floating on top but nothing to really worry about. Not sure how much flavor they are going to impart floating on top though.

For future batches, an easier way to handle ground spices is to just stir them into a cup of a boiling water, strain and let them cool down. Then, stir the spice tea into your mix. If you add half, sample etc you can make sure you get the level of spice you want.

 

[fat_astronaut]

Thanks, I'll try a tea next time instead.