White Mold/substance top of secondary

[TheGovernor]

I have let my amber ale remain in secondary fermentation for about 1 month and went to investigate today with the plan on kegging. I am somewhat new to homebrewing and typically don't use a secondary fermenter. Anyone know what this white stuff is? It looked like mold growing, but I'm curious what more experienced brewers thought.

 

[RmikeVT]

Taste? smell?

 

[wildactbrewer]

I had the same thing happen to my most recent Coffee Stout. I'm not sure what it is but I bottled anyway. I didn't end up on the toilet and the beer tasted great so I guess it's no big deal. I'd be curious to know exactly what it is though...my thought would be a lacto infection.

 

[TheGovernor]

My nose is not particularly good at picking out smells but it's not particularly offensive. Smells a bit more alcoholic than I would expect for the 6% abv range. Haven't tried it yet. Obviously if the taste is foul I'll dump the batch and try again assuming some sort of infection.

 

[Happywanderer]

Any weird ingredients (chocolate nibs, coffee beans, anything with high fat content)?

Yeast strain?

 

[hautlle]

Looks like it could be the beginning of a pellicle. Here's a HBT thread with lots of pics of infections/pellicles. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f127/pellicle-photo-collection-174033/

 

[TheGovernor]

Thanks for the link to the pellicle thread. Fascinating read.

WLP004 - Irish Ale Yeast.

Purely working on technique brew, trying to maintain temperatures and efficiency.

Very basic brew:

7Lbs 2 row
1.5LB Crystal 60
1.5LB Biscut
0.5oz Magnum, sterling
1 oz cascade
Irish Moss

OG: 1.050
After primary 1.010

 

[Matteo57]

I have let my amber ale remain in secondary fermentation for about 1 month and went to investigate today with the plan on kegging. I am somewhat new to homebrewing and typically don't use a secondary fermenter. Anyone know what this white stuff is? It looked like mold growing, but I'm curious what more experienced brewers thought.

Looks infectious to me!
Personally I would say either bottle it quick or let it sit for a bit longer to see if it starts taking on weird flavors. At that point you could either let it sit in that carboy for a much longer time to see if it turns around to something you might like from a soured/infected standpoint or dump it depending on what you wanted to do.
Good luck though! If you bottlle it quick enough you might be good. Just carb the bottles up then stick them all in the fridge and keep them cold!
Next time, don't secondary it! No need!