Originally Posted by BlackDog:
Don't go crazy and dump that yet. It's likely just small colonies of yeast. The best way to tell is open it up and take a sniff. If it smells nasty, then you've got an infection. If it smells normal for a fermented wort, then finish the job and bottle it.
Right! My one infected batch had the strong smell of Vinegar.
Im sure it was bad!
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Originally Posted by BlackDog:
Don't go crazy and dump that yet. It's likely just small colonies of yeast. The best way to tell is open it up and take a sniff. If it smells nasty, then you've got an infection. If it smells normal for a fermented wort, then finish the job and bottle it.
Actually, I had been thinking about this and popped back in to take another look at that picture. Warren's right, it might just be normal flocculation for that kind of yeast. I've never used Dusseldorf yeast--and honestly never had mold growth--but I'm not sure that's mold. How long was it in the fermenter?
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Did your airlock ever dry out while it sat for the month?
What kinda beer is it? Any crazy ingredients like chocolate or brown sugar?
You can see the flocced out yeasties... the redish/tan lumps that we are all used to... Those bigger islands look greenish brown. Get a fish tank skimmer and get that crap out and bottle it. Nothing in beer will kill you.
Might taste like schweaty donkey balls, but you haven't lived until you've tried.
edit... I assume you were going to transfer into the carboy for a secondary?
I'd just start there and skip the secondary. I usually only secondary big, big beers with complex grain bills/weird ingredients. A lot of people just use one fermentation chamber.
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