[yso191]

I've never had an infection before, but this doesn't look normal to me.

Untitled by STEVE HARRISON, on Flickr

[Stevie]

Looks like mold to me.

To be sure, you should post it on the MTF Facebook page and ask them. Totally joking. Doing so would be like playing football with a flaming hornets nest.

[Slowbrew]

Where in the process are you when you took the picture? 

I've seen that type of look in the fermenter before the yeast takes off and after the yeast has dropped and it's just CO2 bubbles building islands around hop debris.

I can't really say for sure, obviously, but I would lean towards "probably okay" until proven otherwise.

Paul

[Robert]

It reminds me of the very first appearance of activity in a starter (I never see the inside of my fermenter, especially at that stage.)  Could just be a super slow start.  Wait. See exactly what is starting before you dump. 

[KellerBrauer]

Looks to me like a Pellicle.  Yes, it is an infection.  There is a lot of interesting information about it on the internet.  It has happened to me, twice, before I decided to toss out my white food grade bottling bucket.  No matter how clean and sanitized I thought it was, it had microscopic scratches that harbored microbes.

They are Snow White and will eventually consume the entire surface of your beer.  I ended up dumping both batches.  Now I use a Big Mouth Bubbler with a bottling spout.  Problem: Gone!

[majorvices]

I wouldn't say that it is absolutely an infection. It may just be yeast colonies. I also wouldn't absolutely call that a pellicle (yet.) In my experience pellicles form more like a webbing rather than isolated colonies.

One of the ways to check if a beer has an infection is to take a pH reading. If it is lower than you expect (under 3.8-3.9) then it is most likely an infection. Also, if you want to be sure you can speed up the process by taking a small sample and heating it to 90 degrees for 3-5 days (you can fashion a small incubator with a cooler and small heat tape or heat stick.) If the pH drops or it tastes tart or funky you will know you have a problem.

[yso191]

Well I dumped the packet of dry yeast in yesterday evening and this morning it is off to the races.  Large active krausen.  I'll wait till fermentation is done then do a taste test.  Thanks.

BTW What does mold taste like?

[brewinhard]

Well I dumped the packet of dry yeast in yesterday evening and this morning it is off to the races.  Large active krausen.  I'll wait till fermentation is done then do a taste test.  Thanks.

BTW What does mold taste like?

So, when was that picture taken?  Post or pre pitching?

[yso191]

Well I dumped the packet of dry yeast in yesterday evening and this morning it is off to the races.  Large active krausen.  I'll wait till fermentation is done then do a taste test.  Thanks.

BTW What does mold taste like?

So, when was that picture taken?  Post or pre pitching?

From another post on this forum:

"I brewed the beer Thursday, 4/26/18.  Pitched yeast @ 21:30, at 50*.  60 seconds of pure O2 through a stone at the bottom of the conical fermenter.  One pack of Wyeast 2206, dated 3/31/18, in Shaken not Stirred method (one Qt. wort).  Which was started at ~12:00... maybe a bit late?
First airlock activity today (4/28) 09:00.   ~36 hours.

But the airlock activity didn't increase like it usually does, so I decided to run to the LHBS to get some dry yeast.  I'd concluded that I under-pitched dramatically."

So the picture above is post-initial pitch, but pre-dry yeast pitch.