TheWiggman
Haters' gonna hate
From the pic it looks like an acetobacter infection is starting to take place - the whitish 'skin' isn't normal, nor are the largish bubbles. The big thing in the middle is normal krausen which is the head that forms when the beer ferments. Most of the time it clears away, but sometimes it doesn't. This depends on a few things that you don't need to worry about on beer #1. Realistically, without someone who knows what an infection tastes like you're not going to be able to tell if it's infected unless it's completely off-putting.
To be honest when I started home brewing I had some pretty accommodating tastebuds for my own brews. Until I started brewing decent beer I didn't realise how sub-par most of it was, but it was my beer, I was in my early 20's and be stuffed if I wasn't proud of it. Seeing as this is your first brew and you've tried it and not thought it was crap, go ahead and bottle it. It may tidy itself up in a few weeks and taste heaps better once it's carbonated. No doubt you're using PET bottles so bottle bombs aren't an issue. Here's what I'd do -
Bottle away, keep tabs on things, and be warned that this is start of a dangerous hobby that will be filling your garage up with fridges and stainless in no time. Good luck and let us know how it goes.
To be honest when I started home brewing I had some pretty accommodating tastebuds for my own brews. Until I started brewing decent beer I didn't realise how sub-par most of it was, but it was my beer, I was in my early 20's and be stuffed if I wasn't proud of it. Seeing as this is your first brew and you've tried it and not thought it was crap, go ahead and bottle it. It may tidy itself up in a few weeks and taste heaps better once it's carbonated. No doubt you're using PET bottles so bottle bombs aren't an issue. Here's what I'd do -
- Bottle now with two carb drops per bottle
- Leave in a warm place (18°C ideally) for 2 weeks
- Squeeze a few bottles and note how tight they are
- Taste test - do this in front of a warm fire with slippers on, the TV turned down, kids at their grandparents' place with some Muse, Prodigy, Spiderbait or some other appropriately decent music playing in the background whilst served in your favourite Headmaster glass
- Check every week or so and if the bottles keep getting tighter and fizz more when they're poured, it's infected. The taste will change as well and they never change for the better
Bottle away, keep tabs on things, and be warned that this is start of a dangerous hobby that will be filling your garage up with fridges and stainless in no time. Good luck and let us know how it goes.