2-3 months in the primary? That's quite a long time! In the future, try not to wait that long to either bottle or transfer to the secondary. Not only are you risking mold like you see here, but the yeast will eventually die off as well, leaving bad tastes. Doubt the yeast have croaked yet, but it's always good to get off of the yeast cake in a timely manner.
Here' we go again with this chestnut...
Although three months is a bit much past my comfort zone, the autolysis myth has been pretty much shot down as a boogeyman, at least the need to rush the beer off the "yeast quickly" has been put down...many have left their beers on yeast up to six months and posted on here that there was no issue...IN FACT, as illnastyimpreza, who has been around here awhile, knows, even John Palmer has said in
How to Brew;
Leaving an ale beer in the primary fermentor for a total of 2-3 weeks (instead of just the one week most kits recommend), will provide time for the conditioning reactions and improve the beer. This extra time will also let more sediment settle out before bottling, resulting in a clearer beer and easier pouring. And, three weeks in the primary fermentor is usually not enough time for off-flavors to occur.
(and)
....As a final note on this subject, I should mention that by brewing with healthy yeast in a well-prepared wort, many experienced brewers, myself included, have been able to leave a beer in the primary fermenter for several months without any evidence of autolysis.
AND if it was autolysis, he would be hurling in his bucket for the sheer nastiness of it (think gorilla poo in a diaper on the side of the road for a week.)
We have gotten away from the "fear of leaving the beer too long on the yeast" over the last few years....
Now back to the original question, buddy "Ill"....I have had a skin like that on occasion, broken up, not solid like an infection skin (I'm having a moment and not remembering what it is called.)
Oh yeah, Pellicule...it doesn't look like a pellicule, so I doubt it is an infection.
I always have assumed that that skin was just the remainder of krausen from certain types of yeast, the majority had fallen, but since the krausen was so thick, that kind of "boiling milk" just gets left behind.
B=Maybe even the same proteins that are in break material, just not fallen in.
In fact I checked the bucket where I was fermenting a saison quite hot over the weekend and though the krausen had fallen there was a great amount of stuff that looked like that. It's only been 6 days in the fermenter and so I know it's not an infection, but I used a LOT of saison yeast, so I'm not surprised to see that in my fermenter...
And if your fermenter hadn't even been nudged in the three months, and you had a huge kruzen, with a lot of activity, yours could easily be the same as well...
Like I think you even said, it doesn't smell/taste bad (have you tasted it yet?) Just rack under it and go ahead and keg it...you won't die or get sick from your beer (no pathogens as you know can live in it)
You beer might be perfectly normal, or slightly funky in a good way.
But if it taste like crap now, don't bother. But more than likely it is fine.
Keep us posted.
it had no off tastes or smells... it tasted like flat bitter beer. should I toss it ? or what ?
