Power-like white film on cider

[parrothead600]

I started a batch of cider a couple of months ago. It was unpasteurized cider from the cider mill. I added yeast nutrient and pectic enzyme and pitched it with Fermentis SafCider yeast. I got way too busy with work and neglected it. It was never racked to the secondary and as you can see in the picture, there is a large headspace. Now I have a thick white almost powder- like film on the top.
I got a sample from below the film with my wine thief, and I haven't died yet. I hate to dump it if it isn't needed.
Can anyone identify this by the picture?

 

[dmtaylor]

If it still tastes good, you'll want to drink it soon. It will dry way the heck out to a gravity around 0.992, and will likely eventually taste a bit off. You can try to kill it with sorbate & sulfite but it might not be 100% effective. You could also try heat pasteurization, about 160 F for 10 minutes would kill it, but might result in some loss of ethanol and a cooked apple flavor.

Good luck.

 

[Bobby_M]

The one thing you forgot was to dose the fresh pressed cider with metabisulfite 24 hours before pitching the yeast. There's a lot of wild stuff on apple skins.

 

[FromZwolle]

Can anyone identify this by the picture?

That's a classic pellicle. hard to tell what funky microbes are responsible just by a picture, but the classics are: lacto (lactic acid forming bacterias), acetobacter (vinegar makers) and brett (a wild yeast).

if you limit oxygen exposure and drink it within a few weeks, it will likely taste fairly mild, if ever so slightly off. the longer you wait, the stronger the off flavor will get. these cats will chew through any kind of sugar you throw at them, so bottle with caution!

 

[parrothead600]

Thanks to all that responded. So, here's my plan: Keg it and hit it with camden and potasium sorbate for a week, then backsweeten it and force-carbonate it on CO2 in the keg cooler. The keg should be empty within a month or so.
Are there any flaws in my plan?

 

[dmtaylor]

Thanks to all that responded. So, here's my plan: Keg it and hit it with camden and potasium sorbate for a week, then backsweeten it and force-carbonate it on CO2 in the keg cooler. The keg should be empty within a month or so.
Are there any flaws in my plan?

Sounds like a good plan. Enjoy while you can.

 

[Miraculix]

This is cider, not beer.

The wild microbes can contribute to the flavour. Just bottle it with a bit of carbonation sugar, wait till it's carbonated and then have one and see where it's at.

You might want to keep it a bit longer as the flavour will still develop, or you might want to drink it now, either way, don't dump it, unless it does not taste good to you. Even if it doesn't taste good now, it might change in a few months, worth keeping and trying from time to time.

But you need to get it away from oxygen, otherwise you'll have cider vinegar. Also not to bad to have, but I guess that is not what you are after.