Brand new mead-maker here

[J_Thor1980]

Hello there everyone!
First off, I just want to say that I think this site is awesome!! I've been wanting to get into brewing my own mead for a long time, and I never even knew there was a website like this one. You guys rock!
Secondly, I have a quick question; I've looked for info on how yeast behaves in the carboy. I just racked my first batch from my primary fermentor into my glass carboy several days ago. After a couple days, I noticed some "floaties" on top of the must. At first, I thought the batch was ruined, and earlier today I went to throw it out. When I uncovered the carboy, though, all of the floaties were gone. I investigated further by removing my airlock and taking a good strong whiff of the must; and it smelled wonderfully tasty.
My question is this: After the disruptive process of racking, will some of the yeast float around on top of the must before settling? I'm very new to this, and I have no idea what to look for with a contaminated batch (the only thing I've found so far is that the must will smell vinegary if contaminated).
Thanks for reading and any advice is greatly appreciated!!
~~~Joshua Thor

[Oskaar]

Welcome to the Forums!

Yeah, I've seen that with different yeasts. They'll bubble up to the top in little "mushrooms" of foam and yeasty froth that kind of looks like an infection, but really isn't. You can always smell the mead, and thieve off a sample of the stuff to see how it tastes.

Cheers,

Oskaar

[JoeM]

Yeast floaties and foamies are very common and can take on all kinds of forms (some can be pretty scary looking). And although infection is always something to be on the look out for, in my experience its quite rare as long as you practice good sanitation.

[J_Thor1980]

thanks for the help! Yeah it did look pretty scary when I first saw it, but it is beginning to settle down now. I'm very excited about this batch, since it's my first one and all. I'm not sure if it's going to getthe chance to age very long, though I have lots of friends keeping tabs on when they'll be able to try some.

What is the best method of sanitation? I've been using an Iodophor solution, and it seems to be working pretty well.

[JamesP]

Originally Posted by J_Thor1980

... I thought the batch was ruined, and earlier today I went to throw it out. .....

Congratulations!! You just learnt a big lesson.

Don't throw it out untill all other avenues of rescue have been exhausted.

[JoeM]

Iodophore is great, most commercial breweries use it. Personally i like bleach because its cheap, effective, and redily available.