Grey froth when fermenting - Is this normal ?

[richp1000]

Hi

I've recently started home brewing, finished drinking my first kit yesterday (woodfordes wherry) so got another one on, as, given a bit of time it was a nice pint.

The first kit took a heck of a long time to stop bubbling away -nearly 2 weeks, not the 4-6 days suggested. I suspected this was down to 2 things, the fermentation bin being cooler than suggested due to the cold weather, and the fact that when I added the yeast I just sprinkled it on the top, it took a few days to start fermenting.

With this in mind, this time I stirred the yeast in when stiring the mix, and also I have wrapped the bit up with a layer of laminate underlay to keep it warmer. I started the kit of yesterday and it has started fermenting much faster, there is already a good inch of froth on it, however i notice the froth has a grey layer on the top of it.

Has by brew become infected or is this normal ? I really tried to carefully sterilized everything and think it was sterile, given my successful first attempt.

Any help much appreciated.

 

[Aleman]

This is normal, it's protein material from the boil, normally it is brown, but can be grey as well

 

[richp1000]

Thanks for the quick reply, there are also the "normal" brown "highlights" to the froth which I have seen before - but the grey stuff reminded me of something you'd see of mouldy food !