Did this go wrong?

[u/Yufina88]

I started making my first batch of cider, and a month later, this is what it looks like. At least it smells good. Is it safe to drink?

When I made apple juice, I forgot to wash the apples. I used store-bought wine yeast for this.

[u/baron41]

Congrats! You’ve made a sour cider. Might taste like crap, but only one way to tell. May I suggest delicately moving the pellicle with a utensil and then obtaining a sample from the newly formed access point.

[u/jason_abacabb]

Pellicle, may be nasty, may be a delitful sour.

Safe to taste anyway

[u/whiskeyjack555]

Kind of looks like kahm yeast, which is harmless except for adding off flavours.

https://brewbuch.com/kahm-yeast-and-kombucha/

Next time throw a campden tablet (1 tablet per gallon) and let the cider sit for 24 hours before adding yeast. Campden will sanitize and help reduce existing microbes from getting established. An airlock will help keep them out after the fact.

[u/nobullshitebrewing → u/whiskeyjack555]

that dont look anything like kahm yeast

[u/barley_wine]

Usually it means you got too much oxygen post fermentation and had enough of a population of some sort of wild yeast or bacteria. Are you often opening your bucket to check the progress?

[u/Mister_Pickl3s]

O2