It could be yeast or it could be mold. You will have to remove a pickle from the brine and examine more closely. Dill has a strong odor so odor is not infallible.

If the pickles are mushy or soft, then it's some sort of undesirable bacteria and you should discard.

Also consider whether the pickles were fermenting at too high a temperature, which can lead to spoilage or you used the wrong salt (i.e. kosher which is less weight per volume than pickling salt) resulting in too weak a brine.

The rule-of-thumb is if texture is good, smell is good (of the individual pickle) and a small sample is good, it's yeast and the pickles are fine.

However, even if that's the case, you might want to discard the original brine and put the finished pickles in a finishing brine. Brine can get kind of funky, even if it is just yeast.

Carol

Thanks, Carol. We tasted one and it was delicious! Crisy and zingy from the garlic and hot pepper. I used Morton pickling/canning salt so that is not the culprit. So, as you suggest, I will make a finishing brine for longer term storage in the refrigerator.