What is in my wort?!!!

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Earl_Grey

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I brewed up an Oktoberfest on 7/22 and kept it at 40F and since then have been stepping up my yeast to pitch into it
Now I have the yeast stepped up properly and when I go to pitch it I see this white mass floating in the wort. What is this? I thought it was ice but its not melting. Is it contaminated with something now?

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You've waited three weeks to pitch the yeast? Even at 40F, I wouldn't keep wort around that long without fermenting.
 
You waited 2 and a half weeks to pitch??!!?

Next time, brew when yu are ready to pitch. Otherwise, you are tempting fate.
 
Not sure what it is. It could be nothing, but then again... who knows? Not likely ruined yet. Give it a taste, make sure it has not started to turn to vinegar or something equally offensive, then re-boil it for about 15 minutes just to be sure there's nothing living in there, cool, and pitch.

Edit: On second thought, don't taste it until after you've re-boiled it. Since it hasn't fermented yet, it may not be safe to consume.
 
Hmmmm, that sucks. Should have pitched yeast as soon as you cooled the wort to pitching temp. Usually within 1/2 hour after the boil, the same day!
Feed it to the HummingBirds:-(
 
Did you use a stopper and air lock to seal the carboy? I agree with everyone else, DO NOT attempt to drink that.
 
Split it up as mentioned and re-boil it. The point of pitching yeast as soon as it's cool is the yeast begins fermenting before anything else can take up residence in it. Sweet wort is an attractive environment to a lot of nasty stuff.
 
Classic.

Yea, that white thing doesn't look to good. I think a biopsy would come back positive.

Good news is, just dump that stuff back into your boil pot, boil for about 5 minutes, chill, then pitch your yeast. Success!

[edit] what llcoolj said:


re-boil it for about 15 minutes just to be sure there's nothing living in there, cool, and pitch.
 
That white stuff could be sanitizer from walls of the fermenter or something, i had a little bit once before i pitched yeast i scooped it out, and it was all good
 
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