Fungal contamination?

[leliz]

I'm panicking a little because I'm making a batch for my dad for Christmas, and something weird is happening. I've never had a contamination before, but I can't think of any other explanation. When I transferred it to the secondary it smelled a little odd, but this is my first batch as a legit partial mash so I was thinking maybe it was just still fermenting. So I went ahead and transferred it, and when I dry hopped it smelled fine. But I opened it up today to bottle and the whole surface was covered with a web of white film. It looked like egg drop soup in the beer. It doesn't look bacterial to me, but fungal maybe? What happened? and why on this batch when I've been using the same process for my last six beers?

 

[Yooper]

sounds like lactobacillus, from the description, but it's hard to say.

 

[F250]

Picture?

Rick

 

[leliz]

I'm working with an old phone do the clarity isn't great but I did take a pic of it.

 

[Yooper]

Yes, that looks like lacto.

You've got a TON of headspace there, and in secondary there isn't any co2 being produced to protect the beer so that's why the infection.

 

[leliz]

Crap I didn't think of that. I was going to bottle a week ago which is why I put it back in my bucket with a spout. Then I decided to wait to see if the clarity would improve. That's so disappointing... but now I know. I just wish I didn't have to learn on the batch that was supposed to be for someone else. Thanks for your help as always