is my beer fubared?

[jrubins]

Racked my beer to my secondary, and now there is a bunch of odd-looking stuff floating on top.


First, what could it be? Second, is my beer ruined?
Third, can it be saved?

Many thanks,
James

 

[Glynn]

the picture is not very clear but sometimes the act of racking can restart the fermentation process. i had this happen with a wheat beer. i checked my gravity and it seemed to be finished but after transferring it restarted but it only lasted for a day or so.

 

[Phunhog]

More than likely you are fine...I think it is just some yeast and CO2 bubbles.

 

[jrubins]

Thanks,
It looks like yeast, and my airlock has bubbled - as evidenced by the level of the vodka meniscus.
My concern is that the blobs of yeast ( I think they're yeast) at the top seem to be growing. Could it be brettanomyces (or some other wild beastie)?
What's the best course of action? I was thinking of bottling this weekend. Should I hold off? Toss the beer (please say no)? Let it sour and call it a lambic?

This is my first all grain batch and I want it to be good, I definitely don't want to have to toss it away.

I've attached a few more images, but it's very difficult to get a good shot because the carboy got very sticky and messy when I racked. I'll clean it off and take another shot tonight.

Thanks
James

 

[TyTanium]

99% sure it's just fine and not an infection. Proceed as planned.

 

[jrubins]

99% sure it's just fine and not an infection. Proceed as planned.

 

[HeadyKilowatt]

Yep- looks like CO2 bubbles to me. I almost always get a few like that for the first few days in secondary. RDWHAHB.

 

[william_shakes_beer]

The maker put your nose above your mouth for a reason, to be sure you sniffed things before you tasted them. Thousands of eons of evolutiuon aren't erased in a few hundred generations. Sniff it, and let your brain tell you if it wants to drink it. Use your nose, not your eyes. Fermentation is not pretty, that's why I use an opaque fermenter. FYI, any time you change temperature or pressure of fermmenting beer, yoiu change its ability to store CO2 in solution. The excess will bubble out. That's why the priming calculators ask for a temperature as well as a desired atmospheres.