Lager starter...infected???

[AR-Josh]

So I brewed a pilsner today (Saturday). I did the starter Thursday night. I put the starter on a stir plate and let it go downstairs in the basement (~63F). Friday night I put the starter in the fridge knowing I was brewing today. I got my wort together and put it in the fermentation chamber to get it down to pitching temperature (~50). It has a ways to go before it will be ready to pitch. So I got out the starter and decanted it. I put the white slurry that was left in the fermentation chamber next to the wort so they'd be roughly the same temp tomorrow.

Well when I went back to the sink to clean it up I noticed a globule of stuff in the sink. It was clear and the consistency of a blood clot. I believe that thing came out of my starter. I have no pictures of it. It reminded me of what happens to the drip bucket that sits under my taps in the garage during the summer time. If I don't clean the drip bucket for a few days I'll get all kinds of nastiness in it. Typically these clear clots are in the bucket when I finally clean it out. Do you think it's infected?

If so is it OK to buy two more smack packs of my lager yeast and just pitch them directly into the wort without a starter? Also, should I have something in the container with the yeast. The cake is just sitting there in the bottom of my erlmyer(sp?) flask. Thanks.

 

[Yooper]

It's hard to guess, but I'd guess that the glob of slime is lactobacillus. I'd go and buy two (or three) yeast packages and pitch them ASAP.

 

[AR-Josh]

It's hard to guess, but I'd guess that the glob of slime is lactobacillus. I'd go and buy two (or three) yeast packages and pitch them ASAP.

That's kind of what I was thinking.