Oh NO! Flaky things floating in my beer

[Mishka]

I've been storing my latest batch in a secondary since christmas. It was looking really good and cleared up within a week so I decided to ignore it for a few days. Today was supposed to be bottling day but as I peeled off the blankets I witnessed a horror show going on in my beer. There are white flakes scattered on the surface and coating the fermenter's walls. There also seems to be a fungal colony floating right in the center. What happened? I was trying to be as careful as possible.

The o.g. was 1.07 and the primary/secondary transfer gravity was 1.03(a bunch of yeast was still in suspension).

 

[AHammer16]

What are you using for fermentors? Glass carboys? What about air locks? Got a digital camera? If so take a picture and post it.

 

[Mishka]

Plastic bucket as primary, 5 gal. glass as secondary. During the transfer we lost about a gallon so the beer might have gotten really oxidized in the secondary but the airlock bubbled just a few hours after transfer. I'm charging the batteries on my camera right now.

 

[DeRoux's Broux]

i'd be interested to see too.

 

[AHammer16]

make sure when you are using a plastic primary that 1. you have a good sealing lid or use no lid and place a large sheet of clear heavy mil plastic with a bungee or something to hold it securely. 2. rack to your secondary as soon as the krausen falls.

If you aerated it it may be where your problem was.
What was the recipie you used?
Specific Gravity should read 1.***. that is a one point something out to 3 decimal places.

 

[Mishka]

Um, I know this is a dumb question but how do you post an image?

 

[DeRoux's Broux]

have to be a paying member. you can email it to me [email protected]

 

[Mishka]

I don't remember exactly what the gravities were but the ones I listed should be pretty close estimates. There was a 2 day lag phase and then 3 full days of fermentation. I don't think I can recall details but I did a post on it in the recipies section of the forums (it was called something like "what do you think of this dubbel recipe?")

After opening up the blinds (who cares about lightstrike now), I found that the entire surface of the beer is covered in a thin film of white fuzzyness. BTW, DeRoux's Broux, I sent you a picture of it like you said. Thanks.