I went out to the garage today to dry hop my latest batch and found the airlock had somehow fallen off and the following (pictures below) floating on a thin layer on the top. Is it infected? Am I screwed? What should I do?
A bad batch will smell and taste off. It might be oxidized at this point. How long has it been in the primary, looks like fermentation is done. How long was it open do you think? If it tastes okay, I'd immediately rack it to a 5 gallon carboy with zero head space. This morning, I discovered my blow off tube had jumped out of the catch basin, and yeast was covering part of the floor of my fermentation chamber...
It's been in primary for about four weeks. I had checked it about a week ago and it was fine. Was surprised to see cause its in a sealed chamber.
I'm betting screwed. Does it smell like yeast? Beer? Rot? Sewage? If I had this in my carboy, I think I'd let my nose be my guide. Also, you can take a sample from under the slime and see if that's good. If so, rack carefully and enjoy. If that's bad, dump it.
