I popped the lid off a fermenter full of an IPA just prior to bottling
and... fuzz on top. Infection. Looking around online, it looked like a
Lacto infection.
Some people online have posted in the past that beer in that condition --
it didn't taste sour -- was potentially salvageable, but I dumped it. I
see no point in going the trouble of washing, sanitizing and then filling
50 bottles and risking needing to dump their beer and wash and sanitize again.
I am going to try sanitizing the fermenter and other parts and see if I can still use it. It's been washed once with detergent, following a rinse it's now soaking in oxygen bleach. Then after a rinse I think I'll follow with a weak chlorine bleach solution, then rinse extremely well and follow with
Star San.
If nothing else, this fermenter should be cleaner than it's been since I first used it.
I gave up on bottling years ago. Found a good collection of corny kegs
cheap or free over the years. Way easier to do it this way.
Bob F <bobnospam@gmail.com> wrote in news:qk7gt1$aa7$2@dont-email.me:
I gave up on bottling years ago. Found a good collection of corny kegs
cheap or free over the years. Way easier to do it this way.
If I had the kitchen space, I'd love to do it, but unfortunately I'd have
to do something like ditch the dishwasher to make it work. Or stop storing much food in the fridge, but neither one is really an option.
I have the advantage of a basement and a convenient converted (
thermostat) chest freezer.
Bob F <bobnospam@gmail.com> wrote in news:qk7gt1$aa7$2@dont-email.me:
I gave up on bottling years ago. Found a good collection of corny kegs
cheap or free over the years. Way easier to do it this way.
If I had the kitchen space, I'd love to do it, but unfortunately I'd have
to do something like ditch the dishwasher to make it work. Or stop storing much food in the fridge, but neither one is really an option.
If you find out what has or might have caused the infection let us
know. Infection is a major concern for most brewers.
Joerg <news@analogconsultants.com> wrote
If you find out what has or might have caused the infection let us
know. Infection is a major concern for most brewers.
Based on pictures online I suspect it was a lacto bug, but I didn't do any serious investigation. After a hardcore cleaning effort of everything -- fermenters, spigots, hoses, bottles, etc. I brewed a pseudo-festbier. It
just went into bottles and there were no visible signs of infection and nothing tasted or smelled off either, so I'm crossing my fingers.
I soaked everything in an oxygen bleach solution, gently scrubbed where appropriate with a soft cloth, rinsed really carefully multiple times, then dosed with Star San. Then rinsed everything twice more and dosed again with Star San prior to bottling. That was probably overkill, but I figure it's better to cover my bases.
So far in about 150 batches I only had one lone bottle of Cream Ale
that tasted slightly funky. Now we are very rigorous in cleaning
bottles after pouring. Cold rinse, hot rinse, boiling water plus a few granules of dishwasher powder, shake, let sit for at least 1h, dump,
rinse several times, let dry. We cut open dishwasher powder pouches
and empty them into a former medicine vial from which we sprinkle in
the granules.
Joerg <news@analogconsultants.com> wrote
So far in about 150 batches I only had one lone bottle of Cream Ale
that tasted slightly funky. Now we are very rigorous in cleaning
bottles after pouring. Cold rinse, hot rinse, boiling water plus a few
granules of dishwasher powder, shake, let sit for at least 1h, dump,
rinse several times, let dry. We cut open dishwasher powder pouches
and empty them into a former medicine vial from which we sprinkle in
the granules.
A month later and two batches post infection and so far, so good.
I had a festbier that had somewhat low attenuation and I was a little
worried that some hidden bugs might be lurking in my spigots or hoses, so I primed with less sugar than I might have, guarding against the possiblity
of bottle bombs.
But no, the priming came out what you'd expect for the reduced level of sugar, with no extra kick from lingering microorganisms. So, a little less carbing than you ideally want for the style, but still good. A following
IPA seems to have turned out right on target.
I have a fairly high ABV Porter in there now which will need more time to ferment than typical batches. I'm hoping that the infection is taken care
of now.
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