My last 3 brews have being infected, started off with the Bulldog kit I won then followed up with a Coopers sparkling ale and now the MYOB wheat kit.
im at a loss to know what's gone wrong. so far have brewed 10 kits with the last 3 infected and in between them 3 kits I have made 2 23lt and 6 5lt cider batchs with no problems.
I think Ruben and Padric had the pleasure of tasting one of the infected brews at the june meet of Liffey brewers. the last 2 brews now taste the same and both have the same head on them, looks like a soapy, thin head that breaks up after a minute.
on the last brew I was extra careful with cleaning of everything, thin bleach and vinegar mix with everything washed twice plus glass btls in the oven for 15mins at 110*.
last Saturday evening I sampled 1 btl of the MYOB wheat kit, it was 1 week in the btl. while it was flat it did not taste infected and you could get a taste of banana, orange and clove. 2 other people also tasted it and said it was not infected etc.
last night opened another btl of same batch and the second I opened the btl I got that infected grapefruit smell and when poured that soapy pissy head. went along and opened 6 other btls both glass and plastic and all the same.
sorry for the long post but looking for some help and answers to what could be going wrong, felt so bad and down last night I went to the pub and drank 3pts of Bud.
Buy a new bucket
I am no expert (stop laughing CH) but this has happened to five of my six 23lt brews so far to one degree or another. I also thought it was infection from somewhere but it appears now it may have been mostly down to poor temperature control during primary fermentation. With the heatwave we are having atm is there any chance its a temp control issue and not an infection ? :)
Well I've been brewing a lot and have yet to have an infected batch. 2 things I have always said to people is make sure anything that will come into contact with the wort once cooled is properly cleaned and sanitized. Now I have no experience using the common sanitizer methods like bleach and vinegar but instead have used the like of starsan.
The other issue is the fermentation temperature. Different styles have different fermentation temperature profiles and if you go out of these profiles either you can come into problems with things not finishing off or off flavours that imparted into the beer.
Never had an infected batch. I do know however, that when you get an infection, the entire area (e.g kitchen) can become infected and its very likely to keep happening.
+1 on new bucket, that's an absolute must. Its almost impossible to clean an infected bucket properly.
Then brew somewhere far away from the infected area. Also disinfect with something a bit stronger like VWP or other chlorine based cleaners and thoroughly clean up the entire area where you were brewing.
+1 On what Homebrewwest said there, i recently moved everything into a spare bedroom from the utility off the kitchen. Too much going into and out of kitchen, back door always open, too much floating around in the air etc.
Don't just replace the bucket. Replace transfer tubing airlock, anything in contact with the cooled wort.
Are you topping up your brews with tap water? It could be a problem with your source too. Try bottled water, or boil and cool your water first. Also make sure your bottle caps are sterilized. Remember that everything, EVERYTHING, that touches your beer at EVERY STAGE, should be sterile. I've only had one infected batch and that was an attempt at a fruit beer where I didn't heat the fruit enough to kill the nasties, but it was enough to make me OCD about my brewing. Sterilize everything, buckets, spoons, tubes, syphons, scissors, hands, and anything else you can think of. Check for scratches on your equipment, they are damn near impossible to clean properly. Check your bleach and vinegar mix is the correct ratio. If you're still in doubt, get someone to stand behind you with a sharp stick to give you a prod if you are about to do something wrong! ;)
Odd that it had no signs of infection through out brewing and when young in the bottle.
Did you sterilize the caps, bottling wand and priming sugar?
Quote from: LordEoin on July 20, 2013, 10:24:09 PM
Odd that it had no signs of infection through out brewing and when young in the bottle.
Did you sterilize the caps, bottling wand and priming sugar?
caps and bottling wand both sterilized ok but priming sugar was not, how would you do that.
Quote from: Ciderhead on July 20, 2013, 12:06:29 PM
Buy a new bucket
the 3 beer kits were done in the same FV while the cider was done in a different FV, checked the beer FV and it has 1 big scratch inside plus 5 smaller scratches.
Quote from: deadman1972 on July 20, 2013, 02:02:16 PM
is there any chance its a temp control issue and not an infection ? :)
good point there, the last 2 brews were done during hot weather plus the last 3 brews were left in my front bedroom after bottling for a week where the previous 7 brews were left in the hotpress where they had the same temperature of around 25*.
I have a brew belt but no stc1000 and the FV left in a wardrobe where the temp would rise with the hot weather.
Quote from: HomeBrewWest on July 20, 2013, 04:41:53 PM
Never had an infected batch. I do know however, that when you get an infection, the entire area (e.g kitchen) can become infected and its very likely to keep happening.
+1 on new bucket, that's an absolute must. Its almost impossible to clean an infected bucket properly.
Then brew somewhere far away from the infected area. Also disinfect with something a bit stronger like VWP or other chlorine based cleaners and thoroughly clean up the entire area where you were brewing.
time to order a new bucket, bottling wand, stir spoon and vwp. btw told the wife you think here kitchen could be dirty or infected ;D
Quote from: Metattron on July 20, 2013, 09:14:29 PM
Are you topping up your brews with tap water? It could be a problem with your source too. Try bottled water, or boil and cool your water first. Check your bleach and vinegar mix is the correct ratio. If you're still in doubt, get someone to stand behind you with a sharp stick to give you a prod if you are about to do something wrong! ;)
yes, being topping up with tap water, next brew will boil and let it cool. also just being eyeballing the bleach n vinegar so could have to much or to little in the mix.
anybody want to call round with a sharp stick on the next brew day.
Quote from: Blueshed on July 21, 2013, 07:37:59 PM
Quote from: deadman1972 on July 20, 2013, 02:02:16 PM
is there any chance its a temp control issue and not an infection ? :)
good point there, the last 2 brews were done during hot weather plus the last 3 brews were left in my front bedroom after bottling for a week where the previous 7 brews were left in the hotpress where they had the same temperature of around 25*.
I have a brew belt but no stc1000 and the FV left in a wardrobe where the temp would rise with the hot weather.
Ding ding ding ding ding, brewbelt in the last 3 weeks its
ffffcooked:'( :'( :'( :'( :'(
http://morebeer.com/themes/morewinepro/mmpdfs/mb/off_flavor.pdf
check out estery fruity :(
Sorry for your trouble :(
Hmmm, get it out of the hotpress and loose the brew belt. I have one but only use it in the very coldest parts of winter. My fermentorium is a back bedroom with the radiator turned off most of the year. Temps on the sticky thermometer are 16-22C depending on the time of year. I've found being on the low side is better than than the warm side. If you're worried about your vinegar bleach mix invest in a small bottle of starsan. I bought a big bottle of it last year and not even used half of it yet. It's no-rinse and breaks down into food for your yeasties. Best investment a home brewer can make, and its reusable. Just remember it's a sterilizer, not a cleanser. Just use it to sterilize all your equipment before brewing and save it in a 5l bottle for bottling and the next brew. Get 3 or 4 brews out of a batch.
mate- a lot of advice ur getting here is off the mark
everythin that touches your beer at every stage does not need to be sterile. that's mental. don't fuck it round the floor and then use it as a mt, but it doesnt have to be sterile, esp pre boil
unless ur doing a beer that specifically asks for those high temps, then ur temps are crazy high
more likely that that sanitation id say
Quote from: matthewdick23 on July 21, 2013, 09:58:56 PM
mate- a lot of advice ur getting here is off the mark
everythin that touches your beer at every stage does not need to be sterile. that's mental. don't crappity smack it round the floor and then use it as a mt, but it doesnt have to be sterile, esp pre boil
Matthew, Blueshed highlighted a problem with a kit now go and wash your mouth out with Starsan, 90% of first time homebrewers problems result from poor sanitation and hygiene.
Don't be encouraging arse scratching and stirring at the same time or at least use your clean hand ;)
Ask any pro brewer in a commercial operation how much of his time is spent around sanitation.
True dat, this is kit brewing, sterilization is everything here.
Blueshead. I'm having a get together for midland brewers on sat 10th Aug and you are welcome to attend and stay over if you want. It's to help with brewing and to drink and to taste.
Well all are welcome!!😀
ah, fair nuf- hadnt realised it was kit
my bad
It's the Kit Section! ;D
Glad to hear you've figured out it was temps and not infection.
I'd probably still ditch the scratched up FV though. Small scratches are fine, but big ones hold nasties.
Someone asked earlier how to sterilize priming sugar. Just stick it into a saucepan with a half pint of water, and bring it to boil. Leave it cool down again before adding to the priming bucket. It also gets rid of problems with undisolved or unevenly disolved sugar.
My sugar sits around for ages, so i always disolve it with boiling water just in case :)
just put in an order for Star San, 33lt FV, bottle filling stick. plan on brewing over the bhol wend.
hope to pick up an old fridge and put the FV into it.
Quote from: LordEoin on July 22, 2013, 03:38:45 PM
It's the Kit Section! ;D
Glad to hear you've figured out it was temps and not infection.
I'd probably still ditch the scratched up FV though. Small scratches are fine, but big ones hold nasties.
Someone asked earlier how to sterilize priming sugar. Just stick it into a saucepan with a half pint of water, and bring it to boil. Leave it cool down again before adding to the priming bucket. It also gets rid of problems with undisolved or unevenly disolved sugar.
My sugar sits around for ages, so i always disolve it with boiling water just in case :)
I think refined sugar was originally used as a preservative. Its lethal. Leave a bowl of it on a counter top for years and no bug will go near it. I don't think it needs to be sterilized. Its why Carbonation Drops are so handy.
It reminds me of a conversation I had with one of the 5 star chemical (StarSan) guys about rinse free sanitizers. Water in many parts of the USA must be boiled (its not full of chlorine like Europe), so the idea of rinsing sterilized equipment with tap water horrifies them. Its why rinse free is important there. But not here, as we just fill up the fermenter with tap water anyway (kit brewing).
Well I recently binned a bag of sugar because there were some little black insect thingies in there.
Leave a bowl on the counter top and ants, your cat, dog, grubby fingers, dust, etc will go near it.
Although it won't go off, sugar will get 'dirty' just as easily as other things left sit around for a long time.
It's probably just me being paranoid, but i don't trust open packets unless they're stored airtight etc, even carb drops.
Quote from: LordEoin on July 23, 2013, 01:27:32 AM
Well I recently binned a bag of sugar because there were some little black insect thingies in there.
Leave a bowl on the counter top and ants, your cat, dog, grubby fingers, dust, etc will go near it.
Although it won't go off, sugar will get 'dirty' just as easily as other things left sit around for a long time.
It's probably just me being paranoid, but i don't trust open packets unless they're stored airtight etc, even carb drops.
Too true. Also, if the sugar gets damp at all, then its game over!
got my starsan and have some spray bottles, how much starsan should I add to 300ml of water.
Dosage rates on back of bottle
Keep it the same bottle and mark, as I once used my SS mister instead of my water to reduce foam on a boil over.
Quote from: Ciderhead on August 05, 2013, 03:50:22 PM
Dosage rates on back of bottle
Keep it the same bottle and mark, as I once used my SS mister instead of my water to reduce foam on a boil over.
1oz to 5 gallons of water and I got a 300ml of water, so about 5ml of starsan at a guess
1oz to 1 gallon
= 30ml to 3785ml (us) or 4546ml(uk)
= 2.5ml to 300ml(us) or 2ml to 300ml(uk) - (5 times concentrated)
so 1oz to 5gallons = 0.4ml or .05ml
Answer: Half a milliliter.
I just put a trickle in.
I know its rinse free but at my concentrations anything I spray on gets a rinse as well.