Another infected brew

[Metattron]

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.

[matthewdick23]

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

[Ciderhead]

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.

[Metattron]

True dat, this is kit brewing, sterilization is everything here.

[Dodge]

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!!😀

[matthewdick23]

ah, fair nuf- hadnt realised it was kit

my bad

[LordEoin]

It's the Kit Section! 

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 

[Blueshed]

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.

[HomeBrewWest]

It's the Kit Section! 

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).

[LordEoin]

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.

[HomeBrewWest]

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!

[Blueshed]

got my starsan and have some spray bottles, how much starsan should I add to 300ml of water.

[Ciderhead]

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.

[Blueshed]

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

[LordEoin]

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.