Infection

[Baloonon]

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.

[Bob F]

Post by Baloonon
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.

[Baloonon]

Post by Bob F
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.

[Bob F]

Post by Baloonon

Post by Bob F
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.

[Bill O'Meally]

Post by Bob F
I have the advantage of a basement and a convenient converted (
thermostat) chest freezer.

I have problems with condensation in my converted freezer. I have tried
the Eva Dry dehumidifier with silicon beads.

https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/eva-dry-e-500-renewable-mini-dehumidifier/1043630059?skuId=43630059&&mrkgcl=609&mrkgadid=3253337228&rkg_id=0&enginename=google&mcid=PS_googlepla_nonbrand_outdoorutility_local&product_id=43630059&adtype=pla&product_channel=local&adpos=1o5&creative=232742511253&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=Cj0KCQjw2K3rBRDiARIsAOFSW_6J5kZHcYiBblYFq1d-gpTuDebAsk58PTnbDCkDCUcaaFYgKg8V70gaAt4oEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds


BTW, don't ever drop one of these puppies -- I'm still findings beads
after a year.

Even then, it did not work that great. Maybe I need to use 2 or three.
Do you have this issue, and what do you do to keep inside of the the
chest dry?

[Joerg]

Post by Baloonon

Post by Bob F
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.

Unless one isn't married. A client engineer ordered a major fridge for
his kitchen. The Sears driver asked "So where should we put it?" ...
"Just leave it there, first I have to drill some holes into it" ... "WHAT?!"

If you find out what has or might have caused the infection let us know.
Infection is a major concern for most brewers.

[Baloonon]

Post by Joerg
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.

[Joerg]

Post by Baloonon

Post by Joerg
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.

That is a feared bacillus. Rumors have it that one Californian brewery
had to close shop because they couldn't get rid of lacto after doing a
batch of sour. Though it could be just that, rumors.

Post by Baloonon
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.

Thanks for the feedback. That was a good method to clean and sanitize. I
always go a bit overboard with PBW and StarSan as well. Everything soaks
and later the bottles are completely submerged in it for at least one
minute instead of the internal shower spritz that many brewers use.

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.

[Baloonon]

Post by Joerg
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.

[Joerg]

Post by Baloonon

Post by Joerg
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.

Excellent! You probably did a really good job scrubbing everything.

Post by Baloonon
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.

Once the ABV reaches serious levels I guess the risk of infection
becomes lower.

I transferred a Barley Wine to secondary yesterday and it clocked in at
1.028. Maybe the US-05 stalled out this time when the ABV reached its
limit. I'll post separately, maybe someone has an idea.