Bloody Band Aids

[Steve]

Jut need to vent!

Brewed a simple double batch of pale ale last weekend. Kegged it today and it tastes of band aids. Bloody spewing. It tasting fine out of the fermenter. The only thing I did different this time was I used my hop sock in the kettle as I was using flowers. I let the sock sit in bleach for a couple of days as it was still a bit crusty from the last time I used it, rinsed in boiling water a couple of times, rinsed it in cold water a couple of times, left it on the washing line in the sun for a few days. The other fermenter tastes fine but Ive just run out of gloody gas and cant carb it to see if its infected too.

Cheers
Steve

 

[flattop]

Been there, i feel your pain.
It's
A) the kind of bleach
B) infection

I lost 3 brews to that, i ended up dumping my plastic fermenter and buying a new one. Been too hot to brew lately but i did one kit afterwards with no problems so it was definitely the fermenter.... The taste and smell turns up about 2 days after pitching in my case...

 

[browndog]

Jut need to vent!

Brewed a simple double batch of pale ale last weekend. Kegged it today and it tastes of band aids. Bloody spewing. It tasting fine out of the fermenter. The only thing I did different this time was I used my hop sock in the kettle as I was using flowers. I let the sock sit in bleach for a couple of days as it was still a bit crusty from the last time I used it, rinsed in boiling water a couple of times, rinsed it in cold water a couple of times, left it on the washing line in the sun for a few days. The other fermenter tastes fine but Ive just run out of gloody gas and cant carb it to see if its infected too.

Cheers
Steve

Steve, if your hopsock went into the kettle while the wort was above 80C I can't see how that could have been the problem. Do you brew outside? was it windy?

cheers

Browndog

 

[Steve]

Steve, if your hopsock went into the kettle while the wort was above 80C I can't see how that could have been the problem. Do you brew outside? was it windy?

cheers

Browndog

Yeah - it was in the kettle throughout the boil and yes I brew outside and actually yes it was very windy.
Cheers
Steve

 

[braufrau]

Do you use bleach for sanitisation? Bleach + phenols (from yeast) = band aids (chlorophenols).

 

[browndog]

Yeah - it was in the kettle throughout the boil and yes I brew outside and actually yes it was very windy.
Cheers
Steve

Could have been wild yeast blown in on the wind, I believe Ross has had similar problems

cheers

Browndog

 

[Ross]

Could have been wild yeast blown in on the wind, I believe Ross has had similar problems

cheers

Browndog

Yes...& a lot of others too, it's a very common problem. On windy days I chill to 70c in the kettle to drop some of the break & then transfer to the fermenter hot. Leave in the fridge overnight & pitch next morning. If I don't, I'll lose pretty well every brew this time of year; with this method I've never lost one.


cheers Ross

 

[braufrau]

Oooohhhh! I knew brewing outside was a bad idea! Not feeling the AG love here!

 

[Fents]

nothing wrong with brewing outside or in the wind, just make sure you no chill or at least put it in hotter than you normally would, leave overnight and pitch the next morning like ross said.

 

[Steve]

Wort gets run into fermenters to no chill usually 5-10 mins after flameout. They then chill overnight (indoors) and pitch yeast the next morning. Braufrau, no I dont use ANY chemicals for cleaning especially bleach, just boiling water. The hopsock was seriously crusty as I hadnt cleaned it after I used it last. Ah well 1 infection in 12 odd months isnt too bad.
Cheers
Steve

 

[flattop]

I bought Starsan from Ross, the 2 brews since have been fine....

 

[Steve]

Just had a thought about my band aid pale ale. I havent cleaned the beer lines in probably 15-18 months (cant remember really). Before I kegged this one I ran boiling water through both lines. Their was a lot of crap that came out. Like I said the beer from the fermenter tasted fine. Could I have disturbed some bug from the lines?
Cheers
Steve