brew infected - help with the post mortem please

[bobban]

This was about my 6th brew and the first day I made two batches in one day.

The second batch of wort (brown porter) was siphoned into a cube to be stored for fermentation about 2 weeks later when my fermenter would be clear.

Cube was new and sanitised as was the siphon prior to the pour. On the second day in the cube my wife luckily noticed it was swelling badly as we were about to head out for work. It was in the living room and would have made a hell of a mess.I took it outside and released the large pressure buildup and it just foamed out the top a lot and I poured it down the drain.

It's the first time I used a cube like this and I am thinking I made a few mistakes:

1. When siphoning into the cube I noticed a small puddle under it but thought I must have spilled some. Then about an hour after sealing it i saw a fresh puddle (100-200mls) and realised it was leaking form the bung in the bottom which I had assumed was tight enough. I tightened it a turn or two and the leak stopped.
2. The was a very small headpsace in the handle area which is above the mouth. Maybe I could have tilted to completly fill it, or first flushed the air out with CO2 before filling.
3. I am in Brisbane and the wort was chilled to about 40 degrees then stored in the living room. Really bad idea because as I said earlier, this could have been one epic horror mess. Other thinkg is I guess in the time it was in the wort it probably never was less than 25-28 degrees.

Has anyone got some comment on this situation? I guess I did a lot wrong and I don't want to repeat the mistake.

 

[DU99]

last time i made porter/stout it went

 

[pimpsqueak]

Are you saying that you chilled it to 40 degrees before cubing? If so, there's your problem right there...

 

[bobban]

Are you saying that you chilled it to 40 degrees before cubing? If so, there's your problem right there...

Yeh I did pretty much did exactly that I'm not sure the exact temp but in summer the Brisbane tap water I run through the chiller is about 25 degrees so getting it much lower than 40degrees takes a long time so I thought I would stop there and let it naturally cool the rest.

How does this cause the problem? :unsure:

 

[Dan Pratt]

right on pimpsqueak......thats the error right there > chilling to 40c then cubing to store.

The idea of cubed wort is so that the 90c+ wort would actually kill anything likely to cause the infection. Removal of as much air as possible is a good method but from the sounds of it you had it pretty full.

 

[wbosher]

If your going to store in a cube for any length of time before pitching, you need to no chill. This means putting boiling hot wort directly into the cube to kill any nasties, not cooling first.

EDIT: Beaten.

 

[carniebrew]

Dunno why pimpsqueak didn't actually say it...but the idea is to pour your super hot wort into the cube, straight from the kettle...and make sure you lay the cube down, so the hot wort gets into the handle-space etc, killing off any lurkers in there and keeping 'em out.

 

[Rowy]

I couldn't agree more with the above posters. You either chill or no chill. You need to put hot wort into the cube. Once it's sealed you can chill it by putting in a barrell of water or pool etc.

 

[bradsbrew]

Dunno why pimpsqueak didn't actually say it...but the idea is to pour your super hot wort into the cube, straight from the kettle...and make sure you lay the cube down, so the hot wort gets into the handle-space etc, killing off any lurkers in there and keeping 'em out.

To go a little further, lay it on its side so the handle fills but also so the lid and bung hole is at the bottom as well.

I couldn't agree more with the above posters. You either chill or no chill. You need to put hot wort into the cube. Once it's sealed you can chill it by putting in a barrell of water or pool etc.

Yep, if I need to chill it quicker I will still no chill in the cube for 15 minutes or so then go for a swim with it. Only time I need to chill it quicker is if I want to get it in the fermenter or it had lotsa late hops.

Cheers

 

[bobban]

Ahh well this has been very enlightening and makes a lot of sense. For some reason I had the idea that being just booiled and then cubed and sealed it would be ok. Seems I made a fundamental error but at least I am confident this is the problem and I would be willing to cube again!

Thanks so much for everyone clearing this up for me. Happy brewing! :lol:

 

[Rowy]

Stick with it mate. We all make mistakes. That's the best thing about this forum. When something goes wrong help is not far away. :icon_cheers:

 

[DU99]

the word expansion mean anything.. :unsure:

 

[bum]

Are you saying that you chilled it to 40 degrees before cubing? If so, there's your problem right there...

This is true but we're all missing something here - even if he'd cubed it hot he'd still have had a higher chance than average of copping an infection here. If liquid is leaking out then air is leaking in to replace it. If it kept leaking once cool enough, the brew could just as easily have gone south.

 

[wbosher]

This is true but we're all missing something here - even if he'd cubed it hot he'd still have had a higher chance than average of copping an infection here. If liquid is leaking out then air is leaking in to replace it. If it kept leaking once cool enough, the brew could just as easily have gone south.

Amazing how easy it is to overlook something, when everyone (myself included) is focused on one thing. Well spotted.

 

[pmastello]

Can I also add another possible contributing factor -
You said the cube was new and that you sanitised it. Did you clean it first prior to sanitisation? Because even if its new, you should still clean it well. Bacteria is able to hide from the sanitiser in plaques and dirt buildup, and the manufactuing process of those cubes will probably leave residues that can hide bacteria and prevent the proper action of your sanitiser.

I also agree that chilling prior to cubing has contributed to your infection, however I have chilled into a cube a couple of times before with no problems. A good cleaning procedure should be effective enough to prevent growth of any micro organisms for at least a week or two.