Cleaning up after an infection

[manticle]

Judging by the "vinegar" hint, I'll bet a forum moderator's testicle it's an acetobacter infection. If you do a search here or more widely you'll find what's required to clean up to minimise any recurrence. Good luck! I had it in my brew area last year, so I know what you're in for.

You're not getting my testicles for your wager.

 

[DJ_L3ThAL]

I agree with cleaning out the taps though! Make a habit of it about every 3 brews for a breakdown.


Cheers,
D80

Hey mate I'd argue they should be broken down EVERY use, stored sanitized and dry disassembled, then just dip in sanitizer, lube and assemble prior to use.

 

[TheWiggman]

For cleaning those new Coopers taps are well designed. They pull apart very easily to get into the nitty gritty areas.
Oh, and if using caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) be sure to follow the safety directions. Rubber gloves, goggles - don't skimp on the PPE and use it away from unsuspecting kids and adults.

 

[Kev R]

Plus one for completly striping down all fittings between brews.Even the sanitary valve i have gets yeasty sludge traped inside.
Also the viscosity of liquids stops them getting to the bottom of scratches threads ect, so bugs can hide in them un effected by your sanitatisers. Threads ect realy need treatment with the pressure cooker or oven.

 

[DU99]

It is always good to change chemicals used, especially if you get one that mutates

i have starsan and Iodophor,i alternate them.

 

[mongey]

not that it probably means anything but I have had 1 infection in about 15 brews now and it was an All In Brewing porter

 

[kaiserben]

... stored sanitized and dry disassembled, then just dip in sanitizer, lube and assemble prior to use.

What sort of lube do people use? (and I assume it's to stop the slow leak of a tap in a cold environment?)

 

[DJ_L3ThAL]

I just use the Lubri-film stuff, mostly because I stopped using it for my kegs as the Skerra lube is WAY better for those. It's to make the taps glide nice and easily instead of seizing up when operating. Mine still get the odd leak here and there maybe 1 batch in every 5 gets a tiny drip. Maybe 5mL in a month?

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Found this on the interweb thing

A few things:

1. Lacto is the primary infection vector from crushed grain dust, but there are other bacteria including enterobacteria (Bad news) and even wild yeasts that COULD Be introduced -Lacto doesn't form acetic acid / vinegar, though. (Wild yeast strains like Brett CAN produce acetic acid but only in the presence of oxygen)
2. Fruit flies carry Acetobacter -this is likely where the infection comes from.
3. Acetobacter is actually converting your precious ethanol into acetic acid though a reaction that requires oxygen, so not only is your beer souring but it's losing alcohol -true tragedy!


Get Rid of the Infection:

• Kill the microorganism that's creating the infection by sanitizing using multiple methods: high heat, high ph, low ph, optionally: other.
  -sanitize ALL equipment that touches beer from the boil kettle on with near boiling (or boiling) liquid with an alkaline cleaner at or even beyond recommended dosages to kill both with heat and high ph. Acid producing bacteria are obviously fairly resistant to low Ph so just sanitizing with acid-based sanitizers might not be as effective as you think. Then rinse and sanitize with an acid sanitizer such as Starsan (which works via 2 mechanisms). You can then use rubbing alcohol or iodone-based sanitizer if you really want to go crazy.

Keep the infection away:

• Fruit flies must NEVER come in contact with beer / wort post boil. EVER.
• Although this won't keep the infection away, it will prevent the formation of acetic acid by those infection microorganisms: Keep oxygen away from your beer. -Make sure those fermenter lids and air locks all properly seal this is a much bigger deal in secondary / extended aging.

 

[Antex]

Why not just pitch the yeast into the cube the wort comes in, and fit an airlock into the lid.
I invert the cube and fit a pin lock disconnect first instead of a tap.

 

[S.E]

Why not just pitch the yeast into the cube the wort comes in, and fit an airlock into the lid.
I invert the cube and fit a pin lock disconnect first instead of a tap.

There are advantages to fermenting in the cube including as you point out the reduced chance of introducing infection.

Other advantages are you can naturally carbonate and condition in the cube before kegging which helps the yeast flocculate faster and of course saves your bottled co2.

I have also found that sealing the cube when or just before fermentation finishes seems to seal in hop flavour and aroma far more than leaving ale in a fermenter with a lot of head space.

You can fit an air lock into the lid but if the cube is full you would be better off laying it with the tap or pin lock disconnect, if that's what you use uppermost and simply pushing a blow off tube over it.

If you are interested I posted pictures of this method in post #52 in this thread: http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/70056-carbingconditioning-in-a-cube-before-keg/