cube expanding ?

[stinkypetegc]

hi guys , made a coopers pale ale clone on sunday , no chilled the wort and its been sitting while my coopers yeast is being recultured ,today its all of a sudden started expanding and has a fair bit of foam on top i released the pressure as it looked like it would explode , i haven't added no yeast but it appears as if something is goin on any ideas ? cheers

 

[MelbourneDave]

Yep it's fermenting. You have a problem!

Cube mustn't have been sanitary.

 

[AndrewQLD]

You have an infection, turf it and start again.

 

[GalBrew]

Some sage advice from the posters above. Turf it and thoroughly clean and disinfect the cube.

 

[stinkypetegc]

bugger all my hard work down the drain .thanks guys im sure i star san'd it , obviously not enough

 

[DarkFaerytale]

why turf it? unless it's smells like hot sick and ass let it ferment out and see what it turns out like

 

[Spiesy]

bugger all my hard work down the drain .thanks guys im sure i star san'd it , obviously not enough

You may already know this, but there's more to cleaning than a Starsan rinse.
That's the icing on the cake.

 

[stinkypetegc]

You may already know this, but there's more to cleaning than a Starsan rinse.
That's the icing on the cake.

yea just thought , brand new cube just star san it , but not to be .

 

[stinkypetegc]

just had a thought , i topped my cube up with water to the 20 litre mark so i suppose that was a bad move from the start

 

[stinkypetegc]

why turf it? unless it's smells like hot sick and ass let it ferment out and see what it turns out like

bugger , really? its gone now , it actually smelt really good what would you have done added yeast or let it do its own thing , was it wild yeast or something ?

 

[syl]

In to cubes: boiling-ish how wort
Out of cubes: air

Nothing else!

 

[Phoney]

What if; As soon as you detect a swelling cube you dump it in the kettle and boil it for 15 mins. Could that salvage it? Anyone tried?

 

[of mice and gods]

just had a thought , i topped my cube up with water to the 20 litre mark so i suppose that was a bad move from the start

I would say that's your culprit right there. If you need to add water to dilute, do it in the fermenter just before pitching your yeast (and ideally use cooled boiling water).

al

 

[Phoney]

(and ideally use cooled boiling water).

al

why so? In all my years of kit and extract i used water straight out of the tap to dilute and never had an infection.

 

[Spiesy]

Why so? Because there's more of a chance of it being sterile.

 

[stinkypetegc]

I would say that's your culprit right there. If you need to add water to dilute, do it in the fermenter just before pitching your yeast (and ideally use cooled boiling water).

al

ok so does it matter the cube is only half full ? cheers

 

[of mice and gods]

Phoneyhuh, I admit I always top up straight from the tap with no dramas.

But, I thought in the interest of giving advice I should also mention best practice.

Al

 

[of mice and gods]

ok so does it matter the cube is only half full ? cheers

Yes, if the other half is air.

This is how I do it - Fill your cube, sit the cap on (loosely) put it on the floor against a wall and squash the side in with your knee. When you can squash no more or most of the air has been expelled, then tighten the cap. If you still have a reasonable air pocket you can turn the cube around and have a go from the other side. Just remember to put pressure on the cube before loosening the cap slightly again or it will suck much air.

Be careful, as boiling wort on your pants is not fun.

Al

 

[mxd]

I fill my cube, push all air out, lock lid, turn cube upside down (for about 15 minutes cleaning time) to make the top(handle where the air will sit) sterile, then move it into the garage and place it the right way up.

When I use a cube, I clean it (sodium perc) then add water and starstan to store until use.

I've lost a about 3 cubes from infection, but none since I follow the above steps.

 

[Phoney]

heh I lost 1 cube and bought a chiller.