Help - Killer Infection

[Darren]

Dump the sod met. Try using chlorine or iodophore for cheap options

 

[vlbaby]

you mentioned ealier that you scrubbed your fermenters, are these fermenters plastic?
Using and abrasive scrubber on plastic is a big no no. The abrasive scrubber will make thousands of tiny scratches in the plastic that will potentially harbour bacteria. Always clean your fermenters will a normal sponge and dump the sodium met. I dont even understand why brew shops sell it. Get yourself some iodophor. Its basically the same ingredient that nurses use to sterilise a wound. I've never had a single infection since ive used it.

VL.

 

[Linz]

What city are you in Craigarino???

with a lot of cities going into low dam levels the level of chlorine being added to water is on the increase...

The wort isnt stringy or snotty- just normal, even after the fermentation finishes!

well reading this...its either your racking cane(moving beer from fermenter to keg) or keg-lines/taps....but it sounds like my fav and first infection...the fermenter tap!!....... pulled that apart and cleaned it???

 

[redbeard]

yeah, i pulled apart a fermentor tap & was quite surprised (& disgusted) at the slimy string inside of it. this is despite the regular boiling water & napisan type cleaning

 

[Uncle Fester]

For the cost of fifteen bux, should you try another fermenter from Bunnings?

And, have you tried soaking the fermenter in bleach for a few hours?

M

 

[altstart]

Good day
It is possible to get an infection in the kettle at the back of the tap. And it will survive boiling. I speak from personal experience such an infection cost me approx 900 ltrs of beer. When iI finally found it I could have kicked myself I cannot count the number of times I looked at that tap and dismissed it as the source of the infection with the thought that the tap would be sterilised by the boil. When I finally out of sheer desperation checked the tap it was so obvious it was the source. I now have a three piece S/S tap and it gets stripped and sanitised every time it is used.
Cheers Altstart

 

[Screwtop]

I'm down the same alley as Linz on this, had an infection/re-infection problem a couple of years back. Advice from a very experienced brewer was to ditch met and only use bleach (1 cup in a bucket of water) and also to remove the washers from the tap when sterilising. That was it sure enough! was already using bleach solution to soak my taps overnight before use, but not removing the washers. Used White King Bleach after that for all sanitisation, until recently getting hold of some Phosphoric Acid. It's easier to use and you don't end up with white blotches in your best brewing clobber.


Edit: Mistooks

 

[THE DRUNK ARAB]

Good day
It is possible to get an infection in the kettle at the back of the tap. And it will survive boiling. I speak from personal experience such an infection cost me approx 900 ltrs of beer. When iI finally found it I could have kicked myself I cannot count the number of times I looked at that tap and dismissed it as the source of the infection with the thought that the tap would be sterilised by the boil. When I finally out of sheer desperation checked the tap it was so obvious it was the source. I now have a three piece S/S tap and it gets stripped and sanitised every time it is used.
Cheers Altstart

[post="99684"][/post]​

Absolutely agree here, I lost a batch due to the same thing. When I pulled the tap from the boiler apart it was unbelievable the amount of gunk built up in it and how it had not affected previous batches is beyond me.

good luck with finding the source of infection mate.

C&B
TDA

 

[Trev]

Could it be an airborne contaminant?

You say you've built a new shed for all the brewing - is it coming from in there (somehow)? Wash out the shed

If all else fails, soak absolutely every damn thing you own (for brewing) in a bleach solution as described previously. Pull apart everything - taps, washers, spoons etc, break all of your gear down to the absolute smallest parts so you can clean and inspect. Throw out any racking hoses, check the thread on the tap bung of your fermenter and clean it with a toothbrush. Replace the fermenter taps. What does your yeast starters taste like - are they infected before it even makes it into the fermenter.

I once had a couple of kegs go off over a handfull of days. Buried and hidden inside the tap was some nasty gunk, gunk that wasn't bothered by the Idophor solution I ran throught the lines each keg change

Test your production techniques. On the next batch, take about a litre or so of your cooled wort out of the fermenter prior to aeration and pitching the yeast, and put it in a sanitised and completely sealed jar, something that will be absolutely air tight. Wait a few days and open it. In theory it should be just like it was when you put it in. Check the taste and the FG. If it's already infected you should taste it and the SG will have lowered. Eventually it will go off as none of us can hope to perfectly sterilise everything, but if it happens quickly then it may help to pinpoint your problem.

Wash the shed again

Trev

 

[pint of lager]

Have a read of jgriffin's infection thread. Also read this one.

All of the suggestions so far are great advice.

Upon reading your original post, because you managed to ferment out a kit beer, and another beer using dry yeast, the culprit would appear to be your yeast. You said, "I have been following directions, but it just doesn't seem to be taking" what are your directions and what symptom is it when you say it isn't taking? There may be a regular bit of gear that you have been using for your yeast that may be infecting your brews.

Totally rearranging your brewshed may mean that your brews or brew-ware is being exposed to something it wasn't before, such as dust from crushing.

Get rid of the sodium met and use iodine and or phosphoric acid. As Trevor and others have said, pull everything apart and clean thoroughly. Replace your racking tubes. Pull the tap aprt from the boiler. Pay attention to every surface that contacts your beer after the boil.

Another point, it is time to get a wort chiller, either cfc or immersion.

You also said, "just lost another 50 litre batch which got the smell the next morning after brewing" do you mean that the day after brewing, prior to pitching the yeast, your beer already was infected?" This may or may not help in narrowing down the problem.

 

[craigarino]

Hey guys, Thanks for all the advice!
I have just finished going over the whole god forsaken shed with white king!
The good news is i dont think i have finger prints any more and if I do, they are clean finger prints! The fermenter is currently filled with more white king and ill rinse it out tomorrow morning!
Ive put my grain order in, and will be brewing either tomorrow night or saturday arvo! I think quite a few of your comments might have been on the money, I guess I have become a little too complacent, but i think this little excercise was a real smack in the chops!
Ill let you know how it all turns out.
If its all roses, your all welcome for a pint in my shed ( youll need to gown and face mask but!)
If it still fails.......any body interested in a cheap brew setup?
Thanks again Craig :unsure:

 

[craigarino]

Hey guys! Just a quick up date! I think I might need to burn my shed!! My latest batch has gone bad after wiping all table space in the shed with straight white king, washed all the equiptment with white king and all the fermenters too!
I dont know a lot about yeast except that i hate this new evil yeast as much as my wife hates good yeast! It surely cant survive the white king experience can it?? I have got one more batch of grain which ill mash this weekend and put into a brand new fermenter and try and take straight out of the shed and ferment in the house! If this doesnt work I am at a loss so I guess I ll be needind some extract brewing recipes that i can make in the kitchen!
Will Glen twenty, disinfectant spray kill yeast?
Watch this space!
Craig

 

[NRB]

Craig, are you crushing your grain in this new shed? If so, I would suggest otherwise as grain dust contains bacteria, viz. Lactobacillus.

Have you let any of these batches completely ferment? I've noticed the trend is that you're calling them bad when only a few days in the fermenter.

I'm no expert, but shooting at reasons for your experience.

 

[Darren]

Did you change your water? Don't use the Glen 20 but I guess that was a joke.
NRB has some good points. Time can cure a lot of brew evils

cheers
Darren

 

[Batz]

I'll bet anything it's your fermenter Craig , try a new one

I had a problem like this years ago , please get a new fermenter and try again.
Old one will be good for grain storage

Batz

 

[Screwtop]

In very early working life as a baker I worked in a hand bakery with wood fired ovens. If the bakery was infected by a ropey bacillus infection the whole bakery, all walls and floors and all timber troughs had to be scrubbed with vinegar or citric acid and production would cease for 3 days while all walls were then whitewashed. Would think that boiling would beat any infection in the crush, however rope survived the oven temps to ruin the bread. Later on in a mill lab, was amazed at just how hardy these bacillus strains proved to be. I'm with Batz, get a new fermenter TAP AND SEAL.

 

[craigarino]

Thanks guys, the new fermenter will be ready for the weekend!
I have let the first few infected ones go right through and keg them! Still rubbish, in fact very funny watching the neighbour who quite likes beer, see just how long he could hold them in his mouth for!! Its happened so many times now, and the smell is so distinctive, Im pouring them out after a week ( you can also taste it in the yeast foam! as the monks say, good yeast should taste good!)!
Fingers crossed for this weekend- I might even use bi lo bottled water!
Thanks again- ill keep you all informed!
Craig

 

[craigarino]

Oh and no I dont crush my own grain! And if it could prolong this problem , i never will!

 

[Ross]

Thanks guys, the new fermenter will be ready for the weekend!
I have let the first few infected ones go right through and keg them! Still rubbish, in fact very funny watching the neighbour who quite likes beer, see just how long he could hold them in his mouth for!! Its happened so many times now, and the smell is so distinctive, Im pouring them out after a week ( you can also taste it in the yeast foam! as the monks say, good yeast should taste good!)!
Fingers crossed for this weekend- I might even use bi lo bottled water!
Thanks again- ill keep you all informed!
Craig

[post="100631"][/post]​

Craig,

Get another brewer round to watch one of your brew days - It's amazing what another set of eyes can spot, sometimes...

cheers Ross

 

[Jazzafish]

I agree with Ross, another brewer would be a good idea...

However, What yeast are you using? Could it be a bad culture that was grown and pitched over the various batches? Maybe try a dried yeast?

Another fermenter will always be a worthy investment too... hard to have too many fermenters to choose from!