Help

[Jord]

Hi All,

I have run into a serious problem. Every time I try to brew, it goes really fizzy during primary and develops a smell I can only liken to fermented pineapple juice. If I bottle it, it becomes even more carbonated and you lose three quarters of the bottle when you open it, which is actually a blessing in disguise coz it smells and tastes the same as before bottling - ordinary! I have tipped out quite a few now and am at the end of my tether.

Over the course of a half dozen brews I have attempted to eliminate out the problem, but the result is always the same, and they are going down the gurgler!

I have tried:

-cleaning THOROUGHLY with a variety of products including meta, bleach and neo pink.
-different beer styles - darks to cervezas (all of which end up the same colour and with the same smell!)
-strictly regulating temps


I even purchased a new fermenter thinking it could have been an inherited problem from brew to brew. You can imagine my dissapointment when even this failed to solve the problem. Could it possibly be the tap water I am using? This the last variable I can think of and will be surprised if that is the problem.

If anyone can suggest something I am missing or doing fundamentally wrong, please come to my aid as I am getting thirsty and desperately need to sort this out!

Jord

 

[SJW]

WOW Jord,
It could be one of about a million things. I would need to ask about 100 questions get close to an answer so I will just say this.
Go back to the basics. Make sure you are sanatising everything correctly. Get heaps of air into the wort prior to fermentation. Pitch a good amount of yeast. And where I think your problem could be is ....ensure that the fermentation is complete prior to bottling. Or jsut leave in the primary for 2 weeks. Even at low 20's this would be ok for an Ale. Also ensure your bottles are clean.
I cant say for sure but the only reason I can see for Gushers is unfermented sugars in the bottle. And for the bad smell, well that would depend on what yeast you was using, as some stink or you may have an infection, so ensure adequate sanatisation.
Good luck. I am sure some others will have better advise.

Steve

 

[SJW]

If u live in the Newcastle area, feel free to PM me and you can drop around and I can run u thru the way I do things.

PS. go into your profile and add your location so we know where u r!

 

[razz]

Welcome to the forums jord. What does the beer taste like before you bottle it ?

 

[ozpowell]

Could it possibly be the tap water I am using?

Not likely - especially if you're boiling it beforehand.

Cheers,
Michael

 

[Adamt]

Does sound like an infection of some type, a persistant bugger too if it's hitting everything you brew.

Wash your hands before you start cleaning/brewing. Take apart everything in your fermenter and sanitise the crap out of it, a soft toothbrush is great for getting in taps/small crevices. Take out the o-ring/airlock grommet in your fermenter lid and soak them. Don't use anything abrasive on the inner surface of the fermenter, any small scratch can house infections nice and cosily and avoid your cleaning attempts. Rinse everything with cooled boiled water.

Here are the questions...

What ingredients are you using? What method are you using? What yeast are you using? What temperature are you fermenting at?

 

[mfdes]

Hi Jord,

What are you brewing: Kits, malt extract brews, etc...? If kits, are you using sugar or malt to make up the remainder?
What yeast are you using? Most of my early problems were from the crappy quality yeasts that came with the kits. Safale US-05 (aka US-56) is a great dried yeast to start with.
What temperature are you fermenting? No matter what the kit says, if you're careful with sanitation, fermenting cool (18 degrees) with a good yeast (US-05) will DRAMATICALLY improve your results.
Finally, do make sure your beer is well and truly finished fermenting (get a hydrometer) and don't add as much sugar as the kit instructions say. I find green beer has plenty of CO2 already dissolved and 1 tsp per longneck is too much.

MFS.

 

[Jord]

Hi Lads,

Thanks for your quick replies.

Steve, I have learnt of the dangers of unfermented sugars previously , but I still can't account for the beer going 'fizzy' during primary fermentation. In my limited experience this is not normal. That is my major problem, all this strife is occuring before I even bottle a drop! But cleaning may be the best advise, there could well be some nook or cranny somewhere that I'm missing! Hopefully I can resolve the issue that way and it isn't one of the millions of others you mentioned... I am in Toronto, so might just take you up on your offer for a bit of a tutorial. Much appreciated, thanks.

Razz, it isn't revolting to taste, but its like it has had a litre of pineapple juice poured in with the wort. It loses any particular characteristics of the beer that I was aiming for, for example I had a go at a dark ale and then a Mexican Cerveza, and they both turned into the same crap. Same colour, same taste, same smell! Definately not normal and not like anything I have come across before. I'm afraid Steve may be right and I'm just not cleaning enough. I would have said infection if someone described it to me!

 

[Jord]

Adamt, will give your cleaning advice a go next time round (tonight I'd say, itching to make this work). I am using kits and the yeast supplied with them. I am following the instructions and am brewing between the recommended 21 and 27 degrees. Cooled boiled water sounds like a good idea too, could I use bottled stuff from the supermarket?

MFS, using kits and whatever fermentables they recommend. Coopers have brewers sugar, and mixes of stuff they call brew enhancers (with dextrose and malts etc). So I just grab the bag to go with the specific kit. And the yeast comes straight from the top of the can! Never had any problems with this stuff before now, but would be happy to know if that was the problem... will make some enquiries after your suggested yeast at my local homebrew shop.

Thanks guys

Jord

 

[Adamt]

Cooled boiled water is better, put the kettle on and leave it for a bit after boiling.

Throw the kit instructions out the window. Read the wiki/ K&K sticky threads on better ways to make kits.

If you let your wort ferment around 27 you will get this hot, bitey alcohol and fruity tastes. Keep the temperature much closer to 20 and you will be a lot happier. You may not have a rabid infection if you are brewing at those high temperatures.

Sorry in a bit of a rush!

 

[Nedelz]

but I still can't account for the beer going 'fizzy' during primary fermentation.

This may sound like a silly question. But do you have an airlock fitted to your fermenter?

Also, another train of thought might be the water. Have you used the same water source every time? (Mains water, rain water tank ect) Moldy plumbing may be the problem...

Just some ideas...

 

[Jord]

Hi Nedelz,

I have brewed both with and without an airlock... in the past it hasn't made a difference and I have had success even brewing in the open fermenter with a tea towel over the top.

Now you mention it though, I moved into a new house little while ago, and I have never had a brew work since. So you maybe onto something with the water. My process of elimination described above would certainly back this up. I will address this and hopefully can get myself back up and running. Its been a while between drinks!

Cheers

Jord

 

[Stuster]

Sounds like it could be the water. So two things for next time. Boil and cool the water before adding it to the fermenter. And get some no-rinse sanitiser like iodophor or starsan. How do you sanitise your fermenter etc now?

 

[Jord]

Hi Stuster,

Bloody water, thats why I want to drink beer! Much better for you by the sounds of it! I am currently using a tub of Neo Pink that I picked up from my local homebrew shop. But am happy to hear any better suggestions. I like the sound of a no-rinse sanitiser but have just never seen one anywhere before. Will ask around and find some if you reckon its the go.

Thanks

Jord

 

[Stuster]

The main problem with using neo-pink is that you have to rinse it off. So the fermenter is only as clean as your tap water. :huh:

Your LHBS should have some kind of no-rinse sanitiser. If not, time for a new one.

 

[simpletotoro]

hi
i would just like to repeat what someone else has already said ....first chuck away the instructions that came with the kit
...you really want to ferment out ales at 18-20/c and lagers at 10-12 /c...no matter what kit you get ...
be it a lager or an ale kit most likely it will be an ale yeast (though not always ...do a search on kit yeasts on this site for more info)...or better still get some us-05 yeast which will ferment out much cleaner...
could be your water but good temp control during fermentation will go a long long way to producing a decent beer...
cheers simpletotoro

 

[braufrau]

Jord,

you didn't say how long you ferment for. 2 weeks at about 20C would be good.

I find that my brews are quite fizzy at this time of year when I bottle, but they aren't sweet.

-bf

 

[Jord]

Lol, and so it comes back to the water! I should just move house... take care of the water problem and get a new LHBS in one easy step! Will source some no-rinse and clean up my water situation... and then try again. Thanks for the help.

 

[Jord]

Hi guys,

Simpletotoro, I will bear that in mind. Those temps are way lower than those recommended in the instructions from Coopers etc! I was busting a gut trying to keep it between 21 and 27 in this cooler weather. So who writes those things I wonder...

BF, the way things go at the moment, I brew it until the SG levels out - about a week with the temps I'm brewing at currently. But it usually goes to crap well before then, usually after a day or two and I end up tipping it down the drain before it ever reaches final gravity. I am interested to hear that your brews are fizzy after primary. I had never come across that before and had taken it as a bad sign? Mine gets very fizzy though, to the point where if I try to take a SG reading in the hydrometer test tube, I need to let it sit a half hour for the foam to die down so that I can see the stem to read it! Just seems a bit extreme to me...

Thanks for your imput lads. Much appreciated.

 

[tangent]

yeast makes CO2 as it eats, so some CO2 in your fermenting beer is normal.
sounds like you have an infection though.

pull EVERYTHING apart: taps, fermenters, anything that will be used and give the whole lot a bath in a decent sanitiser. Not metabisulphite.
Also, boil and cool all your water then try a cheap test batch to see if you're still having troubles.

I saw one poor ******* being told by a HBS owner to prove his yeast in tap water. He never told him to boil and cool it first, so he was getting an infection every time and throwing his money down the drain.