Homebrew Disaster!

[_HOME_BREW_WALLACE_]

On saturday i put down a brew (in the WAYB thread) and no-chilled it. Yesterday i knocked off work early and found the cube fully swollen, on its side leaking outta the lid and the little plastic bung where the tap is meant to go (and it ******* reaks!!!!). This is the second time this has happened (different cubes) Just wondering is this due to poor sanitation? or just some funky old wild yeast?

If it is wild yeast, how/why does it happen and/or where does it come from?

When my cubes are emptied, they get a hot water bath, then rinsed to remove all debris then are filled with a solution of bleach and water until a time when i use them again, then theyre rinsed out in boiling water 2 or 3 times)

Kettle is dismantled and cleaned about every 5 or 6 brews with PBW and gets the toothbrush treatment with all the threaded parts.

If anyone can think of anything i may have missed please let me know!

Cheers,

_wallace_

 

[Nick JD]

Napisan, then Starsan.

If it ends in "san" it rocks. :kooi:

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

You would be better soaking the cube in Nappi-San, Starsan etc. Bleach wont stay effective for more than a day.

Keep the cube filled with nappi-san untill use, then rinse it hot water.

Fill your cube with HOT wort from the kettle, dont let it cool first. The hot wort will aid in sanitizing. Make sure the lid/cap is secure and tight

 

[QldKev]

I've had the no-chill cube disaster twice now. I can't explain it. I made 3 cubes in 1 hit and one got infected and the other 2 were ok from the same brew? Both times I have just chucked the cube and moved on. Not worth risking another brew in the cube. What's that saying, if you only throw out 1 cube a year, it's a goodyear! Well I've had every year a good year by that definition. Remember RDWAHAHB FTW.

QldKev

quick edit after reading the other posts when I was slowly typing.
I always store my cubes under a nappisan solution and use starsan for finishing; then pour boiling hot wort into it.

 

[winkle]

On saturday i put down a brew (in the WAYB thread) and no-chilled it. Yesterday i knocked off work early and found the cube fully swollen, on its side leaking outta the lid and the little plastic bung where the tap is meant to go (and it ******* reaks!!!!). This is the second time this has happened (different cubes) Just wondering is this due to poor sanitation? or just some funky old wild yeast?

If it is wild yeast, how/why does it happen and/or where does it come from?

When my cubes are emptied, they get a hot water bath, then rinsed to remove all debris then are filled with a solution of bleach and water until a time when i use them again, then theyre rinsed out in boiling water 2 or 3 times)

Kettle is dismantled and cleaned about every 5 or 6 brews with PBW and gets the toothbrush treatment with all the threaded parts.

If anyone can think of anything i may have missed please let me know!

Cheers,

_wallace_

Chuck the cubes you've had infections in.
Use a non-rinse as the final step before using the cubes, pay attention to the lid/bung and threads.
Fully clean the kettle (particulary the pick-up tube, tap etc - if you've got them) every time you use it.

Cleaning the kettle tap out each time and then sanitising it stopped the infrequent infections I was getting. If it can get a bug in it, it will. :icon_cheers:

Edit: gee I type slowly...

 

[unrealeous]

Only thing I can think of is maybe its coming from your tap/hose - so when your wort is boiling - run some wort through the tap (and pipe you'll use to fill the cubes) into a container several times to sterilize them (and pour contents of container back into kettle).

 

[Florian]

Chuck the cubes you've had infections in.
Use a non-rinse as the final step before using the cubes, pay attention to the lid/bung and threads.
Fully clean the kettle (particulary the pick-up tube, tap etc - if you've got them) every time you use it.

Cleaning the kettle tap out each time and then sanitising it stopped the infrequent infections I was getting. If it can get a bug in it, it will. :icon_cheers:

Edit: gee I type slowly...

Also, additionally (not as a replacement for the above), you can use one of these on your tap during storage. Make sure you clean and sanitise them also.
They work also great on fermenter taps during fermentation.

 

[Nick JD]

Another way to deal with this is to not leave your cube for more than 6 hours after it's cooled to fermenting temp.

Even if it has picked up an infection - when you add your vigorous starter, it'll murder any trace of any funk.

Yeast don't like to share.

 

[donburke]

i'll say that not much would survive contact with hot wort,

are you cooling the cube rapidly after filling ?

how long are you waiting after ending the boil and then cubing ?

it might be a leak ever so slight that lets air in when its cooling and contracting

 

[_HOME_BREW_WALLACE_]

thanks guys for the quick replies, i cant thank you all enough! From now on i will nappisan the cubes then starsan before use, and get the toothbrush out the day-after a brewday and clean up the threads, taps, washers and seals with a good dose of PBW.

Cheers! :icon_cheers:

 

[cdbrown]

The bung/tap is a nice place for nasties to hide. Makes sure to unscrew them from the cube, give them a good clean as well as the thread on the cube. I always find crap in there even after a napisan soak

 

[QldKev]

thanks guys for the quick replies, i cant thank you all enough! From now on i will nappisan the cubes then starsan before use, and get the toothbrush out the day-after a brewday and clean up the threads, taps, washers and seals with a good dose of PBW.

Cheers! :icon_cheers:

good plan, also keep a few $2 taps from Bunnings on hand, any sign of grain replace them

 

[_HOME_BREW_WALLACE_]

The bung/tap is a nice place for nasties to hide. Makes sure to unscrew them from the cube, give them a good clean as well as the thread on the cube. I always find crap in there even after a napisan soak

always have cleaned out around the tap/bung of my cubes and fermenters using a toothbrush, warm soapy water and a rinse out of boiled water.

 

[stux]

StarSan everything.

 

[j1gsaw]

When i empty out a cube, i usually just blast it with the hose, then fill the cube right to the neck with water and wack some starsan in it, shake the crap out of it, and leave be until next use.

 

[_HOME_BREW_WALLACE_]

outta curiosity, do you starsan guys just dump the used starsan, or re-use it in the next empty cube?

EDIT: PS: Love the avatar J1G! :lol:

 

[Nick JD]

Make up a 1 liter squirty bottle (1.5ml of Starsan - yup it lasts for EVA) and coat the inside of the vessel with a fine mist. Leave it there for a minute or two, then tip out the excess.

I go through 1.5ml of Starsan about once a month. Got about 300 months left.

 

[_HOME_BREW_WALLACE_]

Make up a 1 liter squirty bottle (1.5ml of Starsan - yup it lasts for EVA) and coat the inside of the vessel with a fine mist. Leave it there for a minute or two, then tip out the excess.

I go through 1.5ml of Starsan about once a month. Got about 300 months left.

Have you ever tried using a sqirty bottle inside one of these?? I use these for cubes and fermenters now.

Mission Impossible.........

Can you say make up 500ml and pour it in the fermenter/cube and shake the shit out of it, then pour it back into the bottle and do it again in say, 2 weeks time??

 

[NickB]

I believe the recommended contact time for StarSan is 3 minutes, but you need to ensure that the liquid or foam is touching anything you want sanitised for at least this long.

For me, I fill my cubes with around 5L hot water, then some PBW, shake the shit out of it to foam it up, then seal it up until needed. On brew day, drain the PBW and sanitise prior to use.

Cheers

 

[DU99]

you can also use Iodophor..