Im Confused

[KHB]

Ihave now done 6 AG brews.

My 1st was infected, described as a wild yeast infection. My next 4 were fine then my latest has the infection.

I chill and no chill.

The 1st 2 were chilled the next 3 were no chill and the latest chilled.

Other than running some caustic through my whole system to give it a good claen, which was suggested to me im lost as what to do. I have used liquid and dries yeasts my latest i sprinkled the dried yeast on and my first one which was infected was a dried yeast which i rehydrated.

Just feeling a little lost in the world :huh:

Cheers KHB

 

[Screwtop]

Ihave now done 6 AG brews.

My 1st was infected, described as a wild yeast infection. My next 4 were fine then my latest has the infection.

I chill and no chill.

The 1st 2 were chilled the next 3 were no chill and the latest chilled.

Other than running some caustic through my whole system to give it a good claen, which was suggested to me im lost as what to do. I have used liquid and dries yeasts my latest i sprinkled the dried yeast on and my first one which was infected was a dried yeast which i rehydrated.

Just feeling a little lost in the world :huh:

Cheers KHB

KHB, can you please run through your regime of 1. Cleaning fermenters after use 2. Storing Fermenters between uses 3. Sanitising fermenters prior to use 4. Pitching yeast 5. Fermenting temps and times

Also what yeast are you using and how do you prepare and pitch it ?

Screwy

 

[KHB]

KHB, can you please run through your regime of 1. Cleaning fermenters after use 2. Storing Fermenters between uses 3. Sanitising fermenters prior to use 4. Pitching yeast 5. Fermenting temps and times

Also what yeast are you using and how do you prepare and pitch it ?

Screwy

I soak my fermenters with a bleach solution and rinse with hot water.
They are stored with lid on and re rinsed with hot water when ready to fill.

I pitch dried yeast sprinkled on or if using liquid i build up a starter etc.

Ferment at 18.c in a ferment fridge for 1 week to 10 days.

Both brews that got infected took 24 to 36 hours to begin fermenting all the other took about 6

Before AG i never had an infected K&K

 

[Darren]

KHB,

Fermenters should be sanitised before use rather than after cleaning and storage

Are you sanitising your tubing between your kettle and fermenter?

cheers

darren

 

[KHB]

Yes i run no chill sanitiser through all my equiptment the night before brewing

 

[Darren]

No chill or no rinse?

Any tubing used during the mash should not be used to transfer cooled wort.

Bleach will taint all-grain beer if not rinsed properly.

cheers

Darren

 

[reVoxAHB]

It sounds like there's a lag between your soaking and rinsing of ferms, cubes, etc. and usage.
Give Iodophor a whirl. Soak ALL of your gear for at least 10 minutes, just before use- no rinse.

And when I say before use, I mean dump the diluted iodophor from your cube, for example, set the ******* on the ground and rack your beer into it- cap as quickly as possible. done.

If fermenting in plastic, pull it all apart (lid, seals, etc.) clean as thoroughly as possible - check the inside walls for visible scratches which can harbor bacteria, soak all in iodophor (overnight) or replace as required.

You'll get it. Don't give up.

reVox

 

[kabooby]

When rinsing use boiled water not hot water. Hot water does not get hot enough to kill any nasties and would probably carry all sorts of others nasties from your HWS. I use hot water for all grain but it all gets a 90 min boil.

Try using some no rinse sanitizer before you use the fermenter and even leave some in the fermenter during storage. If you put the lid on the fermenter after it has been rinsed in hot water it would almost certainly get some form of bacteria growing. You would be better of leaving the lid off so it can dry and then give it a spray of no rinse sanitizer befoer you use.

Kabooby

 

[Screwtop]

KHB,

Fermenters should be sanitised before use rather than after cleaning and storage

Are you sanitising your tubing between your kettle and fermenter?

cheers

darren

KHB, like Darren says above sanitise before use.

After use disassemble fermenters, remove lid O ring, tap and seal. Keep a 2L ice cream container with lid in the brewery about 3/4 full of a strong 10:1 bleach solution, store taps and airlocks in this until needed then rinse before use with no rinse sanitiser. Store grommets and seals etc in a separate clean covered container. After use clean fermenters with something like napisan, drain and store. The morning before use make 2L of 20:1 bleach solution with 5ml of white vinegar to lower the ph. Assemble the fermenter lid O ring tap and seal, put the air lock, transfer hose atc inside and add the bleach solution, give a good shake, repeat a couple of times over a few hours. Prior to use make up 2L of non rinse sanitiser Iodophor/PhosAcid/StarSan etc, tip out the bleach (preferably into something for re-use) and rinse out with clean tap water. Add the no rinse solution and shake, leave this until just prior to use (at least 20 min). Tip out and drain prior to adding wort.

Rehydrate dry yeast in 10 times it's weight of water - ie: 12g of yeast, put 120ml of cooled pre boiled water into a jug, sprinkle yeast on top, cover with glad wrap and wait 15 min. Whisk the yeast and water a little and replace glad wrap, leave for a further 15 min then pitch at your required pitching temp.

Assuming your brewing ales, ferment at your desired ferm temp until gravity readings are stable over 3 days (no matter how long, sometimes as little as 5 days) then drop the temp to 4C and leave there for 3 days. Rack off the yeast to another container and store at 4C for another 3 days, add finings and after another day keg or bottle. Get it cold after fermentation ceases, reduces the risk of infection.

With No Chill - transfer immediately after flame out, important to have the wort as hot as possible to sanitise the transfer tubing and cube, which should have been sanitised in the same way as for fermenters above prior to use. Transferring hot wort is added insurance. Don't keep the beer in the cube any longer than necessary before transferring to the fermenter, dropping to fermentation temp and pitching yeast.

Long rant I know sorry, needs to be said, if you think Darren is anal about sanitisation, he is, and it pays off.

Cheers and happy brewing,

Screwy

 

[Ross]

KHB,

a slightly different take from me...

You have lost 2 out of 3 chilled beers & you indicate these were to a wild yeast infection.
With the fact that all your "no chill' beers were fine (& your K&K), i'd suggest your sanitation is fine & you have a problem with airbourne contamination where you are brewing. I have exactly the same problem when the breeze picks up here in the afternoons & blows in off the trees; if i chill my beers under these conditions, i lose them. Hence on a windy day i "no chill".
I know several other brewers who have exactly the same problem & switching to "no chill' has solved the problem.
For the record, i prefer to chill & not a fan of the "no chill", but on windy days (until i sort out an effective kettle cover), the "no chill" is a savior.

cheers Ross

 

[onescooter]

I lost a few brews because, I believe, I was transferring from my cube into fermentor in a poor environment. All my brewing was done in the shed, and I think that I must have been picking up some grain dust when transferring. Switched to a different part of the house for that process which has for now, fingers crossed, solved the problem.
I'm with Ross. Airborne bacteria are the silent killers.

 

[Back Yard Brewer]

As KHB be is aware I to have had the same problem in the past I even sent a sample to Ross thats how pissed off I was. Have now completed 6 AG's since my last disaster. My sanitising regime is at times a little slack but they seem to pull through well. I personally think its the lag time between pitching and when it actually starts to ferment. Yes airborne bacteria are killers!!


BYB

 

[lowtech]

As both of you are in the Barossa Valley, could it be an airbourne yeast from all the vines around?
Do your infection woes coincide with the fruiting season of the vines?

Just a thought.

 

[Back Yard Brewer]

As both of you are in the Barossa Valley, could it be an airbourne yeast from all the vines around?
Do your infection woes coincide with the fruiting season of the vines?

Just a thought.

Your comment has some merit but my last disaster was back in January. (crossing my fingers while typing this reply) h34r:

BYB

 

[devo]

I rarely if ever get infections which I figure is down to 2 things.

1* I sanitise everything.

2* I brew indoors in my garage.

 

[warra48]

I have the same experience as devo. I brew in the back of my garage, as far away from my vege garden and fruit trees as I can get. The door stays closed if there is any wind at all. The immersion chiller hose fits under the door, and drains into the front garden.

I'm finicky with my sanitation.

Furtunately, I have never had an infected brew to date.

 

[mfdes]

A constant source of annoyance for me till I switched to fermenting in glass was the fermenter tap. No matter whether I took it apart and soaked it in sodium percarbonate and then sanitised in peroxyacetic acid, the tap, and the thread seemed to be my main problem.

MFS.

 

[KHB]

Sorry my net has been down for a while, i tend to agree with Ross and BYB that the lag time between pitching and the yeast kicking in is the killer. I plan to make my next one no chill and see how that goes