Infection?

[Zizzle]

Hi everyone,

this is my first post here... yet another web board to try to keep up with.

About a 2 months ago I got a Brigalow fermenter on special from the Supermarket. Advice given to me at the time was to chuck away the kit that came with it. But I thought I'd brew it anyway just for practice. Just as well, as I made few mistakes. It turned out okayish. I followed that up right away with a Muntons dark ale, which I am drinking now and very very happy with. It's hard to go back to drinking the cheap domestic beers now.

So I bought another Muntons kit, a stout, which was quite pricey, $30 with carbonation drops. I put it in the fermenter on wednesday. I've been lurking here a little and reading another stuff, and thought my procedure was much better than the first two. For instance I was prepared with chilled water in sanitized bottles on brew day. I let the fermenter & gear soak in a strong bleach solution for about an hour before doing the brew. Heated the kit cans in a sanitizer solution before using. I made sure I oxygenated the wort with some vigourous stirring before pitching the yeast at about 22 degrees.

Thursday the fermenter was going great, airlock bubbling quite quickly. Friday it was dead. Today still dead. Temp over the last three days has been steady here at about 25.

I got some brew out last night and it smelt bad, a bit like spew.

Definitely infected?

I'm reluctant to throw it since it cost a bit. But at the same time I don't have enough from the last brews to see me through to when this one is done, so don't want to stuff around.

Here is a list of things I think may have contributed:
- I took the tap out of the fermenter, but didn't clean it with a brush -- as I've since read about.
- I wasn't wearing gloves for the brew. I don't remeber getting any on my hands but I may have... do most people wear gloves?
- I put some sanitizer solution in the airlock -- do I have to be careful of some of this being sucked in?

 

[Foz]

Did you check the original gravity and the current gravity? Maybe fermentation completed extremely fast?? I wouldn't neccessarily throw it out just yet. What i've learnt since I started brewing is to just bottle the brew and try it in a few weeks time. You never know - it might actually turn out just right. Besides you've already gone to the effort to brew the batch you might as well see if its a winner.

All the same - i'm obviously new to the whole homebrew experience - yet i have never had a bad batch to date (touch wood)!

Oh and i don't use gloves when putting a batch down. Just wash my hands in antibacterial handwash.

Not sure if i've helped you - but it wont be long til someone who knows what they're talking about replys to you.

All the best!

Foz

 

[MVZOOM]

Chill out a bit mate - sounds like you have paid really good attention to sanitisation - don't be too concerned that your wort is infected.

As prior advice - what's the SG looking like? where's it dropped to? Don't rely on the airlock for this info.

Taste some of the wort, it should be a touch sweet, with standard beer type bitterness - ie... warm, sweet beer. If there's a massive hit of sourness, there;'s an issue.


Let us know!

Cheers -Mike

 

[Zizzle]

Yep, cooler heads...

SG was 1020

I just tasted it. It doesn't really taste bad. Not sweet, but not sour either. Quite chocolately which is what I was aiming for. I've had two other people say that they don't think it smells that bad.

Is it possible that some sanitized may have been sucked in from the air lock and killed the yeast? How much Sodium Met. would it take to kill yeast in 23L? Or could the last part of the fermentation occur with no CO2 being produced through the air lock?

 

[Fingerlickin_B]

1020 is a pretty bloody low starting gravity...what's it at now?

PZ.

 

[Zizzle]

Sorry it's at 1020 now, didn't do a reading when it started.

 

[MVZOOM]

Sounds fine.

Leave it for a couple of days and re-check the SG, which will drop. If you list the ingred that you used, someone may be able to help you guage the starting SG, which will then show you how far through you are and also give you the ABV at the end.

I wouldn't know what the FG should be for a Stout, however I'd assume it'd be quite high - ie.. 1015'ish?

Stress less, all will turn out ok!

Cheers - Mike

 

[Bizarre]

Here is a list of things I think may have contributed:
- I took the tap out of the fermenter, but didn't clean it with a brush -- as I've since read about.
- I wasn't wearing gloves for the brew. I don't remeber getting any on my hands but I may have... do most people wear gloves?
- I put some sanitizer solution in the airlock -- do I have to be careful of some of this being sucked in?

[post="121991"][/post]​

I've been brewing for 4 years now - mostly concentrates with additions of grains, hops, blah, blah, blah. I run my own business so sadly I dont have the time or patience to go all grain - maybe one day!

Always scrub 'n' sterilise eveything that comes into contact with your beer - you dont have to be paranoid just clean

I have never worn gloves and I dont think I ever would - I reckon they'd be a pain in the bum.

With the sanitiser in the airlock thing - it could knock the yeast back a bit possibly (depending on strength etc) - best thing to use is just cooled boiled water, its all I've ever used and I've never had one go off yet.

Just keep checking the gravity of the one in your fermenter you got going just now - if it hasnt changed in about 3 days or so its probly as low as it will get. Remember if you add stuff in that doesnt ferment out like lactose etc you will end up with a higher final gravity.
Hope these ramblings may be of some use to ya

 

[poppa joe]

Could it be the Sodium Met...???????
Throw the sodium met. Look for better sterilizers
Iodophor..hydrogen peroxide...etc..(anyone..?)
Was the bleach ...killed..?Boiled cool water in airlock....
PJ

 

[mika]

It's that magic 1020 number again !!
Zizzle - I had a brew that stopped at this, couldn't get it started again so kegged it... not a nice beer though.
If you're going to put it in bottles you should be alright, but it may take quite a while for the beer to taste any good (or as good as you want it)

All may be well and it may drop yet, but there seem to be a few yeasts going on holidays lately and they all stop at 1020.

If it don't budge, bottle it any way and watch it carefully. If the yeast has just gone to sleep it way awaken a little later and try to explode some bottles for you (worst case scenario).

That's my 2c worth. let us know how you go.

 

[Trent]

Zizzle
Welcome to the site. I too currently have a beer stuck on 1020 , so as Mika says, it is that magic number, its just not very magical when it happens! Anyway, I am assuming as it is a new kit, you will probably have a few of them plastic PET bottles? I would say to bottle in them, to prevent exploding bottles. 1020 does sound a bit high, but I wouldnt expect a stout to come down much lower than 1015 or so, unless you used sugar in there aswell. As someone else asked, what were the ingredients you put in, that way we will be able to estimate an OG, and work out how much further it needs to drop to be in the vicinity of being done properly. If ya dont get a chance, and you bottle in glass, then just be careful with em.
All the best
Trent

 

[altstart]

:beer:
Gooday Zizzle and welcome to the site. How strong was the bleach solution you soaked the fermenter in and did you wash it out completely before useing it. I chased an infection in my system and used bleach in a strong solution in an attempt to elimanate it.
All I succeded in doing was to introduce another problem into the equation. From various people on the site I learnt that bleach is not a good sanitiser. Much better to use a no rinse sanitiser such as Idophor or Hysan. I personally use Hysan this is used in the horticulture industry and when mixed at the correct strength does not harm your beer. On brewday I keep all my stirrers dipsticks which are S/S in a solution of this sanitiser after use a quick rinse under the tap and straight back into the solution. I hope this helps.
Cheers Altstart

 

[Zizzle]

Kit was a Muntons Mount Mellick, Irish Style stout. 1.8kg with a 1.5kg Morgans Dark malt extract as selected by the bloke at the brew shop when I said I wanted something choclately. Made up to 23L.

I don't remember how strong the bleach was, but I kept rinsing till I couldn't smell any bleach, but it wouldn't surprise me if I over did it with the bleach.

Some good advice so far, thanks guys.

 

[Jens-Kristian]

I doubt the beer has been infected if it has been tasted and not considered bad. Most infections are rater foul . . .

Wait and see - my guess is that your beer will be just fine. Depending on the original gravity and also the strain of yeast you got, it is not that unlikely that you won't get it much below 1020.

Did you account for the amount of water that was boiled away while hopping? What I mean, is that if you are below your target of 23 litres then the wort will have been at a higher gravity. Depending on the ecpected attenuation of the yeast it may very well stay around 1020.

About your water lock, as it was mentioned above, boiled water does perfectly well, but if you're worried about some being sucked into the fermenter, why not use some cheap vodka or bourbon or something?

I have a particularly cheap and nasty bottle of bourbon sitting in the cupboard that I use for the purpose.

Cheers,

Jens-Kristian

 

[Zizzle]

I checked the SG again tonight I it hadn't budged. It also smelt less wiffy. More like beer. I left the last sample out over night, and it smelt fine.

So I just bottled it. Has anyone ever had PET bottle bomb, or do they stretch and expand?

I don't think it will though. I was probably just being a little paranoid.

 

[Bizarre]

I checked the SG again tonight I it hadn't budged. It also smelt less wiffy. More like beer. I left the last sample out over night, and it smelt fine.

So I just bottled it. Has anyone ever had PET bottle bomb, or do they stretch and expand?

I don't think it will though. I was probably just being a little paranoid.

[post="122384"][/post]​

A PET bottle bomb? Hehehe - I think you'd have to go some to manage that. You shouldnt have any drama's with yer brew Ziz - specially if it is still not moving - like I said b4 - anything you add that the yeast cant ferment will increase ur final grav. Its definately worthwhile to measure your starting gravity and you final too so you can gauge if the ferment is all done or not - and it lets u also work out your alcohol content :super:

 

[Uncle Fester]

I checked the SG again tonight I it hadn't budged. It also smelt less wiffy. More like beer. I left the last sample out over night, and it smelt fine.

So I just bottled it. Has anyone ever had PET bottle bomb, or do they stretch and expand?

I don't think it will though. I was probably just being a little paranoid.

[post="122384"][/post]​

A PET bottle bomb? Hehehe - I think you'd have to go some to manage that. You shouldnt have any drama's with yer brew Ziz - specially if it is still not moving - like I said b4 - anything you add that the yeast cant ferment will increase ur final grav. Its definately worthwhile to measure your starting gravity and you final too so you can gauge if the ferment is all done or not - and it lets u also work out your alcohol content :super:

[post="122387"][/post]​

I cast my mind back a year or so, and I recall one member having a PET bottle go off in the fridge. If I recall correctly, it was very spectacular, as it was sitting next to a jar of strawberry jam. As usual, my search capability within this site is retarded, and I cannot find the link directly :angry:


M